Journal of the
Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society

Vol. 82 Part 2

No 296 December 2009

Special Issue

Peranakan
Chinese in Penang & the Region:

Evolving
Identities & Networks

Guest Editors:

Dr Loh Wei Leng

Dr Neil Khor

In an earlier post, 2 January 2009, http://www.peranakannetworks.com/blog/?p=61)  it was announced that a publication on Peranakan Chinese Networks was in the works - yes, almost a year in the making. You may have noticed that the title on the cover above has included another subject area addressed by some of the authors, Peranakan Identities, which incidentally is the first topic raised on this website, “What is Peranakan?”

Our monograph will soon be available in the form of a Special Issue of the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS). To those with an interest in Malaysian history, here is a site worth visiting to check out its wide range of publications, both books as well as articles in the issues of the journal, going back to 1878. Admittedly, as John Gullick explains, MBRAS is “a learned society devoted to the task of collecting, recording and diffusing information about Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei” (www.mbras.org.my). As such, its publications may be too specialized to appeal to the general public. Nonetheless, there may be some of you out there searching for more on particular topics, and would probably appreciate the books and articles which are usually the end-product of thorough research and analysis.

In addition to the ten topics mentioned, two more contributions have been added. A preview of five of the articles have already been posted, the summary of the rest will be provided soon.