Friday, October 31, 2008

March 8: a reading

March_8Kee Thuan Chye and his friends will be at Silverfish Books on Saturday, 22th November 2008 at 5.30 pm to read excerpts from and talk about their book March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke. (More information on the others readers will be posted as soon as it is available.)

The blurb for the book says: The day of the underdogs, the real Merdeka, a political tsunami, the perfect storm -- by any name, March 8, 2008, will go down in history as a turning point in Malaysian politics.

With their votes, Malaysians dealt a blow to the Barisan Nasional government that had held almost absolute power for 50 years. Denying it the all-important two-thirds majority in Parliament and the control of five states has certainly made the political scenario more vibrant.

Although surprised that there was such power in the vote they cast, Malaysians woke up to the true meaning and practice of democracy. They now face the present reasonably free from fear, free from the spectre of May 13.

This book is about that historic day and the change that came with it -- an expression of hope for a brighter future, with many Malaysian voices speaking their thoughts frankly. There are also eyewitness accounts, interviews with key people, and articles never published before, written by fledgling and established writers.