A BOOK depicting a community tells not only about the history but also the place, people and their struggles and achievements.
Here in George Town, a book on ‘Mount Erskine and Bagan Jermal Kampung Stories’ initiated by former Pulau Tikus assemblyman Yap Soo Huey sees its completion now by current Pulau Tikus assemblyman Chris Lee Chun Kit.
“The book most importantly reflects our roots as the stories are part of Pulau Tikus.
“Mount Erskine and Bagan Jermal are two unique places with their own histories. We want elderly people’s legacies to be preserved and be a reminder of our humble beginnings,” Chris said during the launch of the book at his Pulau Tikus service centre on Sept 28.
“Before we started to draw, we went there to do data collection and interviews on elderly people. It took two to three months to complete the interviews based on their living standards from the days when the estate was widely regarded as a squatter community.
“The drawing and the painting part took around one month’s time before they are sent for final printing,” said visual artist Tang Yeok Khang and research leader Kuah Li Feng.
“The book highlights the uniqueness of the two ‘kampung’ such as Hong Seng estate community, soya sauce factory, swimming pool and blueberry hill, village sukaneka, vegetable farms and so forth to people to show that our achievements today are from the foundations put in place by our forefathers.”
After the launch, some books were distributed for free to some schools in the Pulau Tikus area to enable students to know more about the history and share the stories with others.
The visuals are purely on imaginations which could further portray the histories told.
Anyone interested to get the book can visit the Pulau Tikus service centre located at 11A Medan Maktab. The book is free of charge and it is regarded as a community project.
Story by K.Thaarshenii
Pix by Yusnina Yousof