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Irish Insights Published by Penang Irish Association (PIA), a non-profit association of Irish and friends of Ireland living in and around Penang. A vibrant organisation that celebrates all things Irish.
The blending of skills which go into the production of each issue of 'Irish Insights' makes it a joy to work with.
Simon Dunford
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah
Foreword
Like you all, I am a busy person and, to be honest, whilst I like a good bit of research-based reading, I seldom have the time or the inclination to do it as often as I might like.
Research and writing by Keith Hockton
Editing and indexing by Sharon Giraud
Book design and layout by Adrian Cheah
Introduction
Welcome to, ‘Bersama Lima – Celebrating 50 Years and Beyond’, the story of the fifty years of multilateral cooperation between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom under the Five Power Defence Arrangements. ‘Bersama Lima – Celebrating 50 Years and Beyond’ is intended to walk you through the Five Power Defence Arrangements history interwoven with personal recollections and finishing with a view of what lies ahead. A fitting tribute to a proud history and a bright future.
Josephine Choo
Photography, design and layout by Adrian Cheah
"Never Forgetting Balik Pulau" is part memoir, part guide. The author, after spending her entire youth in the village, accumulated a bagful of tales. Exploratory trips back gave credence to past memories but gradually, a comprehensive guide with maps to the village evolved.
Book review by Lillian Cheah
12 December 2020
A book was printed yesterday. Straight from the printers, the very first copy was delivered to me so that I could read and critique it.
Titled “Never Forgetting Balik Pulau”, this 176-page book is physically eye-catching, peppered very generously throughout with beautiful photographs many of which almost breathe life.
I was privy to the journey undertaken by the collaborators of the book – Josephine Choo and Adrian Cheah.
Mike Gibby
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah, ACEK Creative Solutions
Muslim pilgrims have been travelling for Hajj for more than fourteen centuries. How similar, how different have their experiences been? In our changing world, how has the safety and convenience of air travel changed the experience of Hajj?
Gathered here are the thoughts and concerns of Hajjis travelling over the last thousand years by trains, boats and planes, by camel, car or on foot – compared with the experiences of a recent pilgrim to Makkah.
This small book is an attempt to have a conversation with earlier generations of Hajjis, and attempts to answer questions about the changing nature of Hajj.
R. H. Hale
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah, ACEK Creative Solutions
When the name Fraser is mentioned in Singapore, most people ask ‘you mean Fraser & Neave?’ In this case, the answer is ‘No’.
The author’s rigorous historical research and superb narrative skills bring to life the fascinating story of the relatively unknown pioneer, Lewis J. Fraser. Born in Singapore in 1841, Fraser became a well-known and popular businessman there. But fickle markets and financial difficulties in the early 1880s resulted in a high-profile court case that brought his commercial downfall. Fraser was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment.
Nadia H. Wright
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah, ACEK Creative Solutions
Why is there an Armenian Street in Penang? This quaint, narrow street draws visitors from around the world but there is little to explain the legacy of Penang’s small, bygone Armenian population, after which it was named.
N Gunananthan
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah
Our only limited resource in life is time
Possible extinction events are around the corner and we need technology and a greater understanding of energy to overcome extinction. But fortunately, just around the corner too, will be the greatest revolution ever for humanity, where energy will become free and opportunities will open up everywhere.
Maggie Territt and Barry Leddy
Design, layout and photographs by Adrian Cheah
They came, as long ago as the mid-nineteenth century from all parts of Ireland, the Emerald Isle, with exotic names like Clare, Laois, Cork, Mayo, Mallow, Antrim and Tipperary. They numbered among Penang’s first overseas settlers and during long voyages by sea, suffered untold hardships. Some came for fame and fortune, some simply for the adventure, but many did so, fired by their desire to help open up unknown parts of the “new world” and to impart both their knowledge and faith.
A Novel of Late 18th Century Penang
E.S. Alexander
Book cover design by Adrian Cheah
What would you risk to avoid obscurity?
Malaya, 1788.
Aspiring journalist Jim Lloyd jeopardises his future in ways he never could have imagined. He risks his wealthy father’s wrath to ride the coat-tails of Captain Francis Light, an adventurer governing the East India Company’s new trading settlement on Penang.
Quah Seng Sun
Book design and layout by Adrian Cheah
Cover design by Peta Yeap Liew Shih
Preface
A great part of my working life has been spent in the banking industry. In particular, 23 years of a total 24 were in the employment of Ban Hin Lee Bank Berhad, from 1977 till 2000.
Mike Gibby
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah
From the first colonists to the towkays and millionaires of modern Malaysia, a bungalow on Penang Hill has always been an aspiration and a dream. How better to confirm one’s position in society, than with a home at the top of the Hill?
Book review by Andrea Filmer
The Star, Monday, 26 July 2021
Even with the country in lockdown, Balik Pulau has continued to receive a steady stream of visitors.
Coming in from the long, winding roads that connect the old town with the rest of Penang island, travellers now are not heading for the durian estates or famous laksa stalls.
Rather, most have their attention on their GPS devices, trying to make their way to the mega vaccination centre (PPV) at the Balik Pulau Sports Complex that has been administering hundreds of Covid-19 vaccines daily to those living in the state’s south-west district.
Nadia H. Wright
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah, ACEK Creative Solutions
So small a community: so great a legacy!
Fewer than 750 Armenians have ever lived in Singapore, yet St Gregory’s Church, Singapore’s national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim, the Straits Times newspaper and Raffles Hotel owe their existence to the pioneering Persian Armenians.
Who were these Armenians, what did they do and what happened to them?
This book throws light on those questions.
Authors: Keith Hockton, Marcus Langdon
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah, ACEK Creative Solutions
This handy, illustrated pocket guide tells the rich history of Penang Hill’s early bungalows as seen from the historic trail of The Habitat Penang Hill. It is not only an invaluable guide for those intending to walk The Habitat Penang Hill’s historic rainforest trail but also a useful keepsake for locals and visitors to Penang.
Book One
by Keith Hockton
Illustrated by Winnie Cheng
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah, ACEK Creative Solutions
Trees are magical.
Trees tell stories, love, walk, dance and sing and have done so for thousands of years. When you start to think a tree is just a tree, think again, for at night their world comes alive and they get up to all sorts of secret tree business.
Dato’ Dr. R. Ratnalingam
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah
I have written this brief autobiography not as an ego ride but as a source of information for my grandchildren. This gives them an insight into my background and their ancestral past. Hopefully, they can draw upon my success or avoid my mistakes and shortcomings.
Authors: James Lochhead, Paul Augustin
Copy-editing by Gareth Richards
Cover design, layout and artwork by Adrian Cheah
A beautifully designed book, extensively illustrated with photographs and advertisements and graphics ‘of the time’, is full of fun and celebration. The pages of "Just for the Love of It" weave together the adventure of Penang’s popular music by locating the wonderful stories of the musicians and the bands within the context of Penang’s overall history.
By Mark Thompson and Karl Steinberg with photographs by Adrian Cheah
Walk between two of George Town’s most famous landmarks with this illustrated guide. Discover the story of the Chinese in nineteenth-century Penang and explore some of the community’s fascinating characters, customs, architecture and events.
For as long as it has existed, George Town in Penang has attracted travellers and settlers from across the globe and is a true confluence of cultures. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site continues to enchant visitors with its traditional charm and its well-preserved historical townscape.