Episode notes
Nasi lemak is the national dish of Malaysia. But does this humble rice dish really encapsulate the story of Malaysia?
The early 20th Century saw all parts of Malaya and north Borneo under some form of colonial control. But with the advent of World War II, the invasion by Japan would upend the lives of locals once again.
Cookbook author Kalsom Taib is older than the country of Malaysia. She was born during the occupation and shares what it was like in the years before, during and after the war. She also recounts how food has transformed over the decades, for better or worse.
Resources and References
A History of Malaysia (2016), Barbara Watson Andaya, Leonard Y. Andaya
Borneo: The History of an Enigma (2026), Olivier Hein
Druce, Stephen C and Nani Suryani Haji Abu Bakar. 2023. Brunei and the World Since 1984. Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei, pp. 100-117. eds. Ooi Keat Gin and Victor T. King. London: Routledge.
"Scorched Earth" Policy Hansard Volume 377: debated on Thursday 8 January 1942 https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1942-01-08/debates/06602dd3-6929-4a8a-b4da-0c30b4427c9d/ScorchedEarthPolicy
SCORCHED EARTH POLICY IN MALAYA, The Canberra Times, 16 Jan 1942 Page 1 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2585976
Operation Sook Ching by Stephanie Ho, National Library of Singapore https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=cc4da337-3bcd-4f96-bdc6-5210646bdd90
Credits
Hosted by Dr Noby Leong and Philip Gibson
Produced by Dr Noby Leong and Philip Gibson
Sound Design by Jack Barr
Satay? Okay! is produced by Kopi Productions Limited and supported by the Golden Chopsticks Scholarship, by the Oxford Cultural Collective Trust