Eddin Khoo is a journalist, historian, author and poet. But perhaps his biggest contribution to society is his tireless work in protecting Malaysia’s traditional performing arts like the Wayang Kulit and Mak Yong, through his cultural organisation, Pusaka.
He rightly points out that Malaysia is a cosmopolis of races, cultures and traditions with a history older than most countries in the region.
But its importance has been systematically erased in the interests of political self-preservation.
This is his story, in his own words.
(Many thanks to the Asia School of Business for their collaboration with The Do More Podcast, in whose studio this conversation was recorded. The Asia School of Business is a partnership between MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Bank Negara Malaysia).
CONTENTS
00:00:00 – Intro
00:02:42 – Who’s Eddin Khoo (In His Own Words)
00:06:42 – What We Need to Know About Our History
00:08:45 – Our Racial Barriers Are A Construct
00:11:25 – Why Is Malaysia’s History Her Great Wound?
00:17:10 – What Eddin Has Learnt About Malaysia From the Microcosm That Is Kelantan
00:23:37 – Malaysians Are Very Lazy in their Caricature of Our Differences
00:26:17 – Why Did the Young Malays Vote In a So-Called ‘Green Wave’?
00:30:03 – How Does Eddin Know So Much About the Malay Psyche?
00:32:52 – The Kelantanese Young Crave Leadership But Its Leaders Cannot Offer It. WHY
00:36:42 – Politics Changes People. WHY
00:39:43 – What Should Malaysia’s National Narrative Be?
00:44:51 – Malaysia Is Bastardised ..
00:48:29 – What’s the TL:DR of Eddin’s National Narrative for Malaysia
00:55:05 – Message(s) to the Sclerotic (Rigid) Leadership?
01:02:40 – What Political Messaging Will Have Power?
01:07:32 – Malaysia’s Collective Will, Mutual Respect Has Been Subverted
01:09:38 – What Did You Learn From Chairing the UEC?
01:14:02 – Why Politicians Are Like Snakes: Many Different Heads
01:17:08 – Why Politicians Cannot and Will Resist Change
01:18:42 – How Do Kelantanese View Intellectual Self-Interrogation
01:20:26 – When Will Change Come? Will it Ever Come?
01:22:32 – Collective Change, Not Generational Change
01:25:54 – Can Socialism Work in Malaysia?
01:27:38 – Why History is Important
01:31:15 – How to Get More Young Malaysians Interested in History?
01:36:15 – There’s a Lot of Soul-Searching, Self-Searching Going On Right Now
01:40:42 – Malaysia’s Middle Class Are Indolent, Colonial Hogs In Defining Malaysia’s Racial Makeup
FOLLOW EDDIN HERE:
URL: https://www.pusaka.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddin-khoo-1097b55b/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/senipusaka
IG Personal: https://www.instagram.com/ek.isatsea
Writings:
https://www.optionstheedge.com/authors/eddin-khoo
MY ROAD TRIP TO KOTA BAHRU WITH EDDIN
https://youtu.be/qHG37ex2PY8
