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Hawai’i’s strong connection with Southeast Asia is probably most easily felt through the influx of residents from the area. Many don’t realize that the University of Hawai’i is an extraordinary resource for Southeast Asian scholarship, the only university in the U.S. with Southeast Asianists in both art history and archaeology, a Center for Southeast Asian Studies plus related faculty in the history department. Noe Tanigawa found two specialists for this visit with “Four Thousand Years of Southeast Asian Art” at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. “Four Thousand Years of Southeast Asian Art,” works from Ban Chiang, Angkor and the Sukhothai Kingdom, continues at the Honolulu Academy of Arts through January 9th. Check www.honoluluacademy.org for details.

Link to podcast on Hawaii Public Radio

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The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) is pleased to announce the Next Generation Leadership in Asian Affairs Fellowship for 2011-12. This year-long program, based in Seattle, focuses on bridging the gap between scholarship and policymaking. Fellows support NBR research projects and collaborate with leading scholars to conduct independent research and share research findings with the policymaking community in Washington, D.C.

The fellowship is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Individuals who have received their master’s degree diplomas up to twelve months prior to the application deadline may apply to the program. Applicants must have completed a master’s or equivalent professional degree (MA, MBA, LLM, JD, etc.) by the time the fellowship begins. Prospective fellows should apply only for the year that they expect to participate. No deferrals are permitted.

The Next Generation Leadership program, now entering its sixth year, is training young Asia specialists from a wide variety of fields to bridge the gap between scholarly research and the needs of U.S. policy toward a rapidly changing Asia.

The application deadline is January 15, 2011. Fellowships begin June 1, 2011, and conclude May 31, 2012. For further information and application materials, please visit the Next Generation Fellowship website: http://nbr.org/about/nextgenfellowship.aspx.

The print-friendly announcement posting is available at: http://nbr.org/downloads/pdfs/NBR/NextGen_announcement_2010.pdf

For more employment, funding, internships, and professional networking opportunities, please join the CSEAS Alumni & Community Linkedin Group!

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View Secretary Clinton’s speech at the Kahala Hotel in Honolulu Waikiki on October 28, 2010 entitled, “America’s Engagement in the Asia-Pacific” below:

US Dept. of State | Official Speech Transcript | Facebook Page | Twitter Feed

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General Information
Embassy of Malaysia
World Press
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
US-ASEAN Business Council
Doing Business
Lonely Planet World Guide
Outreach World
University of Hawaii Press

Newspapers (English Language)
The New Straits Times
Malaysiakini
New Sabah Times
The Star
Business Times

Newspapers (Non-English)
Berita Harian
Daily Express (Sabah)

Forums
Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Travel Forum

Wish to share a link not posted on this page? Contact us and let us know!

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Siti Nurhaliza was born in Berek Polis Kg. Awah, Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia, to father Tarudin bin Ismail, a policeman, and mother, Siti Salmah Bachik, a housewife. Initially, Siti was labeled a tomboy because of her active attitude and her tendency toward boyish appearance. When Siti was young, she wanted to be a policeman like her father. As she began to attend Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Clifford, she took on a more feminine appearance; and her mother’s grooming shaped her into a well-behaved and elegant Malay girl. In her school-year, she’s had involved in many various school activity especially sports and speeches, that made her one of the most successful students in her school.

Siti is the fifth child in the family of of eight siblings. She came from a musically inclined family. Her grandfather a famous violinist, her mother a traditional singer famous in Pahang, her brother and almost all in the family can sing. It’s her uncle, a former singer for a local band who influenced her the most. At a tender age of 5, her parents approved of her to follow her uncle to invitational shows like wedding ceremonies and dinner parties to give her exposure performing live and she was well received by the local community in Kuala Lipis and as far as Kuantan. When children her age plays with dolls, she was determined memorizing lyrics and practicing to follow her uncle to shows as long as she could sing.

Siti Nurhaliza’s family performed at many local ceremonies at their hometown, such as weddings. At the age of twelve, Siti began to learn traditional songs from her mother. Later, as she continued to work on her singing, she participated in numerous local singing competitions. She won the Merdeka Day Singing Contest in 1991 and the another contest during the Karnival Lipis. At 16, she competed in the 1995 RTM Juara Bintang competition. While there, she met Adnan Abu Hassan, a locally-famous composer. He tutored her and helped her with her vocal performance, thereby helping her to win the contest. After that, she was granted a contract with Suria Records, where Adnan worked, and in 1996 released her first album, Siti Nurhaliza. Making her first album was a challenge because she had to balance working on her album while preparing for and taking the SPM examination. Despite this, her first album was a great success, and this would pave the way for her extremely successful future albums.

After her first album, Siti Nurhaliza became a well-known figure in Malay pop culture. She continued to have numerous hits, her songs spanning a broad range of genres, such as pop, R & B, and traditional Malay. Her voice and lyrics proved popular with teenagers throughout Malaysia. Thanks to this, she dominated national award shows for years.

In the second ‘self-titled’ album, ‘Aku Cinta Padamu’ shoots her to stardom in the year 1997. This catchy song was so good that it penetrated the demanding Indonesian market for the first time and was well received by the music lovers there. A feat, that only a handful of Malaysian artistes were capable of doing. She was then invited the same year to perform a special one-hour show for a television station there. This move made Siti even more popular in this region.

Siti’s increasing popularity meant that demand for her endorsement is high. She sung themes for movies ( i.e Puteri Gunung Ledang )and corporate jingle for Maxis. She has also been featured in various advertisements and become spokewoman to many well-established brands such as Maxis, Maybelline, PEPSI, Jusco, TMnet,Konica Minolta, Nippon Wiper Blade, Olay skin care, and Samsung. The list of her endorsements keep increasing from year to year. For her successes at her young age, Puteri Umno named her Teen Princess of Malaysia in 2002. bio taken from asiasfinest.com

Official Website | Wikipedia Article | Facebook Fan Page (Bahasa Malaysian) | Last.fm

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Hands Percussion Team from Malaysia
Drumming Up a Storm!
Special guests: Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble

Sat., Sept. 18, 8:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 19, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Kennedy Theatre

Combining mesmerizing theatrics with dynamic, multicultural rhythms, the renowned Hands Percussion Team drum ensemble from Malaysia has been creating quite a sensation at performances around the world since it was formed in 1997 out of its founders’ desire to bring new creativity to Chinese-Malaysian drumming traditions. Since then, the troupe has received stellar critical acclaim for its approach combining respect for cultural tradition with innovative, contemporary performances on instruments drawn from a diverse range of percussion cultures.

In recent years, Hands Percussion Team has thrilled audiences at numerous international performances, ranging from Southeast Asia and China to Europe and the Middle East. According to the ensemble’s website, “the sound of a drum is part of a universal human bond, interconnecting cultures and peoples.”

The ensemble’s Kennedy Theatre performances will feature a dozen of the troupe’s energetic young drummers, whose rigorous training includes intense physical and mental discipline in addition to musical development. Also performing will be the acclaimed, Hawai‘i-based Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble.

To watch Hands Percussion Group Artistic Director Bernard Goh’s lecture on “Creativity & Chinese Drumming in 21st Century Malaysia,” visit the UHM Confucius Institute page. For more information on Hands Percussion Team, visit hands.com.my. This event is co-sponsored by the East-West Center and the University of Hawai`i’s Kennedy Theatre. The performances are part of the EWC’s 50th anniversary year celebrations.

Ticket Prices:
$16 Advance Super Saver until Sept. 5;
$20 Regular; $18 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $12 Students; $5 UHM Students with ID. (All service fees included.)

Tickets are now available online at ETicketsHawaii.com; beginning Sept 13, tickets will be also be available at Kennedy Theatre Box Office (M-F 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sept 18 from 5:00 p.m., Sept. 19 from 1:00 p.m.), or by phone, 944-2697.

The Hands Percussion Team will also perform Sept. 23 at Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Sept. 27 at Kahilu Theatre, and Sept. 29 at BYU-Hawaii.

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This July, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies remembers Malaysian filmmaker, storyteller, and humanitarian Yasmin Ahmad.

[Source: malaysiana1] Yasmin Ahmad (January 07, 1958 – July 25, 2009) was a critically-acclaimed multi-award winning film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia and was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur.

Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that cross cultural barriers, in particular her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company.

Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally.

A graduate in arts majoring in psychology from Newcastle University, she worked as a trainee banker in 1982 for two weeks.

She then joined IBM as a marketing representative.

Yasmin began her career in advertising as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather in the same period.

In 1993 she moved to Leo Burnett as creative director and eventually became executive creative director.

Her first film was Rabun (Failing Sight) in 2002.

Yasmin’s films have won many international awards and praise from critics and public alike.

Most of her films have been screened at the Berlin, San Francisco, Singapore and Cannes international film festivals.

Her films were featured in a special retrospective at the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival 2006.

They were also featured in a 2007 retrospective by the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawaii, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Yasmin passed away of a stroke at 11.25pm on July 25, 2009.

She fell unconscious in her chair at 3.30pm on July 23 at private television station TV3 in Petaling Jaya.

At that time she was having a meeting with the TV3 management and Malaysian pop queen Datuk Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin for a coming project.

Yasmin was hospitalised at the Damansara Specialist Hospital a short distance from TV3 and underwent neurosurgery on the same day.

She never regained consciousness.

She was buried in Subang Jaya, where she lived.

Yasmin made six films in her short but illustrious career.

They were Rabun (2003), Sepet [Chinese Eyes] (2004), Gubra [Anxiety] (2006), Mukhsin (2007), Muallaf [The Reverter] (2008) and Talentime (2009).

She also acted in the films Rain Dogs and Susuk, among others.

She won several awards for her television commercials that promoted national unity and humanitarian values, in Malaysia and Singapore.

Sepet won best film in the Malaysian Film Festival 2005. Gubra won best film the following year.

Sepet also won the Asian Film Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2005.

Mukhsin won Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival 2007 and Best Asean (Southeast Asian) Film at the Cinemanila International Film Festival 2007.

Muallaf won the Asian Film Award – Special Mention at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2008.

Yasmin was the eldest of three siblings from Muar, Johor. She was of Malay and Japanese ancestry.

She is survived by her parents, a brother and a sister, and her husband Tan Yew Leong, the creative director of Leo Burnett.

flickr | imdb | 2007 UH Yasmin Ahmad Retrospective (twitch)
yasmin blogs project | yasmin the storyteller | yasmin the filmmaker

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The course will cover art and architecture of tribal groups from island Southeast Asia. Topics include bronze age prehistory and indigenous cultures from Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

Course information: Summer Session II: 6 July – 13 Aug 2010, M-F 10:30 – 11:45am, 3 credits

Jerome Feldman teaches art history at Hawaii Pacific University. His specialization is in the arts of tribal Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. He received his Ph.D. in tribal art history from Columbia University and has conducted field studies in remote islands of Indonesia and Polynesia. He has studied museum collections in Europe and America and has aided in several important exhibitions including The Eloquent Dead at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Nias Tribal Treasures at the Volkenkundig Meumeu Nusantara in Delft, and Beyond the Java Sea a Smithsonian sponsored traveling exhibition. He has also written books and articles and lectured extensively on tribal Southeast Asian, Micronesian and Polynesian art and architecture. In fall 2004, he was the Slade Visiting Professor at Cambridge University, England. between distribution patterns of human knowledge of biodiversity and actual biodiversity.

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Looking for a place to listen to radio from across southeast asia? The CSEAS staff recently discovered radiotime, a free streaming radio program online called radiotime! All the major southeast asian countries are listed, in addition to other countries across the globe. Some countries are even further categorized by locality! Check out the site and be sure to let us know what you think!

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Until today, the Muslim Societies in Asia & the Pacific program (MSAP) only had a facebook presence online, so we are very excited to announce their new website: http://www.msiahawaii.com!  We hope our readers enjoy the site as much as we do!

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies would like to recognize the incredible efforts of graduate assistants, Nezia and Effendy, who were instrumental in the building of the Muslim Societies in Asia program.  The quality and success of the current MSIAP is a testament to their hard work and the CSEAS wishes them the best of luck on their future endeavors.

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