Announcing the CHRONICLE OF MALAYSIA 1957–2007
50 years of Malaysian history in 2000 stories and 1500 pictures
Witness the transformation of Malaysia over half a century through the news stories and photographs of the day. Relive Merdeka, the Emergency and Confrontasi; revel in contemporary gossip about P. Ramlee, Rose Chan and Sudirman; read about the exploits of Mona Fendy, Botak Chin and the Kalimuthu Gang; and reminisce about victories in the Thomas Cup and the Commonwealth Games—all recorded in a newspaper-style format allowing you to feel as if you were there too.
The complete story of Malaysia
The Chronicle of Malaysia will tell the real story of Malaysia. Capturing the full dramatic sweep of Malaysia’s history, the book will take the reader on a whirlwind tour through the nation’s first 50 years. It will be packed with concise illustrated news stories covering all the nation’s key social, political and cultural events. A compendium of all aspects of Malaysian life, the book will capture the mood of the day with a sense of vividness and immediacy.
The Chronicle of Malaysia will be launched by Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on 5 November 2007, allowing it to cover events in Malaysia up to and including the 50th Anniversary of Independence on 31 August 2007. The book will create a sense of nostalgia among older readers, while containing revelations for a younger audience, and is certain to be a much cherished reference and companion for many years to come.
Inside the book: what was happening and what was hip!
The book’s page design replicates the readability and approachability of a newspaper. Concise, accessible articles—revised and rewritten to engage today’s readers—are introduced by headlines and liberally illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned cartoons by renowned cartoonist Lat.
The book is structured chronologically, with an average of eight pages devoted to each year. Each year’s coverage will commence with a succinct summary of its key events. A host of themes are to be covered: the major political and economic events will of course be featured, but the real focus of the book will be the human side of the Malaysian experience—sports, fashion, music, the arts, architecture, lifestyle, disasters, crime and the social scene—to give readers the feel of each era of Malaysia’s past. Magazine advertisements offer additional perspectives on the times.
To further broaden the book’s scope, running parallel to the local reportage runs a timeline of regional and international events.
Sources
The Chronicle of Malaysia research team is working its way through over 18,000 issues of local newspapers sourcing news stories to include in the book. Local magazines, both those still in circulation and those no longer in print are also proving a valuable resource. Articles based on stories carried in international and regional magazines such as Time, Newsweek, Asiaweek, the Far Eastern Economic Review and Asia Magazine will also be included.
To ensure that the scope of the book is truly comprehensive, researchers in the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore are also sifting through the press of those countries to unearth coverage of Malaysia.
Photographs and illustrations too are being collated from a wide variety of sources, including foreign sources and private collections. In Malaysia, special access has been given to the Chronicle team to the archives of The Star, the New Straits Times, Utusan, BERNAMA, Arkib Negara Malaysia, the Federal Information Department and Filem Negara.
The team: Editorial Committee and Consultants
The Editorial Committee was formed in October 2006.
- YABhg Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar, Deputy Chairman of Genting Berhad and former Inspector General of Police, is Chairman of the Committee.
Members of the committee include:
- YBhg Dato’ Seri Visu Sinnadurai, former High Court judge and Adjunct Professor at Universiti Malaya.
- YBhg Dato’ Henry Barlow, Honorary Treasurer of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
- Dato’ Ranita Mohd Hussein, former Chief Parliamentary Draftsman, Adviser to Bank Negara Malaysia and Human Rights Commissioner.
- Dr Lee Kam Hing, Research Editor at The Star and formerly Professor of History at University Malaya.
- P. C. Shivadas, former Group Editor of the New Straits Times.
A panel of Editorial Consultants is also providing guidance for the project:
- YBhg Dato’ Seri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and Chairman of The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad.
- Adibah Amin, writer, journalist and educationist.
- YBhg Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid (Lat), cartoonist.
- Professor Dr Khaw Lake Tee, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya.
The team: management, editing, research and design
Overall management and direction for the project is provided by international publishers Editions Didier Millet. Publisher Didier Millet, General Manager Charles Orwin and Editorial Director Timothy Auger head the EDM team from the company’s Singapore office. In EDM’s Kuala Lumpur office, Publishing Manager Martin Cross leads the in-house team of editors, researchers and designers.
Editor–in–Chief of the Chronicle of Malaysia is Philip Mathews, brings to the project three decades of experience as a journalist and is presently Assistant Director-General of ISIS Malaysia. He is assisted by Production Editor Michael MacLachlan, an experienced news editor who worked for many years with The Daily Telegraph and the Far East Economic Review. The editors, writers and researchers working on the book include Gerald Martinez, formerly with the New Straits Times and Malay Mail, Nurin Mastura, a reporter and presenter who has worked with TV3 and BERNAMA, Nurshafenath Shahruddin, previously a reporter with the New Straits Times, Patricia Pereira, formerly with the Herald, the Catholic Weekly, Joane Sharmila, who has worked with RTM, Sheila Natarajan Rahman, former editor of the Sunday Mail and writer, actor, lecturer and bookshop owner Thor Kah Hoong.
Support and Sponsorship
The design team is led by Senior Designer Yusripublicity.html Din, assisted by Annie Teo, Vani Nadaraju and Muamar Ghadafi bin Ali.
This prestigious project is made possible by the generous support of several sponsors. Gold Sponsors for the project are Genting Berhad, PETRONAS Berhad and CIMB Group. Star Publications (Malaysia) Berhad is Silver (Print Media) Sponsor and Media Prima Berhad is Silver (AV Media) Sponsor. Bursa Malaysia is a Bronze Sponsor.
The Chronicle website: www.chronicle.com.my
To complement the published book, a website provides further information on the project and will be kept updated with the latest developments as the book approaches publication and beyond. The website also allows members of the public with interesting news stories or pictures from the last 50 years to submit these for consideration by the Chronicle’s editorial team for inclusion in the book.
PUBLISHING DETAILS
Publisher: Editions Didier Millet
Launch date: November 2007
Price: RM99
MEDIA AND SPONSORSHIP CONTACT
Name: Chris Koh
Tel: 016-3331145
Email: chris@edmbooks.com.my