Confessions of an old boy
by Kam Raslan

Cover and details selectbooks

Started reading 11 April 2007
Finished reading 14 April 2007

This collection of stories were first published in Off the Edge magazine except for one story which is published for the first time. The stories revolve around Dato' Hamid, the old boy in the title. I doubt men of his ilk exist anymore as Malaysia has changed drastically since the days of the British. The stories flow effortlessly and makes for a very enjoyable read. If the reader takes the trouble to look beyond the surface of the stories, he could discern a social commentary of Malaysia.

I particularly loved the dialogue between the Dato' and his friends on Malaysia and Malaya. There was a part where all of them were suggesting names that might be representative of the true Malaya/Malaysia. Fortunately the two previous prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore who were in power during the major part of the twentieth century were not in the list.