Kuala Lumpur- TNB chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie yesterday launched a pictorial on Malaysia‘s early days and the significant events that led to its independence.
Using news reports, articles and images published in the Straits Times, The Malay Mail and the The Straits Annual, the Road to Nationhood: Malaysia (1941-1966) draws a timeline of key events during the country‘s formative years.
The 247-page book, published by the NSTP Resource Centre and sponsored by Tenaga Nasional Bhd, has six chapters covering the Japanese Occupation from 1941 to 1945 to the end of the Confrontation with Indonesia in 1966.
"A person who knows no history is a fly buzzing through the window," said Moggie during the launch.
NSTP chief executive officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar said the book was a gift to the nation, adding that he hoped it would instil a sense of patriotism and love for the country among the people.
He said the pictorial came in the wake of two exhibitions in the past years on the country‘s history organised by NSTP.
The exhibitions were well received, with many saying they hoped to see a book for the whole country to enjoy.
The pictorial contains 203 black-and-white photographs of historical events, reproductions of 86 front pages of the the Straits Times and The Malay Mail and 16 cartoons published in those days.
Senior manager of information services Cecilia Tan said the material for the pictorial was culled from the voluminous historical records maintained by the Resource Centre, which she added was probably one of the best repositories of the nation‘s history.
The pictorial is priced at RM130 each and will be available at the NSTP Resource Centre and leading bookstores nationwide from Saturday.
Source: www.nst.com (16 Agustus 2007)
