Saturday, April 13, 2013

Malaysia's 13th General Elections: Policies, Institutions and Social Change

INVITATION

Talk by Prof. Dr. Edmund Terence Gomez of Department of Administrative Studies and Politics, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya.

Topic: "Malaysia's 13th General Elections: Policies, Institutions and Social Change"
Address: Silverfish Books, 28-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Date and time: 5.00pm to 7.00pm, Saturday, April 20, 2013.

Edmund Terence Gomez specializes in state-market relations and the linkages between ethnicity, politics and capital development. He received a doctorate in Development Studies from the University of Malaya in 1993. He is Professor of Political Economy at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, which he joined as a lecturer in 1994, and where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on developmental state and social change, Malaysia's political economy, and state, business and ethnicity in Southeast Asia.

The G13 election buzz has been going on for  months (or should that be years) and the date has been finally announced, May 5, 2013. Many discussions take place daily, everywhere in the country, mostly from positions of total ignorance based on prejudice, hype, soothsayer predictions and speculation. This will be a non-partisan talk by a world renowned expert (not by one between inverted commas) who has written and spoken extensively about Malaysian politics and the economy for two decades.

When Silverfish Books was established in 1999, a keystone of our vision was to raise the level of intellectual debate in the country, which was, as it is today, dismal. This talk by Terrence Gomez is the first in a series of monthly events we hope to organise at Silverfish Books for people who like to think.

So far, at Silverfish Books, we have only organised author events. We feel it would be good to have a series of talks by people who read widely, and who know stuff. Topics could cover literature, art, philosophy, political theory (not political), history, science, economic theory -- generally anything that contributes to knowledge and points the lay public in the right direction for further enlightenment (or merely to look clever).

If you like your spirits a little elevated during the talk, you may wish to bring a bottle of red (Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, whatever) to share with friends, but if you prefer to remain firmly grounded, water (both mineral and sugared) will be on the house. We can organise tea, too. (Would anyone likes to volunteer cookies?)

Admission is free, but do RSVP by email to info@silverfishbooks.com by Thursday, April 18, because we can only accommodate about 50. (Feel free to pass on this email to friends you think might be interested -- contrary to popular belief, we do hot have everyone's email.)