This book tells us what Malaysians were like 50 years ago

One of our readers, Kevin Bathman, highlighted a really cool book to us, titled ‘Malaysians’. The book is a collection of paintings by Mohamed Hoessein Enas, one of the earliest generations of local artists. Commissioned by Shell, the book was published in 1963, the year our nation was formed. It even has a foreword by our first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, written on 11 September, 5 days before the formation! Kevin’s copy belonged to his father, who started working for the gas company in 1972 and retired in 2002. He believes it’s out of publication already, which is why this book is super precious. ‘Malaysians’ has 51 of Hoessein’s paintings of people and scenes that show our melting pot of cultures, a fascinating portrait of what Malaysia (and Malaysians) was like 50 years ago. With it he adds his own commentary and observations. But more importantly, the artist painted some things and practices that are no longer around today! Such as Mandi Safar…a tradition that