Merdeka - Merdeka - Merdeka

Today is Merdeka Day in Malaysia, a time for great celebrations.  It's 55 years since Tunku Abdul Rahman first declared the country to be free ................

2012 - 55th Anniversary of Merdeka Day

31st August 2012 will be the 55th anniversary of Merdeka Day, the day that the Federation of Malaya shed British colonial rule to become a free and independent country.  Known in Malay as 'Persekutuan Tanah Melayu' the Federation was formed on 31st January 1948 with the joining together of nine Malay states with two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca. 

The Federation stayed in existence until 16th September 1963 when it was reconstituted as Malaysia with the addition of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (Singapore subsequently left to become an independent State on 9th August 1965). 

John Cleese in 'Privates on Parade'

John Cleese plays a starring role in 'Privates on Parade', a 1982 film adaptation of the Peter Nichols play of the same title about a fictional  military entertainment group, the 'Song and Dance Unit, Southeast Asia' (SADUSEA) assembled to entertain the troops in the Malayan jungle in the years after World War II.

The play is set around the activities and exploits of SADUSEA, a mostly gay British military concert party stationed in Singapore and Malaya in the late 1940s during the Malayan Emergency. The drama draws upon Nichols' own experiences in the real-life Combined Services Entertainment, the postwar successor to ENSA, Entertainments National Service Association.

'Merdeka' now available as a NOOK Book

Good news for NOOK readers - 'Merdeka' is now available in the Barnes & Noble online store for NOOK devices and apps. This is the Smashwords edition.  You can see it here.

Barnes & Noble also sell the paperback edition of 'Merdeka' in their online store. 

Keep checking this blog for information relating to other versions as they become available.

The Battle of Pasir Panjang Ridge and the fall of Singapore

There has been a lot of media interest in the fall of Singapore in 1942 since the BBC aired their new series on the topic.

The Malay mortar crew on display at Bukit Chandu

The two day battle for Pasir Panjang Ridge was very briefly covered in the context that the defenders' stubborn resistance led to the subsequent Japanese revenge massacre of 200 patients and staff at the Alexandra Hospital (many of the patients were bayoneted in their beds).  In 'Merdeka' Alick hears the story of Sergeant Hisyam of the Malay Regiment, a survivor of the battle - Sergeant Hisyam is a fictional character,  but what actually did happen at Pasir Panjang Ridge? 

'Merdeka' Shipped to Apple's iBookstore

'Merdeka' was shipped to Apple's iBookstore on 18th July 2012.  All books are manually checked by Apple and can take up to two weeks from the shipping date to appear.  It seems that the only way to see if a title is available is to search the iBookstore from an Apple device.  Unfortunately my e-reading device is a Kindle and so I can't check :(
If any kind reader with an iPad or iPhone is able to search Apple's iBookstore for 'Merdeka',  it would be hugely appreciated if you could advise when it appears.  You can do this by leaving a comment below this post, or by sending me a direct message.  Once I know that it is there and available I will update accordingly.

Gurkhas and British Soldiers - The Beginning

In 'Merdeka' Alick goes into the deep jungle as part of a Gurkha fighting patrol.  These days a lot of people are familiar with Gurkhas and the British Army, but how did the story start?  There is a famous quote attributed to Lt Frederick Young of the Army of the Honourable East India Company who was surrounded by hostile Gurkhas on the border between India and Nepal.

"I went there one man and came out three thousand".