Pusaka’s Eddin Khoo - Malaysia: Wild, Bastardised, Historically Rich, Suffers Lazy Racial Constructs

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-kho

MY ROAD TRIP TO KOTA BAHRU WITH EDDIN 
https://youtu.be/qHG37ex2PY8

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Follow Chuang here: 
URL: http://www.domore.my/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsu-chuang-khoo-ab199343/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/khoo.chuang/
IG: http