Dear friends,

On the 9th of Feb, we have successfully concluded our very first book discussion of Syed Hussein Alatas's book titled " Intellectuals in the Developing Society"/"Intelektual dalam Masyarakat Membangun. It was mentioned that the book is currently out of print, but our august professor intends to have it republish, with a new introduction and an epilogue. Prof S.H.Alatas was our guest of honour for the first discussion. To find out more, you can read the short review of it in my blog http://www.archiveoflearning.net/clarissa/2006/02/night-with-grand-old-man-discussion.html
(pardon the shamless plug :D) . Even if you do not read this review, you should look at this article by Douglas Kellner on Intellectuals, the New Public Spheres, and Techno-Politics because it iterates and expand on the issues mentioned by SH Alatas.

Following from the first discussion in the presence of the professor, we have decided to have a discussion without his presence so that we may more thorougly examine the issues raised in the book before we have a third discussion with him. We intend to examine the entire book, with particular attention to the various definitions he had raised and discussed like 'bebal's, fools, intelligentsia and intellectuals, the functions of intellectuals in various societies (in partculiar of developing societies) and the various societies that he had made mentioned in his book (especially of Russia) and even other societies that were notovertly discussed in the book. We will also link the discussion in the book to discourses present in the time when the book was written (circa 1970s) and also to link it to more contemporary times. The focus is to see how many of the issues in the book could still be considered as relevant, examining the intellectual tradition that might have prompted the writing of such a book and how it has been critique or echoed in other works.

So, the date for the event has been set to

Date: 16 Feb 2007
Day : Thurs (in case you are too lazy to check yourself)
Time: 8:30 pm
Place: Maju Retaurant, next to Shah Village Hotel and Kelab Syabas, not far from A&W and just opposite the Taman Jaya LRT station (no excuses about transportation problem)

Any queries can be forwarded to Clarissa (see the email address on this site or drop s comment here) or Fathi (faomar at yahoo dot com). If will be good if you have read the book. But even if you haven't and are interested to know what's the fuss about, do come. If you have read other related works, everyone would definitely be interested to hear from you.

Next discussion which will also involve S H Alatas is likely to be the 21st Feb (tentative date) but we will keep you posted, since we need to make sure that the good emeritus professor can also make it.

“Kepada yang menerima Kant atau jejak mulia Konfusius barangkali mudah untuk mengenali tentang wujud, dengan tahu yang sesungguhnya, dan tidak akan menolak lagi ke-wujud-an Tuhan dalam bentuk apa sekalipun. Pada tingkat ini, nasib “T” dalam buku berbahasa Melayu itu juga boleh jatuh pada iman tingkat paling rendah, atau dalam kategori kedua pada hujahan tadi.” — Hasmi Hashim, IMAN ANJING


“Di dalam bilik, tiga pegawai, mungkin berpangkat lebih tinggi dengan dua daripadanya beruniform lengkap, kelihatan menanti. Seorang menggalas rifel sambil berdiri, dan dua lagi duduk di depan meja secara bertentangan. Terdapat sepucuk pistol (macam pistol James Bond) di atas satu-satunya meja bercermin yang terdapat di dalam bilik tersebut. Kali ini aku benar-benar hilang punca. Ketakutan yang tidak pernah aku rasai sebelumnya. Kalau disuruh ketok-ketampi sambil berbogel pun rasanya aku patuh!“ — Farhan Affandi, TIKET SEHALA DARI AL-AZHAR (SIRI 7)

“Daulat Hukum secara sedar berevolusi hanya semasa zaman liberal dan merupakan salah satu pencapaian teragung zaman itu. Ia merupakan penjasadan kebebasan secara perundangan. Seperti disebutkan Immanuel Kant, ‘Manusia bebas sekiranya dia tidak perlu mematuhi seseorang pun selain hanya undang-undang’.”— F. A. Hayek, JALAN PERHAMBAAN (SIRI 4)


“Sewaktu pertemuan pra-pilihanraya pada 1991, para pemimpin fundamentalis Algeria tidak teragak-agak menggunakan teknologi laser untuk melakarkan pada awan di langit kalimat suci “Allahu Akbar” untuk membuatkan khalayak percaya bahawa mereka sedang berbicara secara langsung dengan Tuhan.” — Farida Faouzia Charfi, PABILA GALILEO BERTEMU ALLAH

“Sepanjang musim cuti natal 2005 yang lalu, saya telah ketagihan dengan siri televisyen yang memaparkan sekumpulan pakar forensik dalam menjalankan tugasan harian mereka yang mencabar lagi mengerikan, iaitu memeriksa punca kematian seseorang mangsa. Rancangan CSI (Crime Scene Investigators), ditayangkan melalui Astro, telah menjadi ikutan orang ramai disebabkan jalan ceritanya yang menarik dan masalah etika yang dipaparkannya. Kekadang, rancangan akan berakhir tanpa penyelesaian muktamad, hanya kerana masalah itu adalah melampaui kepakaran sains, tetapi telah beralih ke ruang social engineering (pemetaan manusia).” — Clarissa Lee, KOLUM SIMPOSIUM VI

Baca semuanya di jalantelawi.com…

Two articles on fashion have been uploaded into the Cultural Microscope site, right at the bottom of the page. Cheers!

Komuniti Seni Jalan Telawi (KsJT) cordially invites you to join a bi-monthly book discussion, during which books based on various topics and themes will be discussed. Selected chapters from the book will be discussed at any one time, and discussions for each book can range from two to more sessions, depending on the complexity of its contents.

To kickstart this event, we will look at chapters 2 to 4 of Syed Hussein Alatas's "Intellectuals in Developing Societies", and the focus of the discussion will look at the differences between intellectuals, intelligentsias, fools and 'bebal's/ dullards and how they make up the various stratas of societies, their roles and functions, with particular focus on Malaysia. However, the outlined focus is but a guideline so do not feel constricted by it. (:

The details of the first meeting is as such:

Venue: Open Dialogue Centre, No 14 Lorong Dungun, Damansara Heights, 50490
Date: 9 Feb 2005/Thursday
Time: 8:30 pm


It is advised that you read the book prior to the meeting so that you can reap maximum benefit from the discussion.


here is a list of possible books related to this topic that you might wish to check out as well
Edward Said - Representations of the Intellectual
Julian Banda - Betrayal of Intellectuals
John Carey - Intellectuals and the Masses
Steve Fuller - Social Epistemology
C Wright Mills - Sociological Imagination
Allan Bloom - Closing of the American Mind


Feel free to add to the list. The time/date/venue for the next meeting will be decided during this Feb 9 meeting. Should you not be able to make this but would still like to be apprised of the next meeting, please let me know. Please also forward this to anybody whom you think might be interested.

For those interested in enlisting for the beginners class, it is still opened for enrollment:
1) New Beginners L1 (Sun, 11:30am - 12:30pm)
You can email tohke3 at yahoo dot com for details


http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/2/3/central/13184807&sec=central
On a mission to spread tap

By Salina Khalid


USUALLY musicians play music and dancers dance. But tap dancers are both – musicians as well as dancers.

And when it comes to rhythm tap dancing, they are everything. They use their feet to make music and “sing”.





“Tap is actually jazz and in rhythm tap, we use our feet to make the music,” said Toh Kong Eu, a rhythm tap instructor at Federal Academy of Ballet, in Petaling Jaya.

However they do not limit themselves to jazz music. They can tap to various music styles including hip-hop and R&B.

Rhythm tap focuses on rhythms and intricate footwork, creating a percussion instrument out of the dancer’s feet.

Just like jazz vocalists who add rhythms to music by scatting, tap dancers add their voice by “scatting” with their feet.

Among well known rhythm tap dancers are Bill Bojangles Robinson, Sammy Davis Jr, Gregory Hines and currently Savion Glover.

Toh said that to understand rhythm tap, one needed to understand its history.

Though he admitted that the dance had elements of Irish step dancing and the English clogging, most of it came from African rhythms. The earlier form is usually associated with the slaves in the southern United States in the early 19th century.

“It was a form of entertainment for the slaves who worked in the cotton fields at the time,” he said, adding that it was later introduced to shows and the movie industry.

It reached its heyday in the great Hollywood musicals of the 1930s and 40s but became less known after that.

“People started to think that the dance was too complicated and they moved on to something else,” he said.

In an effort to promote the dance form, Toh and some of his friends has formed what they call RT@M, which means Rhythm Tappers at Malaysia.

The goal is to create awareness, understanding and appreciation of rhythm tap via performances, workshops, lectures, demonstrations and word of mouth.

“Real tap (what we call rhythm tap) is often misunderstood as old-fashioned or simply cute. It is a much deeper and highly artistic art form. It is also a fun and energetic combination of both music and dance,” said Toh, who has been teaching rhythm tap for the past eight years.

He added the core part of RT@M was the proper and comprehensive training of tap dancers.

“The challenge is in teaching the true essence of tap while recognising that traditionally, our education system does not encourage either individuality or self-discovery.

“So here, in the beginning stage we teach them the basic of the dance - the formal structured class.

“Everybody needs that foundation. At a later stage, we help them to incorporate their own expression in the dance,” he said.

He added unlike some form of dance, rhythm tap was not restricted to a certain age group.

“One is never too young or too old to learn the dance form.”

He believes that to revive the dance, it is necessary for it to evolve. It has to be fun and entertaining for youngsters to pick it up.

Toh began teaching rhythm tap in 1997, mainly in the Klang Valley and also in Singapore.

He has studied with many of the contemporary tap masters of today such as Savion Glover, Dianne Walker, Brenda Bufalion, Barbara Duffy and Van Porter.

He is a regular fixture at various international tap festivals such as the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, the St Louis Tap Festival, as has performed at the New York City Tap Festival.

Toh said he was first introduced to tap dancing in his late teens. However, he found the lessons too structured.

The spectrum of rhythm tap dance was introduced to him when he went to St. Louis, Missouri, USA in 1993 to study engineering.

“That's where I found out about rhythm tap dance and how fun it was.

“I got hooked to it and never turned back since then,” he said. During his years there, he had taken several courses in rhythm tap with the masters.

Since returning to Malaysia eight years ago, Toh has choreographed and performed in numerous dances – solo work, small group as well as ensemble pieces.

His classes at the Federal Academy of Ballet in Section 14, Petaling Jaya has between 50 and 60 people with the majority aged below 35.

He conducts the classes with Phang Shueh Miin who has been studying rhythm tap for the past eight years with Toh. She has also taken workshops conducted by various contemporary masters of tap rhythm.

Besides tap, Phang has studied jazz dance, hip-hop and various Latin dances. She also holds a Grade 8 certification in piano performance and also has extensive experience as an accompanist for dances.

Located at The Right Angle, Section 14, Petaling Jaya, the Federal Academy of Ballet can be contacted at 03-79573413.