'We Three'

My apologies for not posting last Monday - I was on a getaway, during which I had a most relaxing time. Thankfully, it was a short one because I'm really not a sun, sea and sand person. The best part of the holiday, however, was being with my two friends, Stephanie and Beverley, who were visiting from New Zealand. We knew one another when we studied at Victoria University of Wellington and the last time I saw them was in 1999, when my family and I were in New Zealand for our university's 100th year celebration.

Stephanie and Beverley are twins; I knew another set of Kiwi twins during my student days - Christine and Dianne - and a twin, Karen from America, whose sister didn't come over with her. While people may be intrigued by twins, they would find triplets fascinating and I'm fortunate to know one. She is Datin Noor Azlina Yunus, who I got to know on my first writing project and with whom I've become friends. Azlina, also known as Joy Hooper, was born in Feilding, New Zealand, on 12 December 1946. She and her sisters, Judith and Jillian, were minor celebrities who had their lives documented by the press until they were 21. In 2007, the sisters decided to write We Three - A Memoir of the Hooper Triplets, which was self-published in 2009 and given to family and friends in New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.

I have posted earlier on sharing memories and this is a perfect example of one - a book that invites us into the lives of Joy, Judith and Jillian, sharing the times that they had together with their parents before they went their separate adult ways, each with her own story. Joy met her Malaysian sweetheart, Yunus, while studying at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, married him and moved nearly 9,000 kilometres away from home. Judith headed north to the University of Auckland, where she met Vietnamese student Thong Nguyen. They lived in Vietnam after their marriage, moved to Auckland after they were evacuated from Saigon in 1975, and eventually settled in Australia. Jillian, also a graduate of the University of Auckland, was the one who married a Kiwi and lived her entire life in New Zealand. 

The book has lots of photographs, a reminder to those of us who would like to write memoirs the importance of archiving the many family pictures that have been taken through the years. The Hooper triplets decided to produce their memoir "as a record, in an economical format, for our immediate families, for a wider pool of relatives and for close friends who had witnessed us growing up or had, in some way or other, been a part of our lives." Incidentally, Azlina/Joy is the one on the left on the front cover (the photo was shot when they were four years old).

Azlina, as she is now. She has edited countless books on art, crafts and culture, and is the author of a number of books, including Songket Revolution and Malaysian Batik.

Mouth-watering Malay meals

Apologies for there being no post last Monday - Hubby and I were off to Kota Kinabalu for my university alumni reunion - some photos are on my photo-blog. There were lots of catching up along with lots of eating.

On the subject of eating, I love food even though I may not be a whizz in the kitchen. Besides eating, I also love cookbooks, especially when produced by people I know. The most recent addition to my cookbook collection is Nostalgia Medan Selera, the re-publication of Medan Selera that was first published in 1958 in Jawi. The Rumi version came out in 1971. The book is a  compilation of the recipes of the late Haji Ahmad Yaakub Al-Johori, who used to cook for the Johor royal house. This latest edition is an updated version put together by several of his great-grandchildren. Incidentally, he was the grandfather of my uncle-in-law, Abdul Manaf Mohd Noh, who inherited the cooking gene.

The front cover.

A little 'history' of the book over the decades.

Recipes from the book. Not all recipes come with pictures.

From the northern state of Perak comes A Taste of Batu Gajah, a collection of recipes by Datin Norsiah Bakhari that were produced into a book by her daughter-in-law, Datin Seri Raihan Abdul Rahman. I have a close association with Datin Norsiah, whose late husband, Dato' Zabidi Shamsuddin, had served as the Malaysian Education Officer in Wellington, New Zealand, when I studied there. Dato' Zabidi and Datin Norsiah loved to invite students to their house, an invitation no-one in her right mind would refuse. Other than their warm hospitality, a visit to their house meant being treated to delicious Malay food.

The front cover.

Each recipe comes with a mouth-watering photo.

The recipes are divided into sections.

Malay language translations of the recipes are found in the back pages.

The cuisine of the east coast state of Kelantan is represented, for me, in Nik's Kitchen, a book of recipes by Puan Sri Nik Esah Nik Ahmed Kamil. I was privileged to have edited The Benchmark, a compilation of newspaper articles written by her late husband, Tan Sri Harun Mahmud Hashim. There is also another link. Both of these books were produced by Yasmin Gan Abdullah, with whom I wrote Hajj - the Humbling Journey.

The front cover. 

Some background on Kelantan.

A Kelantanese classic.

Kelantan is well-known for its very sweet desserts.

These cookbooks are not just a compilation of recipes. There are stories that go with the dishes. Food is not just a putting together of this or that ingredient; there are memories associated with the many kinds of food placed on the table. And then there are the feelings of comfort and good cheer. Oscar Wilde couldn't have said it better when he declared, "After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives."

Remembering our Creator

It is a striking book - black with a burst of colour in the upper corner, and the title and author's name embossed in gold. Within its full-colour pages is a flowing river of poetry and poetic-style prose by the author, Dr Safiah Osman, thanking "Allah SWT for His clear reminders that there must be love, fondness and kindness in our hearts."

Dr Safiah Osman is a very close friend of my aunt Datin Kalsom Taib and she has become a friend of mine. Soft-spoken, gentle, gracious and courteous, she is also humble, not speaking much at all of her achievements, which are many. She had been a Professor of Language Education at the University of Malaya and, later, at the Sultan Idris University of Education, where she moved on to become its Director for International Relations before retiring in 2004. Safiah was the founder member and first President of the Malaysian Reading Association, affiliated to the International Reading Association.

She had a dream she wanted to pursue after her retirement - and that was to put down her thoughts and feelings about the boundless gifts and blessings of Allah in books that will guide people to always remember Him. In this book, Let Us Remember Allah For the Gift of Love in Our Hearts, her sincere and heartfelt words cover the spectrum of love from what we feel for our parents, mothers, children, relatives and friends, to what we can have for the poor, elderly and sick; even for those who smile warmly, speak politely or forgive readily. 

It's a beautifully written book. Safiah's poems and prose are all the more meaningful accompanied by verses from the Holy Qur'an and authentic Hadiths, and illustrated by photographs and original Islamic calligraphic art-pieces. She gives so much in the book that you need to take your time to savour her words, reflect upon them and, of course, if you haven't been doing so, to build that love within you and share it (Please click here for the pdf sample of the book).

This is not Safiah's first book. Her earlier one, published in 2009, is "about the wonder of Allah's Creations, about love for the seas, oceans and mountains; trees, rivers, animals, insects, plants and vegetation." 

Both books would make ideal presents for all kinds of occasions. A gift of knowledge, one that may help to improve our deen, must surely be one of the best to receive.

Making sense of money

I'm no financial guru but thanks to a collaboration with one, I co-wrote a little book on financial management. This partnership is yet another example of how important it is to have integrity in your work and to do it well. My involvement with this project came about through word-of-mouth. She needed someone to help her with the book and I was recommended to her. She called, we met and clicked, and a friendship was formed.

First, about the book:

We wrote this book for the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency. The book, launched in 2008, is aimed at young adults to help them manage their money. The Agency felt it necessary to produce such a book because more than 50% of those seeking its help were below the age of 40. These people got into financial trouble due to their low basic financial literacy. Written in simple English, the book guides the reader in understanding the value of money, setting financial goals and budgeting. It also provides tips on building wealth, planning for uncertainties and implementing real-life financial strategies.

About my co-writer: she is Carol Yip, a certified financial coach who now travels the world giving presentations at financial conferences and running related training programmes. You could say that she's Malaysia's Suze Orman. Carol has other money management books to her credit, one of which is Money Rules. She gave me a signed copy with a very nice message.

To young people out there, it really pays to get started on your financial plan the moment you start working. Heard of the concept 'pay yourself first'? Basically, it is about saving a percentage of your weekly or monthly salary regularly, without fail, before you pay your bills or spend it on other things. And don't touch those savings! Through the power of compound interest, i.e. additional interest earned on top of the original saving amount plus the interest received, you will see your money grow. You are actually paying yourself first now for your future financial freedom. 

I wish I had such advice when I was starting out in my career. I could have really retired by now.

Malaysian mavericks

Reading this blog, you might think that I don't read Malaysian writers. I do but selectively. Let's start with A Malaysian Journey by my friend Rehman Rashid, whom I've mentioned in an earlier post. This self-published book, which first came out in 1993 and has had numerous printings since then, takes us with Rehman as he explores the country. His insights have the keen eye of a journalist and along the way, he gives us glimpses into his own personal journey. 

At the beginning of his book, he writes of the people of Malaysia: "Being in balance they resisted each other's defence, and each was compelled to recognize the other as an inescapable, ineradicable element of his own reality... Great streams of history, and of peoples, had for centuries met at that spit of land at Asia's south-eastern extremity. Sometimes they merged; often they clashed. But always they would move from then on together, whether they liked it or not, and something new and wonderful would emerge as they did so." It is a picture fixed in his mind as, after five years of living abroad, he returns to re-discover his homeland and heritage. 

Reality struck him as he moves around and towards the end of his book, his feelings couldn't be hidden as he  arrives by train in Kuala Lumpur, his destination: "To imagine any one of these characters, these stereotypes, smiling at another, saying hello, helping with each other's baggage, exchanging addresses, becoming firm and lasting friends... Such a mad and impossible fantasy. So be it. I had never been one for Utopian dreams; I was almost abashed at the emotions roiling within me as the train squealed and clanged to a halt at Platform Four. What have the masses ever meant anyway? Let them carry on as they will; their only relevance comes once every five years, and even then they've never been much of a bother to the half-a-dozen or so individuals who've always been the only people actually to run this country."

A decade later, in 2002, we see the country through Farish A Noor's The Other Malaysia - Writings on Malaysia's Subaltern History. Farish is described as a political scientist and human rights activist, and this book consists of some of his articles that had been published in the online news daily Malaysia Kini. The themes are wide-ranging, covering history, culture, social change and everyday life. 

Farish wants to take us beyond "a static and monological account of a nation (resulting in) the creation of a monolithic historical discourse with a two-dimensional historical subject at the centre... male, Malay/Bumiputera, middle-class and Muslim." In the chapter 'Many Other Malaysias', he sees the National Day parade as a good example of "the subtle but not-too-subtle inconsistencies and unstated biases that lurk within this national discourse... We see practically all the major and minor races and ethnic communities represented, but the way in which each ethnic community is given a place and role within it tells us a lot about our shared assumptions of which are the dominant races and which are not." 

The language is slightly academic in style but don't let this deter you. The reward is a broader insight into the undercurrents of Malaysian politics and society. In 'Of (misguided) Pride and Prejudice', he laments, "...this culture of slander and hate-mongering has become the norm in what is often called a traditional society steeped in its much-lauded 'Asian values'... We continue to delude ourselves with the claim that our social development and progress have been guided all along by the positive and praiseworthy values of Islam. But what kind of Islamic society, and what sort of Muslims, would indulge in the muck-raking that we have seen in this country over the past few years?" Sadly, ten years on, not much has changed or, depending on one's perspective, much has changed for the worse. 

Farish's 2009 book, Qur'an and Cricket - Travels Through the Madrasahs of Asia and Other Stories', is an easier read as it moves along like a travelogue, albeit one that visits Islamic seminaries from Patani to Pakistan. He says, "... my choice of research placed me in a situation where travel would be the order of the day; and where the nomadic life became my own." This particular research engulfed him for five years, during which "I've been to, and lived in, some of the grandest institutions of Muslim learning on the planet... However in the course of my research I've also visited some rather dodgy institutions... This other world of itinerant scholars and students, hidden and shut out from the rest of the world, retains for me an allure that straddles the frontier between the exotic and mundane; it stands as living proof that there is more than one world, and that here in the midst of the everyday are pockets of alterity and difference that few of us come face-to-face-with."

Islam is also the subject of a book by Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin who has earned a reputation in Malaysia as a controversial public intellectual. Published in 2010 and translated by U-En Ng from articles written in the Malay language, Islam in Malaysia: Perceptions & Facts attempts to separate Islam "from superstition, prejudice and blind adherence to self-serving 'religious' leaders." The 47 articles examine a range of issues, including apostasy, environmental conservation and religious leadership. 

Coming back to Malaysian politics and society, Teohlogy - The Word According to Patrick Teoh comments upon and asks questions of this country that we live in. He writes of what many of us are thinking and talking about when we are with friends - in a language that is authentically Malaysian. He tells it as it is in a humorous style that leaves you shaking your head and laughing your socks off. However, his stories, all of which originally appeared in Off The Edge, are also enough to make you angry. 

In one article, he writes about the lack of accountability: "Do you remember the big hoohah over speed limits for commercial vehicles? Hai-yah! Very easy only. Put that little blinking light on top of their roofs, which will blink and emit a beeping noise when they go over their speed limit. Okay, everybody must put okay?... So all the commercial vehicles installed the gadgets. And for a while it was nice to see these lorries with the little yellow pimples on the roofs and occasionally hear the tell-tale beeps. But it didn't last long. The lights stopped blinking even at 100mph. After some time, they fell off altogether. Nobody asks and nobody is accountable..."

This one should make us cringe: "We Malaysians love 'to use other people's buttocks as our face'. Don't look at me; it's an old Chinese saying. Anybody that makes it into the big time on the international arena, be it sports, the arts, entertainment, we are super fast in discovering in them a chromosome of a Malaysian connection. Hey, Miss Georgia 2006! Her father is Malaysian. Never mind that he's maybe emigrated for decades... Hot babe VJ, Paula Malai is now as Malaysian as nasi lemak since she married one of us. But even before that we laid claim to her beauty and talent, simply because she chose to be based here for reasons best known to herself..." 

Of politics: "We first practised People Power in the march towards gaining independence from the British... But life became so good after that that we began to relax. A little too much. And then we lost our sense of People Power altogether. We became dependent again. We were colonised again - this time by the people we chose to govern us... Our People Power came to such a state that eventually, things got bad again. We began to suffer a little bit of this and that and ask, 'Eh! What happened? How can this be happening one?'... We knew something was not right... (but) we had lost the ability to think, to do things for ourselves... And we went back to talking and grumbling in pubs, mamak stalls, restaurants or under coconut trees. But this time we added to our tokkok sessions the phrase, 'Haiyah! What to do?' Just before we ordered another jug of beer or glass of teh tarik."

Of course, Malaysians write fiction too - enough to fill another post.

A traveller, not a tourist

Everyone has a dream job and I'm no different. Once upon a time, I imagined that I would like to be a travel writer. To do three things I love - writing, taking photographs and visiting other countries - and make a living out of it would be absolutely brilliant!

My Kiwi friend Peter Anderson is a travel writer and he shares the many wonderful places he has been to in his blog, Peter's Adventures. He is also a professional photographer, so you can expect to see some fantastic shots. To Peter, it's all about being "a traveller, not a tourist"; his journeys have taken him off the beaten path to the Khyber Pass, Piran in Slovenia and Lake Banani in Bangladesh, amongst others just as exotic. With much encouragement of those around him, he compiled his stories into a book Cons, Fools and Friends - 25 Years of Travelling the World, which was launched at an intimate gathering of family and friends on 29 September 2009.

In his introduction to the book, Peter tells us what travelling means to him: "... the more I travel, the more I want to photograph my feelings of the places and sights I am journeying through. Also, I want to write stories rather than articles... Now, when I travel, I tend to ponder more. I don't want to rush off to the next town; I want to become a native of the area I am visiting, even if it is only for that brief period. Travelling is for the involvement and engagement of oneself with the local ambience and nuances of life, within the culture, the cuisine and most of all, the people."

The stories he relates take us around the globe, encompassing some of the 75 countries he had visited in Europe, Asia, America, Africa and Oceania. I do wish he could have included some of his fabulous photographs (in colour, of course) but the format of the book didn't allow it.

With Cathie Muker, one of my Kiwi friends, at the launch of Peter's book.

This is not the only travel book by Peter on my shelf. So very many years ago, in 1994, he had come out with a book Discover Malaysia, written jointly with his Malaysian wife, Farida Shah. They had driven the length and breadth of this country, not just on highways and main roads, but also along tracks that took them to some interesting spots. These routes are explored in detail in their user-friendly travel guide, complete with directions to follow, sights to see, food to eat and places to stay. 

The front and back of the travel guide.

It was during that time, in the late 1990s when I had just chucked my corporate job, that the idea of travel writing came to me. A believer in being prepared, I even bought a how-to book, Travel Writing - A Guide to Research, Writing and Selling, by L Peat O' Neil. This practical book succeeded in setting me straight on a number of things. One of them is that a travel writer should carry only a sports duffel bag and a suitcase, both small enough to fit in the overhead luggage rack or under the airplane seat. "Real travel freedom," O' Neil says, "is never waiting at the baggage carousel." With such a restriction, this means packing smart, bringing only the necessities and no souvenir-buying!

The life of a travel writer may be exciting but it's certainly not glamourous. O' Neil tells the wannabe to "dash your illusions of a pampered lifestyle in luxury hotels and the first-class section... The average travel writer preparing a story for a regional travel magazine drives to a motel, tours the destination and snaps pictures, all the while asking questions and writing down information." She echoes Peter as she advises, "Fully participating in your immediate environment will open a whole new spectrum of experiences."

There are exercises at the end of every chapter. In one of these exercises, she asks to list a dozen creature comforts that the reader considers important, e.g. daily hot showers, regular meals, air-conditioning, freshly brewed coffee. "Think about how deeply you would be troubled if you had to forgo any of these habits or comforts," she warns. 

I listed, I thought and I realised that I haven't got what it takes, especially bearing in mind that I get really stressed when I take a wrong turn. Ask my husband; he's learnt never to have me along when he decides to check out a new place!

Source: msnbc.msn.com

A passion for poetry

Many of us have a passion, an untapped talent that we keep on the back-burner because we're too busy with everyday life. We indulge in that passion as and when we can spare the time. We sometimes keep it hidden, unsure of how others will see it.

Ariffin Mamat is a man with a passion - he writes poetry. On the exterior, the world sees a human resource professional who has been working for several years in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he lives with his wife Aishah and family. Within him are thoughts and feelings that find expression in rhymes, which he has been putting down on paper since 2002 and posting on his blog since he started it. All those years, he never thought of compiling them into a book until he was persuaded to do so by a friend.

Given the publishing scene in Malaysia, many have had to produce their own books. My friend Yasmin Gan Abdullah and I did so with our book Hajj - The Humbling Journey. My aunt Kalsom Taib set up her own publishing company to make The Shafee Yahya Story - Estate Boy to ACA Chief a reality. Ariffin has had to take the same route to realise his dream. The fulfilling result is a book of his verses (plus some contributions by family and friends) in the English as well as Malay languages.

It is two books in one. Echo of Silence is the title on one cover, bringing the reader into Ariffin's English language poems. Flip the book over and the cover reads Masih Di Sini, leading to his work in Malay.

The photographs on the cover and inside the book are by his son Haziq Ariffin. In his introduction, Ariffin quipped, "Most people publish books to make money. Well, I made enough money so that I can publish my own book." And then he reveals that "this book is very special to me because it brings together words which I have written to capture my most private and vulnerable moments. These words represent my personal side which is often concealed from public eyes."

Ariffin revealed more of himself at his book launch in Kuala Lumpur on 28 December 2011, which my sister Zawiyah and I attended. What a surprise to find that one of his champions, who wrote the book's foreword, is our Jamak relative, Dato' Zuraidah Atan. The launch was an intimate event in a cosy part of a hotel, during which much poetry was read by Ariffin and his friends. This was followed by the book-signing, as guests tucked into the delicious food spread. Because of the very high commission charged by book distributors, the book is sold online (please e-mail adlilhafiz@gmail.com).

Zawiyah and Ariffin

My signed copy

One poem in the book that I particularly like is 'The truth', penned in Jeddah on 6 January 2007:

I'm searching for the truth

when a smile is not a disguise 

and a disguise is not a lie.

Why would a mirror not tell the truth

that I'm old and long past my youth.

Why would my eyes only see differently

not an old man as I'm often told.

Here and now I shall pause and ponder

the truth shall be spoken, loud and clear.

Who am I, and what do I stand for?

Where am I going, and what is on my shoulder?

Day by day, I shall look for answers

mile by mile, the paths I cover

the loneliness I live as a traveler

the sins I commit and so many blunders.

The pain I feel, bleeding in anger

the hope I dream during my slumber

the time tears roll down my cheeks

the fear I have when I feel weak.

So many secrets, in so many folds

unspoken truth, awaiting to be told.

Poetry is not an easy genre to write. The words cannot be forced, the feelings cannot be faked. People who write poetry, I think, bare their souls more than those who do it in prose. There are no paragraphs and chapters to hide within; much is revealed in the stark lines standing on the page. 

There's also a risk in writing poetry. Will the reader get it or not? Will the reader see into the thoughts underlining the words? Will the reader share in the sentiments? Ariffin took the risk, and for that I compliment and congratulate him. 

My friend - baker, designer... and writer

I am fortunate to have some remarkable women as my friends and one of them is Noorshin Ng Abdullah. A single mother, she uses her God-given talents to support herself and her son (now a young adult). She bakes really delicious cakes, for which she takes orders, and designs and makes clothes. Busy with these pursuits as well as taking care of her aged parents (until first her mother passed away and then her father not long after), she still finds time to be actively involved in NGOs. And Noorshin is also a writer, having written, illustrated and published her very first book, The Beauty of Covering Up, in 2010.

Front cover

It's a beautiful full-colour book produced with the help of Yasmin Gan Abdullah, with whom I co-wrote Hajj - The Humbling Journey in 2011, and her production team. The designer, Junaida Samsu, also worked on the book by Yasmin and me. 

On the back cover, Noorshin explains that her book "is a humble means of sharing my thoughts and ideas on the beauty of Muslimah covering ourselves not only with garments that conceal our aurah but also with beautiful manners and character that come our cloak of humility as Muslims." It is dedicated to her mother...

The chapters, each with its own pleasing colour scheme, begin with the first two reminding readers 'You Are Beautiful' and that 'Beauty (comes) From Within'. In the chapters that follow, Noorshin shares 'Words From Al-Quran', 'Branches Of Iman' and 'Striving Towards Modesty'. She also collected the experiences of women who donned the hijab in 'What Our Sisters Have To Say'.  

A page from 'You Are Beautiful'.

A Chinese Muslimah relates her experience in 'What Our Sisters Have To Say'.

The experience of a corporate high-flyer.

Noorshin has included several design ideas (all illustrated by her) in the book to show the many possibilities of covering up without looking boring.

Friends need to support one another. Noorshin had many in regard to her book; there were those who helped her get started, who instilled confidence in her, who gave helpful comments, who helped towards part of the publication costs. My contribution was to offer my house for introducing Noorshin's book to guests that included my family and friends, as well as those of Noorshin and Yasmin's, on 12 February 2011. 

Waiting for others to arrive.

Pot-luck.

Some of Noorshin's designer clothes on sale.

It was a simple but memorable occasion, during which guests not only got a copy of Noorshin's book for themselves and others but were also able to catch up with one another and make new friends. Noorshin's road towards and in Islam is a fascinating one and I hope that her next book will be a memoir. By the way, Noorshin also blogs at Enjoy Your Life, where she shares her values and experiences.

The exquisitely designed endpaper of The Beauty of Covering Up.

Note: The book's pages above are reproduced with Noorshin's permission.

Authors' autographs

I wonder whether today's schoolchildren like collecting autographs, like my friends and I used to do back then. At the end of a school-year, we would happily whip out our autograph books to get the signatures of our friends, teachers and, if we dared, the headmistress and disciplinary master. Our teachers would accompany theirs with words of encouragement for the future, e.g. "If you truly apply yourself, you have the potential to go far." Friends, of course, couldn't resist the opportunity to be cheeky, such as "Roses are red, violets are blue. Even when I'm dead, I'll ingat you." (ingat = remember)

Now that I'm in the writing world, an author's signature is what I'm after. In 2003, in London, I walked into Waterstone's, a bookshop at Picadilly. There in the foyer, I saw piles of the book Alec Guinness - The Authorised Biography neatly arranged on a few tables. I like to read biographies to get insights into the lives of particular people; also to see how the author tells the story of his subject to make it a compelling read. As I was looking at the book of Alec Guinness, I saw a tall man sitting alone in the corner, signing copies of the book - it was Piers Paul Read, the author. I've read his books and recognised him from photographs on those books. There were only the two of us in the foyer at that time. He looked up, noticed me and asked, "Would you like me to sign one just for you?" I replied, "Would you?" He got up, took a copy, asked for my name and signed away. As he walked out the door, he said, "I hope you enjoy it." I went off to pay for the book, happy as anything.

In an earlier post, I related how I got the signature of Tun Mahathir Mohamad on his book The Malay Dilemma. I obtained that of Tun Ahmad Sarji, who co-wrote P Ramlee - The Bright Star with James Harding, in the same manner when I interviewed him for an article.

Riemke Ensing is a New Zealand poet who visited Kuala Lumpur in October 2000. I was one of the guests at the residence of the New Zealand High Commissioner for a reading of her poems and I wouldn't go home without a signed copy of Selected Poems - Talking Pictures.

At a fund-raising dinner organised by the Al-Khaadem Foundation about three years ago, the guest speaker was James Yee, the former US Army Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay. His book, For God and Country, is his memoir about the abusive ordeal he went through at the hands of the American government.

Another way to get authors' autographs is to participate in literary events, which was how these books were signed: Shanghai Dancing by Australian writer Brian Castro, Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb from Canada, and The Harmony Silk Factory by Malaysian Tash Aw, whose successful international debut gave hope to many aspiring local writers. 

And there are books written by friends. One special person is Rehman Rashid who signed my copy of A Malaysian Journey; he really is overdue for a second book. 

My friend Peter Anderson, a writer and photographer, put together his 25 years of travelling around the world in Cons, Fools and Friends. I would love it if the book has his splendid photographs too.   

Some years back, I participated in the Silverfish Writing Programme by Raman Krishnan who has compiled several of his short stories into The Wedgwood Ladies Football Club and Other Stories. One of the participants was Chua Kok Yee, the only one amongst my batch who can claim to be a published author with his two books, News From Home (together with 'graduates' from other batches, Shih-Li Kow and Rumaizah Abu Bakar) and Without Anchovies.

One of the most prized of my autographed books is Voices of the Angi by Phyllis Mullinder, the mother of my best friend Christine Mullinder when I was a student at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Phyllis wrote the story of a pioneering family, who settled in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, when she was in her 70s.

She is proof that it's never too late to be a writer.