Post-Modern Perspectives On Malay Biograpghy

Abstract

Should Malaysian biography be grounded in the standpoint \ of modernity to view all the inner details of the private man, or should it be viewed in other ways, preferably in what the author calls "the Malay poetics of biography",that is,the tradition of representing individuals as immersed in a community. To define reputations, to structure lives as portions and perhaps as encapsulations of Malay nationalism or Islamic ethos requires skills which should also attract the interest of biographers outside Malaysia.