18 Nov Syed the Sage

The recent publication of a new edition of Syed Husin Ali’s classic Ethnic Relations in Malaysia: Harmony and Conflict (SIRD) offers a timely moment to revisit the works of this most sagacious and humane of Malaysia’s public intellectuals. The new book collects together and updates a series of essays spanning three decades – focusing in particular on the fallacies and destructive nature of ethnic politics in the country. The book is at one with Syed’s prolific output, including: Two Faces / Dua Wajah (SIRD), his account of six years in detention under the Internal Security Act; The Malays: Their Problems and Future (The Other Press), his pioneering historical and sociological study; and Memoirs of a Political Struggle / Memoir Perjuangan Politik (SIRD), an exemplary biography of an engaged radical.