Images of history

Kuala Lumpur - This beautifully laid-out coffee table book is one of the many Merdeka-themed efforts to have hit the racks in our 50th year of independence.

Published by industrial giants Sime Darby Bhd, Malaysia at 50: The Country That Could (ISBN: 978-9839846065) takes a look back at Malaysia`s history, interspersing that tale with that of how Sime Darby grew from a pioneering rubber company into the leading multi-national it is today. 

Dedicated to Malaysia`s five prime ministers, the book`s highlights are undoubtedly its great photographs, reproductions of old maps and rich array of engravings. 

For example, on the pages before the first section of the book begins there is a reproduction of a map from 1606 made by Dutchman Gerard Mercator, the man responsible for first developing the breakthrough concept of a cylindrical map projection. 

Many of these visuals have been reprinted courtesy of the National Archives or historian Prof Farish A. Noor. 

The main historical text puts the history of the Malay Archipelago in context. Both the diversity of the modern nation and the depth of its culture are detailed. Interestingly, while most of the historical publications that have emerged this year tend to begin with the country`s colonial rule, this book looks further back, to the rise of the pre-Islamic Indic kingdom of Srivijaya. 

This is covered in the first of the seven sections the book is divided into, with subsequent sections bringing the Malaysian story full swing from the Malacca sultanate right through the British era and onwards to a discussion of our future as a developed nation. 

The Country That Could also contains messages from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Sime Darby chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid.

Source: thestar.com.my

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