essays
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Navigating Singapore’s Weapons Regulations for Collectors
For a serious collector, legal possession is only the beginning A 19.5 cm object. A 12 cm blade. Plastic bags. Tape. A sock. A high-cut shoe. And the departure security…
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Ink of the Unbroken: Masuri S.N. and the Sacred Fire of Conscience
I. Introduction In an age saturated with ideological noise and cultural distraction, the quiet moral courage of literary figures like Masuri S.N. is not just rare; it is vital. Masuri,…
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The Seven Tools of Mastery: Reinterpreting the Symbolism of Besi Tujuh Pa
Myths, Metals, and Meaning Across the Malay world, the keris is more than a weapon. It is an artifact of layered meaning, shaped by tradition, infused with symbolism, and wrapped…
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The Golden Ratio & The Keris: A Spiralling Fallacy
Author’s Note | Revisited, September 2026 I originally published this essay on Facebook on 6 July 2025. Its target was a claim I had increasingly encountered within discussions about the…
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Tun Abdul Jamil and the Myth of Heroism: Reading Between the Lines of History
Author’s Note | Revisited, September 2026 I first published this essay on Facebook on 6 July 2025. Its purpose was to challenge the tendency to turn complicated historical figures into…
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The Golden Ratio and the Keris: Measurement, Pattern-Seeking and the Burden of Proof
Author’s Note | Revisited, September 2026 I originally published the following short piece on Facebook on 5 July 2025. It was written in response to claims that the keris was…
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Between Legend and History: Rethinking Hang Tuah with Facts, Not Fantasies
Author’s Note | Revisited, September 2026 I first published this essay on Facebook on 5 July 2025. Its central argument was simple: cultural importance is not the same thing as…
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Was the Malay World Truly a Trading Powerhouse?
Revisiting a Romanticised Narrative of Malay Commerce Author’s Note | September 2026 I first published this essay on my Facebook page on 4 July 2025. At the time, I was…
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Mat Kilau: When Legend Becomes a Substitute for History
Revisiting Evidence, Memory and the Return of a Pahang Warrior Author’s Note | September 2026 I first published this essay on my Facebook page on 3 July 2025. At the…
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Romancing Spices: The Danger of Oversimplified History
Revisiting the Spice Trade, the Malay World and the Stories We Tell About the Past Author’s Note | September 2026 I first published this essay on my Facebook page on…