Dewangga Sakti, playing traditional music at Islamic Arts Museum
The kids catching eels in the mud pool
the eels caught
agnes, posing at the paddy field 
didgeridoo by local boys
Haji Burhanuddin on Upin and Ipin.In the panel were Amir Zekrgoo (Iran) and Zunar
Isabella (Manila), Carlotta (Arizona) and Tanja as their moderator
David (Kobe), Kit (Australian, living in Macau)and Agnes (Hong Kong)
Carlotta, Isabella and Mark (Canadian, living in Hong Kong)
left: dennis (Perth), ben (New York), someone from aussie high comm
left: quayum, sudesh (Fijian, living in Melbourne), david (american, living in Kobe) 
left: bruce (Sydney), kirpal (Singapore), lily (Manila)and trish (bruce's wife)
ben in sabak bernam talking to some wak 
batik painting with brad pitt.. er..markoh wow..what can I say except alhamdulillah that the symposium went well and it's over now?
Every day was a new adventure, new experience filled with thrills and uncertainties but the team's such a great team (from colleagues to students)
And our speakers and participants..looks like my prayer was answered.Ben said it was a great 4-day experience for him (he came with us to Sabak Bernam..bangun pagi and we didn't get back till almost midnite and he's got bad knees, bad ankles..such a lovely soul)
Carlotta who shared a room with me would not stop laughing at every new discovery we encountered and analysed...such a joy to have her as a roommate.She wrote a poem for me at the High Commisioner's dinner (so sweet).
Mark yang hensem macam Brad Pitt (the gals went goo goo gaa gaa) caught 15 ikan keli in the mud pool.I asked how come you are so good...he said he was so used to catching frogs.Hahaha..so sweet.His beautiful wife from Hong Kong gave him a surprise visit, not knowing he would spend all day/nite at Sabak Bernam.
The homestay at Dorani was such a treat (the landscape was so relaxing..a real holiday for all.Agnes said she never had a real break like that for so long.I felt the same!) During the kuda kepang performance, 3 performers kena rasuk (in trance).It was quite a scary experience. We also had a hand at batik painting.My piece cantik.Ahem.
We were told later that kuda kepang, like Mak Yong and Wayang Kulit, is banned in Msia.Mana kami tau! Agnes and I masuk berlumpur (she fell in the lumpur..very funny) I taught some how to bersalam. It was so hilarious! Agnes was hopeless! But got it right in the end (and would not stop bersalam with everyone she met.Hahaha)
The performances (Zul was simply fantastic doing the poetic movement on the 2004 Tak Bai massacre), poetry readings at the Islamic Arts Museum, NZ High Comm dinner, CAC and lunch hosted by Malaysia-Australia Institute were all great.Amir Zekrgoo was so Rumi.
Prof Ibrahim Zein and Ben got into a heated discussion...the audience were amazed at the sharpness both had and their civility and restraint despite the seemingly brutal clash of civilisations.
Oh..the opening and intro by Prof Kamal Hassan was excellently delivered.We all had fun despite our multimedia presentation ada sikit minor error (Uni of Philippines became Uni of Manila but poor Fatehah and her friend had worked so hard..people loved the little video they prepared for the launching)
Day 4 yang paling best for me: sebab Marion and Zunar telah menunjukkan keberanian mereka sampai I felt my heart would drop every time they spoke! The real joy was when we could overcome fear (the imagined fear/the real fear).Zunar shared the session with Haji Burhanuddin towkay Upin and Ipin (who first started his career in O&G as Petronas engineer.It's amazing how he became so rich within a short span of time thru Upin and Ipin.He said no magic..if your product is good, people will buy.Also one must know one's market.Haiyo..I rasa product I no good sebab buku puisi I ada lagi 300 copies out of 1000.In 2 years.Promotion takda langsung.Must do more readings in public gamaknya)
Oh well...
Segala pujian yang kami terima kami pulangkan kepada Allah cos' without His izin, the symposium would not be so well received.Takbir!
Every day was a new adventure, new experience filled with thrills and uncertainties but the team's such a great team (from colleagues to students)
And our speakers and participants..looks like my prayer was answered.Ben said it was a great 4-day experience for him (he came with us to Sabak Bernam..bangun pagi and we didn't get back till almost midnite and he's got bad knees, bad ankles..such a lovely soul)
Carlotta who shared a room with me would not stop laughing at every new discovery we encountered and analysed...such a joy to have her as a roommate.She wrote a poem for me at the High Commisioner's dinner (so sweet).
Mark yang hensem macam Brad Pitt (the gals went goo goo gaa gaa) caught 15 ikan keli in the mud pool.I asked how come you are so good...he said he was so used to catching frogs.Hahaha..so sweet.His beautiful wife from Hong Kong gave him a surprise visit, not knowing he would spend all day/nite at Sabak Bernam.
The homestay at Dorani was such a treat (the landscape was so relaxing..a real holiday for all.Agnes said she never had a real break like that for so long.I felt the same!) During the kuda kepang performance, 3 performers kena rasuk (in trance).It was quite a scary experience. We also had a hand at batik painting.My piece cantik.Ahem.
We were told later that kuda kepang, like Mak Yong and Wayang Kulit, is banned in Msia.Mana kami tau! Agnes and I masuk berlumpur (she fell in the lumpur..very funny) I taught some how to bersalam. It was so hilarious! Agnes was hopeless! But got it right in the end (and would not stop bersalam with everyone she met.Hahaha)
The performances (Zul was simply fantastic doing the poetic movement on the 2004 Tak Bai massacre), poetry readings at the Islamic Arts Museum, NZ High Comm dinner, CAC and lunch hosted by Malaysia-Australia Institute were all great.Amir Zekrgoo was so Rumi.
Prof Ibrahim Zein and Ben got into a heated discussion...the audience were amazed at the sharpness both had and their civility and restraint despite the seemingly brutal clash of civilisations.
Oh..the opening and intro by Prof Kamal Hassan was excellently delivered.We all had fun despite our multimedia presentation ada sikit minor error (Uni of Philippines became Uni of Manila but poor Fatehah and her friend had worked so hard..people loved the little video they prepared for the launching)
Day 4 yang paling best for me: sebab Marion and Zunar telah menunjukkan keberanian mereka sampai I felt my heart would drop every time they spoke! The real joy was when we could overcome fear (the imagined fear/the real fear).Zunar shared the session with Haji Burhanuddin towkay Upin and Ipin (who first started his career in O&G as Petronas engineer.It's amazing how he became so rich within a short span of time thru Upin and Ipin.He said no magic..if your product is good, people will buy.Also one must know one's market.Haiyo..I rasa product I no good sebab buku puisi I ada lagi 300 copies out of 1000.In 2 years.Promotion takda langsung.Must do more readings in public gamaknya)
Oh well...
Segala pujian yang kami terima kami pulangkan kepada Allah cos' without His izin, the symposium would not be so well received.Takbir!
17 comments:
Dear PM Faridah,
Congrats to you and your organising committee for hosting an intellectually stimulating symposium. It provided me an opportunity to know what scholars in the area are working on. It also enabled me to touch base with old friends. I enjoyed many of the presentations and, last but not least, I thank you for your warm hospitality.
Best wishes,
shakila
Dear Dr. Faridah,
Congratulations on the success of the symposium..:) I was wondering if you are able to give me Dr. Ruth Jordana' s email address and Dr. Frieda Ekotto's email address. I would like to ask for Dr. Ruth's paper because it was not in the CD I bought and as for Dr. Frieda, I would like to give her the late Yasmin Ahmad's blog address.
I am not in a hurry but I thought I email you before I forget. I totally understand that you are catching your breath and busy marking exam papers. I truly am delighted to be a participant at the symposium. It was worth every cent. I feel rejuvenated and I hope to reinvent myself to be a better and more serious student.
With lots of gratitude,
Marzita
Dr Shakila: a pity you missed the hot Monday session! But thanks for joining us for 2 days.
Ita: will email you stuffs you requested.Thks for coming.Glad you enjoyed the symposium and that it had inspired you so much
Salam Dr. Faridah
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team for
hosting us during the recent symposium. I personally derived many
benefits from the discussion and came know scholars of diverse
background and interest.
Even though participation is small in number, but it is an advantage
actually, in the sense that it gives us (participant) to interact more
actively with the presenters. I have short discussion with Uncle Ben,
Prof. Kirpal Singh, and Dr. Ruth of Philippines on various issues and
interest. It was a wonderful encounter.
Once again, thank you very much for your invitation and hospitality.
Best regards
Ahmad El-Muhammady
Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur.
Ahmad: thank you for joining us.I'm glad the small set up (planned that way cos' traditionally the symposium is not open to the public and is meant to be kept small and cosy so that delegates could discuss more in a leisure manner)worked well with you.You were articulate in the Q&A and we thank you again for your presence.
Dear Faridah,
I wish to thank you as well for your warm welcome. Yes, I was inspired by relisting to Prof. Anderson and others. Please thank the organizing committee as well, everyone was really nice.
I hope you can rest now Faridah! Congratulations for your work.
Best wishes,
Frieda
Dear Faridah and Professor Quayum
Thank you so very much for everything. The conference was really invigorating and we enjoyed meeting your colleagues and students very much too. All of you took such fantastic care of us. We had a very smooth journey back and will take care to submit a final draft at the end of December. See you in Perth, if not before. I am so very happy for you that everything went so well and hope that you will get some well deserved rest now.
Very best wishes,
Agnes & Candice
Dr. Agnes S. L. Lam, Associate Professor, Centre for Applied English Studies,
Faculty of Arts, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
Dear Dr. Faridah,
How is everyone after the wonderful conference? We got back early this morning and I am now trying to focus on classes (tomorrow). The papers presented and the discussions with friends made me realize what I really want to research on and as much as I would like to write my thoughts on my "new project," I have to go back to the classroom tomorrow (:
I was-- and still am-- amazed at the warmth of the crowd. There was really an exchange of ideas during the conference. I would like to thank you for fostering such an atmosphere. Everyone in your team was unbelievably efficient and nice :)
Again, thank you for everything.
Take care.
ruth
manila
Dear Faridah,
It's I (and us) who need to be thanking you, for such a well-organized and memorable conference. Much appreciation to you and your team for the excellent venues, the fun activities, and the kind hospitality. You had such a nice group of people working with you, as well. Please pass along my thanks to all of them too.
I enjoyed myself immensely and was pleased and privileged to be part of such an interesting meeting of minds. It was fun being 'painting partners' during the batik session as well! I'll look forward to seeing some of the photos if and when you get them posted. I've got a few myself which I'll put up on Facebook and send you the link for.
Until the next time...
warm regards,
Mark
Dear Faridah,
Just a brief note to say thank you so much for your efforts and the efforts of your students over the last week. You all worked so hard and the symposium was a great success. I'm looking forward to seeing you again in the future, so please stay in touch.
Kind regards
Bernard
Dr Bernard Wilson,
Associate Professor,
English Department,
College of Arts and Sciences,
University of Tokyo,
Komaba, Meguro-ku,
Tokyo 113-8654,
Japan
Dear Faridah,
Thank you so much for all kinds of your efforts for this wonderful Conference!
I've really enjoyed the conference, itself;papers, weather, food, people, and the home stay trip.
Do you know that I've used my both hands for the traditional Javanese dinner,for the first time in my life, which was unforgettable??^=^....
As I told in the last pleanary session,it was my starting and memorable occasion to understand Malaysia, Islam, and South East Asian culture.
On 24 Nov., I spent the whole afternoon of my last day in KL
at the National History Museum and learn much about Malaysia.
Again, thank you so much for sending me the video file on the history of this conference,
very useful for my writing the report on this conference.
I'm going to write it for other Korean scholars in Literatures as the President of The international Association of Comparative Korean Studies.
Again, thank you so much and please keep in touch!
Best,
So-Hee.
Seoul
Hi Faridah. Thank you so much for the wonderful conference and the warm hospitality. Kudos to your team. Even on the last day, we could not part from friends and wish Perth were near. Friendships were indeed born and the old ones strengthened.
Now you can put your feet up and watch tv :)
Lily
Manila
To all involved in organising the ASIAPAC2009 Imagined Communities Revisited conference,
Selamat Hari Raya Aidu-ul Adha!
I would just like to add my voice to the many expressions of appreciation and gratitude for all your efforts towards making the conference such a stimulating and successful event.
It was a privilege to be part of such an event, and I learnt a great deal - including techniques for catching catfish in muddy pools!
Your planning and scheduling was very well thought-out, and I especially appreciated the opportunity to spend the final day of the conference at your very impressive campus at IIUM.
Hoping that we can move forward on suggestions for visits to NZ as discussed with the High Commissioner at the dinner on the Saturday evening.
Sekali lagi banyak terima kasih kepada semua.
Dr James McLellan
Dept of General & Applied Linguistics,
The University of Waikato,
Hamilton, NZ
Dear Faridah:
Many thanks for everything. I got the train almost immediately we were there and I was at the airport long before the time. It is common to miss one's way in a big city as Kuala Lumpur as I do sometimes in Lagos. No problem. I appreciate your taking me to the train station to get to the airport.
I enjoyed the conference and your hospitality. I won't forget the mud in the rice paddy fields. I enjoyed the performance that night. Again, many thanks. And thanks for taking Zaynab around. She called me today that she had a great time with you.
Let's keep in touch.
Cordially,
Tanure
USA
Hi Faridah,
We have just arrived back in Penang from our sojourn in KL. I want to thank you again for inviting me to this stimulating yet convivial symposium. I enjoyed it immensely and it has set off various trains of thought which I am sure will eventually arrive at productive destinations.
My family would particularly like to thank you and the organizing committee for the Sunday outing which was one of the highlights of our trip to Malaysia. Catching catfish by hand in a muddy paddy field was something we never expected to be doing but what fun it was!
All the best,
Don Henderson
Dear Faridah,
I want to thank you, Quayum and your other helpers for the marvellous symposium you hosted on Literatures and Cultures of the Asia-Pacific. It easily upheld,and in some respects outstripped the high standard of these symposia in the past.
On a personal note, can I say that I really appreciated the special attention and care given to all the arrangements involving Trish and myself.
Thanks also for sending the video-clips which I look forward to seeing again.
Because we had to miss the final day of the symposium, I didn't hear whether you intend to arrange publication of papers from the symposium. If you think my paper would be suitable you are welcome to publish it.
All good wishes to you and your university for an outstanding international event.
Bruce
Australia
Faridah:
wow. I am so amazed. I am just now processing all that I have learned and seen. What an amazing event!!! Dance, art, poetry, museum, intellectual stimulation and mind bending...I just printed the pictures, and it will take time to go through and edit out the duds...I am writing about and savoring each memory. Please thank the young man and woman who took me to the airport. We stopped for dinner. They are so nice.
Your effort really has lasting implications for SE Asian literature and culture study. I am so glad to be your friend and colleague. I hope your back is better and all is well. Thanks again...plus, the food was so good!
carlotta
usa
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