Wong: It is an opportunity to leave a legacy of sorts (Photo: Shahrill Basri/ The Edge Malaysia)
Economist Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram, who looks as serious as the heavy subjects he tackles, tries hard not to chuckle when recalling how he ran out of petrol while driving with his children one day. He told them to stay put because it was raining and got out to push the car up a slope. When he looked back, Jomo realised they were hiding so nobody could see or recognise them! This is one telling episode he remembers fondly about fatherhood, a “life-changing experience” he has enjoyed.
Director-producer Faridah Merican was a teacher because she came from a family that taught, before moving to radio and then the stage. Despite not having the funds to do what she wants in theatre, this doyenne has been able to feed her love for it for decades. “People ask, ‘How do you do it?’ You have to work first. You have to earn a living. And then the money can help you do something.”
Radio personality and actor Patrick Teoh became the “Voice of Malaysia” because of a Made-in-Malaysia ruling for commercials aired over the electronic media: 70% of their content had to have local elements, among which was voice. As one of the very few English-language announcers known then, Teoh got most of the jobs. “There was a time when I did voice-overs for almost everything … until a point when people said, ‘Can’t we get away from Patrick’s voice? He’s all over the bloody place!’”
Asked how he wants to be remembered, former national football captain “Tauke” Soh Chin Aun, who represented Malaysia from 1969 to 1984, says: “When people come and talk to me, I feel very proud that they know us. I am very happy to talk to them because they appreciate what we’ve done. ”
In The Living History Project, interesting vignettes like these are shared by individuals who have contributed to the country in one way or another. TLHP is preserving their memories and experiences through digital archives as a tribute to them and to ensure their stories are not forgotten, says founder and project owner Bobby Y P Wong.
There are currently more than 30 such narratives in the project’s digital museum, a mix of those in art, music, film, sports, education, law, textiles and more. Human rights activist Dr Kua Kia Soong shares insights about political and social incidents in Malaysia while filmmaker Dain Said — real name Iskandar Sharifuddin Muhammad Said — starts with how his “nama glamour” came about. He likes the idea that he is a filmmaker “because it means I make something”.
Former athlete and retired principal of the Bukit Jalil Sports School, Datuk Marina Chin, talks about life on the track and off it. Cartoonist Datuk Mohd Nor Khalid aka Lat remembers how he started drawing cartoons and comics in primary school and why he tries to look at things from a young person’s perspective. When he draws someone, be it a politician or stall owner, he is always focused on the individual and “giving your best but at the same time it’s you because you don’t want to try to please someone”.
Wong, who co-founded TLHP with producer Nafhah Liyana, has long been fascinated by history and what people can learn from the past. He is funding the project personally to preserve the country’s rich and complex heritage. Also in the team are director Mindy Teh, co-producers Nathaniel Tan, Chacko Vadaketh, Aysha Iqbal, Ahmad Khawari and Sashmar Onoprienko, and videographer Ventakesh Soma.
“We believe in transforming history from a narrative controlled by a few to a collaborative tapestry created by and for the community,” says Wong, a former property developer who retired after years in the family business and is now bent on pursuing his passion.
History is more than just about politics and petitions and should be written by the people, not the government, Wong thinks. It is about local heroes, often unsung, who have things to tell. TLHP is a way for them to do so, in their own voice.
“It is important to hear what they have to say about themselves because when they are interviewed, things can get interpreted differently. This is about their life, starting from when they were young, their relationships, the environment they grew up in, issues and points in their life when they pivoted, for whatever reason, and their inspirations.”
Archiving the stories of those whose work and life have enriched society but whom time may have forgotten is the first phase of TLHP. The next will involve preserving the country’s historical artefacts and sites. Iconic buildings will be scanned using lasers to precisely document and digitally replicate their architectural features. One such could be Federal Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, among the oldest tenants of the Bukit Bintang neighbourhood, and where Wong launched his project on Sept 19.
Phase Three will encourage members of the public to add their own accounts to the digital depository, broadening its scope and viewpoints. Individuals can upload short videos to a website, which means fresh and dynamic content and a cost-effective way of expanding the project, grouped under Seeing Eye Arts, a venture that supports culture and heritage.
On curating subjects for TLHP, the first question Wong asks is: Do they have an interesting story to tell? “If they do, we will say we want to preserve it online for future generations. Some people don’t get it but I tell my team that’s okay. Maybe later, they will realise they want to do it. That’s when we go back to them.
“We also look at age, for obvious reasons, and which area of the arts or industry the subjects are in to ensure a spread of interests from different parts of the country.” Viewers may not want to read about certain profiles now, but it is important to cover them because, decades on, there may be those who are interested and they will want to find out more, he says.
Wong and Liyana draw up a rough guideline for their subjects, as it helps with editing the script, especially with different co-producers doing the interviews.
Those featured often ask what they can or cannot say, to which he replies: “Say what you want. We don’t push a narrative and do not plan to censor anything. It’s really about life-sharing.”
There is also no time limit for the interviews, as he believes in letting the material determine the length of every video, which is free to watch online. “We’re not aiming for hits. The great thing about social media is if you are busy or bored, you can go back to it later.”
Prioritising those who are older has led to accounts by people who, knowing time is not on their side, open up about things they may never tell their children. “It is an opportunity to leave a legacy of sorts,” says Wong, who shares that the team interviewed jazz legend Lewis Pragasam six months before he died of a heart attack last December.
“I told his daughter that at the funeral. She said she didn’t know and was grateful. I thought to myself, we’re doing something right. These are the little things that get us going. When I recruit people, I want them to be passionate.”
The pleasure he gets from TLHP outweighs that of developing condominiums and office blocks, despite that being in his DNA. “There are so many levels that sort of push me along — empowering people to make connections between the past and the future and letting them know their life is not wasted, that they are an important part of our history.
“If you do something that changes the community, it’s important. All those whom we interviewed started from normal childhoods, like most of us. But they did something incredible and succeeded.”
He hopes this will motivate the young to do something different and good.
Wong’s mother is 85 and he quips that perhaps he should interview her. His father is the late Datuk Wong Kee Tat, who was prominent in real estate and finance and very much into community work. “Maybe, subconsciously, one of the reasons I’m so passionate about this project is you wish you knew more about your parents and their lives. I suspect this may apply to a lot of Asians.”
Wong is looking to get corporate sponsors for TLHP but that is not top priority for now. What is important is to let people know they are “creating a vibrant, interactive platform where history comes alive, connecting people across generations and fostering a deeper appreciation for our shared past”. Hopefully, they will come in.
He has no definite ideas yet on how to take TLHP to the next level and welcomes feedback from the public to improve. What he knows is an idle post-retirement life is not for him. “I want to do something meaningful.”
Taking a leaf from Elon Musk, Wong is game to start first and learn along the way. “If you realise you’re doing something wrong, it’s important to pivot. Eventually, you will find your course.”
This article first appeared on Sept 23, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
