Memoir Shamsiah Fakeh
2007 Edition
Published by Strategic Information and research Development Centre

Details gerakbudaya

Started reading 9 March 2008
Finished reading 12 March 2008

The lady in question has always been a fascination to the generation of Malaysians who lived through the years between the end of the Second World War and the beginning of Independence. How could a Malay girl from the a rural background, brought up in a traditional Muslim household leave all that behind and join forces with the communists.

The memoir does answer some parts of the question. But I guess the present has clouded some of the past memories. There are still some nagging question on her psyche, that momentous decision when she decides to abandon family and everything familiar for a life unknown.

She did live by her ideals. Even when she thanked the Malaysian government for allowing her to come back, there is a sense of satisfaction that she did not sell out. Her struggles does warrant a note in the history books. She is representative of the alternate route that some have chosen in the quest for independence from the British.