Bfm :: Night School

Kellie’s Castle has been a cornerstone of Batu Gajah's history, receiving around 200,000 visitors each year. These numbers saw an interesting spike recently since the castle opened its doors to the public at night for the first time, exclusively in the month of October. The national heritage is an architecture carved in culture and shrouded in mystery. Admittedly, there's something ominous about the mansion that keeps its antiquity alive. And more importantly, what lies ahead for Kellie’s Castle in the future. BFM News explores.

This week we examine the fascinating life of Luso-Malay mestiço cosmographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia, who lived and worked in the Portuguese Estado da Índia (including Malacca) around the turn of the seventeenth century. Chase Caldwell Smith, co-producer of the Global History Podcast, crosses over from the intern desk here at BFM to join us in exploring hybrid identities that empire and cultural exchange helped to shape in the early years of globalisation.

Museums in our part of the world used to be called the Ajaib-khana, or the wonder house. It was a place that inspired through the collection and display of artefacts to tell a story about belonging to a place and also in the world. Joining us this week is Qaleeda Talib, a history graduate with a passion for public history. We explore the big question - what are museums established for? Are they still relevant today? How has it changed over time?

What value can Islam bring to a state that prides itself for upholding laïcité (or secularism) as its founding principles? This week we are joined by Abdennour Bidar, a French philosopher on Islamic culture, who insists that understanding religion in our increasingly multicultural society can only happen if we are willing to engage in a conversation.

There is renewed interest in history amongst the younger generation today and they are thinking about the value of history differently. One of them is Nadine Azalea Faisal, who joins us in our conversation this week. She has just returned from the University of Chicago from her undergraduate studies, where she read Indian Ocean history as well as South Asian languages and civilisations.

The measure of democracy is not always defined by a process of consensus-building. The majority is not always right. Helping us understand the rights of migrants and refugees in this light, and her process of learning how to care is Elise Arya Chen, programme officer at Tenaganita.

Media reportage on social movements can sometimes verge on the sensational. The story of a protest is often more than the confrontations one sees in the news. Joining us this week is creative hubs researcher and urbanist, Clarissa Lim, to explore what is at stake and the community building work that is seldom reported when a protest is not a one day street party but a marathon in search of one's identity.

Punk is more than the music one listens to or the fashion one spots. Joining us this week is Joe Kidd, guitarist of punk rock band Carburetor Dung and historian of Southeast Asian rock and roll, to explore the moral universe of punks in Malaysia. We talk about his coming of age in Dungun Terengganu, the many different art worlds that punk would grant him access into, and also what it means to grow old as a punk - which is also a story about class, race, power, community, agency, and being true to oneself.

<p>We spend so much of our time living in a space that takes on various degrees in semblance to reality - the digital world. What do we make of this world? How is it compelling us to rethink our commonplace notion of self and identity? Ong Kar Jin, full-time tech policy analyst, and amateur internet ethnographer introduces us to different facets of virtuality. He considers how this social form of consciousness-extension is both changing and reinforcing our understanding of what makes us human.</p>

<p>The circulation and appeal of Western operatic groups from the early 19th century across Asia marked the emergence of a shared Western imperial culture that transcended national and colonial borders of Portuguese, Dutch, British and Spanish settlements. Joining us this week is historian Akiko Sugiyama from the history department at the University of Malaya, to discuss how music and performance - concerning unrequited love, courtly intrigues, murderous rage - became a shared cultural reference amongst a new generation of transnational political elite in the colonies.</p>

<p>As Malaysians celebrate and reflect over what it means to live together as an imagined community in such fractious times, we thought that perhaps it is worth revisiting a particular ideal, planted almost thirty years ago by our then and current Prime Minister, that once offered a roadmap towards unity, prosperity, happiness and peace - Wawasan 2020. Joining us in the studio is Lim Sheau Yun, a researcher who is currently developing an archival project next year on this futurist ideal. We assess its legacies and explore what was it like growing up with this vision at the most formative periods of our lives.</p>

<p>Night School is embarking on a new journey, and before we make that next step, we&rsquo;ll reflect on what we&rsquo;ve done so far, and ponder the importance of discussing ideas and theories within the context of contemporary society.</p>

<p>Two BFM-type Malays try their best to translate some words from their own language. It turned out to be more complicated than they thought. Tune in to find out what they learned along the way. This episode is brought to you by pasrah, beria-ia, selamba, lantak, berkecimpung, leka, menyendeng, and lepa.</p>

<p>We welcome Jamaluddin Aziz to the show to talk about the power of horror films. What makes this genre so compelling? Is it universal? What sort of entertainment does it provide? Tune in!</p>

<p>Vipassana is a ten-day silent meditational retreat that aims to help you see things the way they are. How does it work? How does it feel? Stretch therapist and financial analyst Teh Chi Chang explains the fundamentals to us.</p>

<p>This time we venture into the curious emphasis on "passivity" that is taken for granted in everyday Malay expressions. What does this say about our distinct appreciation of tact? Is there more to it than just an aversion to confrontation or straight-talking? More importantly, is it even properly "passive?"</p>

<p>Cheah Yi Ting gives us an introduction on the psychology of music: its main questions, trajectories and upcoming developments.</p>

<p>We stumble into the fascinating terrain of &ldquo;hati&rdquo; to appreciate its capacity to articulate the rich messiness of human attachments. Please be advised that this episode contains positive appraisals of interpersonal dependency and entanglements.</p>

<p>Sivarajan Arumugam tempts you to join Parti Sosialis Malaysia's annual socialism conference. What do they offer for 2018? Tune in to find out!</p>

<p>It is liberating to know your limits, or so we learn from Aiman Abu Bakar's journey as a boxer. There is no way to discover what you're made of until you're put to the test. But this requires methodically placing yourself at the heart of discomfort and injury. We reflect on how professional fighting is a window into refining the distinct textures of your growth, as much as it is a sport.</p>