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Apa Kabar Apa Kabar Apa Kabar Apa Kabar Squeaks From the Chair

By

Barry Morris, President FoM

The Friends of Malaysia has recently opted to go with a

new website design. In recent years, we haven’t been

able to update the group’s website very much after the

death of the website manager, Tony Lin. The website

was originally written in computer code which is no

longer in use at the present time. It was felt by the board

that a new website which could be more easily changed

would be in order. The new website address is:

www.friendsofmalaysia.net. Our old website is still

available www.friendsofmalaysia.org. It has links to

several other websites which are useful for former Peace

Corps Volunteers seeking information about Malaysia.

The new website has a number of features that we

haven’t had before including drop-down menus, an `In

Memoriam’ section for Malaysian Peace Corps

Volunteers who have passed away, a link to the Peace

Corps Malaysia Facebook page, general information

about the history of the group and awards we have

received, and a slideshow of pictures taken in Malaysia.

The new website will allow us to update information and

add sections to the site over time. This time, we would

like to include more pictures of Peace Corps Volunteers

at the time they were working in Malaysia. If you have

any and would like to have them included, please send

them to me at conway162@yahoo.com. Also, if you

have ideas for things that can be added to the website,

just let me know and we’ll see if they can be included.

I’m also planning a more in-depth section on the various

financial donations and other involve- (Continued p.2)

Table of Contents

Squeaks From the Chair...……………………….……..P. 1

History………………………………………………….……….P. 1

Malaya VII Reunion…………………………….…………P. 2

Education Changes………………………………………..P. 3

Reuniting Peace Corps Friends……………………….P. 5

US Ambassador……………………………………………..P. 6

Limbang Rebellion………………………………………….P. 6

A Memorial……………………………………………………P. 6

Thanks to Malaysia Peace Corps…………………….P. 7

Our Business Stuff…………………………………………P. 8

A Little History, Jungle PeopleBy

Karen McClay-Flolid

Sarawak Peace Corps Doctor Daniel Kok and his wife

Liz (Malaysia XI) were actively involved in the

welfare of Borneo’s orang utans. As Malaysia XII

Peace Corps volunteers in Sarawak, Karen and John

McClay babysat Bangan and Bullet while Danny and

Liz went on vacation. Since they were orphans they

needed to be taught life skills, including to build

their nests each night. We found them to be quick

learners, very intelligent, playful, curious, and well

behaved. Their antics brought joy to our lives while

serving in the Peace Corps. We are ever thankful for

Danny and Liz’s commitment to the preservation of

these incredible creatures. As a result of their

concern, the first preserve was established outside

of Kuching, Sarawak..(Continued P. 2)

Fall 2014 Edited by Thaine H. Allison, Jr.

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Karen McKlay-Flolid nurtures orangutan orphans at the

Kok’s home compound Kuching, Sarawak

(Continued from P. 1) ments we have had in Malaysia in

recent years and suggestions for new material will be

greatly appreciated. Happy holidays from the Friends of

Malaysia Board of Directors.

Malaya VII 50th Anniversary reunion 2014 group photo,

Austin, Texas, October 2014

Malaya VII Austin ReunionBy

Sue HowesOur hair is grayer, our bodies less trim and our

youthful enthusiasm somewhat dimmed yet our group

met for our eighth reunion in Austin, Texas in this

September. It is amazing that we were together for

only three months in training - two at Northern Illinois

University and one month in Hilo and Waipio Valley –

and friendships have lasted so long and continue to be

strong to this day. Each time we meet the beat goes

on.

To date, we have met all over the country and out of it

– Harrisburg, PA, Orkney Springs, VA, Milwaukee WI,

San Francisco, CA, Penn Yann, NY, Prince Edward

Island, Rapid City, SD, Portland, OR and Austin, TX.

There was also the 50th Peace Corps anniversary in

Washington DC. Three years hence we plan to be

either in New Orleans, LA or Nashville, TN.

A volume of personal biographies has been collected

and distributed to group members so those that were

unable to attend can also share in the heritage and

history of the individuals they knew so long ago. It is

wonderful to read the impact that this Peace Corps

experience has had on all of us, our work and our

families. Many continue to be international travelers

and our children have served in the Corps or in other

altruistic international experiences. Upon our return

most of us continued on in higher education, leading

to long careers in fields such as business, academia,

engineering, teaching and health care. And we have

one vintner that has resulted in some terrific wines at

our reunions!

To be sure, America has reaped a huge profit from the

investment made in us fifty years ago. We began with

102 trainees; 50 were age 20-22; 35 from 23-25; 10

from 26-28; 3 from 29-30. Elders were one at 39, one

at 43, one at 60+ and one at 66. While several of the

oldest group made it through training, they all

ultimately did not finish their term.

Many of the same volunteers return for the reunions;

there are some that are never heard from even

though they receive all of our emails. Others have just

disappeared. I would say we run about a 50%

participation rate, give or take the year and location.

(Continued P. 3)

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(Continued From P. 2) We have 58 members on our email

list. This is our main source of communication. News of

Malaysia is shared when it comes available, happenings

within the group are also circulated. Only a few do not

have access to the internet.

Of the 102 invitees 15 did not make it to Malaysia or

through training and there are 13 that we know are

deceased. A few dropped out or were sent home for

illnesses once in the host country.

We did consider returning to Malaysia for our 40th or 45

reunion and attempts were made to do so but for one

reason or another, it didn't come off, much as we would

have liked it. That being said, many have returned, some

more frequently than others. They return to their posting

and are joyously welcomed. We also have several

volunteers that married Malaysians and they return home

to visit parents and grandparents. Some members have

also either described or written about their former

students and how successful they have been in Malaysia.

That is always good to learn. Editors Note: Thanks to Sue

Hawes for this contribution. Malaya VII is the group that

replaced my group North Borneo/Sarawak I.

Peace Corps teachers to work on improving the

English being taught in public primary schools. I

extended for a third year and was fortunate to find

myself a unique placement in Kuala Lumpur that

allowed me to use my journalism degree and

newspaper experience. I was assigned to the

Southeast Asia Press Center, which was a new

regional journalism training institute under the

Malaysian Ministry of Information. (It later evolved

into the Malaysian Press Institute.)

I had a very rewarding experience serving as

assistant to the director and helping out on various

training programs for journalists already employed

in the local media. Again wisely, the Malaysian

government and newspaper and broadcast

managers and editors and founders of Bernama, the

new national news agency, realized that the

developing nation needed more and better trained

professional journalists. The Press Center position

gave me a chance to meet the country’s leading

publishers and editors and work with an impressive

group of young, eager, ethnically diverse reporters

who had to work in a rather restricted environment

since the country still had many of the press

controls, such as licensing, and the sedition act that

the British had imposed.

One of the highlights of my Kuala Lumpur

assignment was the chance to be part of a team

which developed Malaysia’s first university-level

mass communication program. Up until the early

1970s, Malaysia did not have an American-style,

university-level journalism or mass communication

degree program, and many journalists did not have

degrees. Malaysian academics and journalists at the

time were still heavily influenced by London’s “Fleet

Street” and the British education system, which felt

journalism was a trade that you learned on-the-job

rather than an academic program at a university.

The stuffy University of Malaya, which dominated

higher education at the time, was very British-

curriculum focused and wouldn’t dare offer a

degree in something like journalism. Fortunately, a

few Malaysian educators and planners realized that

a mass communication program designed to

prepare media practitioners through both liberal

arts and skills courses was needed. (Continued P. 4)

Observing Education Changes in MalaysiaBy

Michael H. Anderson

As a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1968-71, when Malaysia

was still very young as an independent nation, I was

privileged to see – up-close and personal – several aspects

of the country’s post-colonial education system evolve and

grow.

For two years, I taught English in a “sekolah kebangsaan,” a

Malay medium national school, in a rice and rubber

growing part of Kedah between Alor Star to the north and

Penang to the south. That experience, including living in a

kampong on the outskirts of Sungei Patani, taught me

about small town life and about teaching in a majority-

Malay school, where English standards were low, especially

compared to the “convent” and other private schools in

town. The English teachers in our Group XX were brought

in around the time English-medium schools were being

phased out and the national language, Bahasa Malaysia,

was being actively promoted to increase national unity.

The government wisely recognized the importance of

English as an international language and warmly welcomed

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(Continued From P. 3) So when the University Science

Malaysia (Universiti Sains Malaysia) was established in

Penang in 1970 as a new, innovative university on the

sprawling grounds of Minden Barracks, the old British

military facility, its founders wisely included a School of

Humanities. The School’s first dean was an American,

Dr. Robert Van Niel, a Southeast Asian history professor

from the University of Hawaii, and he oversaw the start

of a university degree program in mass communication.

I was lucky to be part of the first team of several part-

time expatriate teachers who would travel to Penang to

do the initial teaching before the university had its own

qualified Malaysian academic staff. The first batch of

students were bright and enthusiastic, and many went

on to find good jobs in media and other fields, like

public relations and advertising, which were starting to

boom as Malaysia developed. At least three of the first

batch of my students went on to earn PhDs from

American universities. I am proud that two of them

returned to the university in Penang and became well-

established mass communication faculty members. In

March, during a visit to the Penang campus, I had a

wonderful reunion with both of them (see photo). I

was pleased to learn that the USM mass comm

program has been a success, and a number of other

media-related programs have started up in various

Malaysian institutions.

Many thousands of Malaysian young people have by

now studied in America, but back when the Peace

Corps was in Malaysia, it was unusual to hear of a

Malaysian going to a U.S. university. Anyone bright

or rich enough to study abroad went to the UK, or

Singapore, or perhaps Australia. Over the years that

situation dramatically changed as Malaysia has

jumped aboard the “internationalization of

education” bandwagon. Today, not only is Malaysia

sending many of its best scholars abroad, but it also

is trying to attract international students to its

growing number of both public and private

universities. Some 40,000 foreigners from about

100 countries, including the U.S., are studying on

Malaysian campuses. They are drawn to the country

for many reasons --- its welcoming people, cultural

diversity, English and other language skills, diversity

of educational institutions, low cost of living, etc.

The latest data on the number of Malaysian students

studying in the U.S. show that in the last academic

year 6,822 Malaysians were on American campuses,

and they contributed $218 million to the U.S.

economy. The number of Malaysian students has

been relatively flat for the last three years and is

small when compared with huge numbers from

places like China, India and South Korea. But still the

Malaysian total is not insignificant, and U.S. higher

education is undeniably highly regarded in Malaysia.

(The number of Malaysian students in the U.S.

peaked at 9,074 in 1999-2000, and since then has

been affected by a number of factors – increased

competition from closer places like Australia; the

perception that getting a student visa in post-9/11

America is difficult; increasing costs of U.S. high

education; and the rise of ”twinning programs” and

foreign university branch campus opportunities right

in Malaysia.)

The number of Americans studying in Malaysia has

improved, although the numbers are small and

growing slowly. In 2012-2013, only 237 Americans

were studying in Malaysian universities, and this

means that Malaysia is not even in the top 25

countries as a leading destination of U.S. students.

But a very encouraging sign is the growth of the U.S.

English Teaching Assistants (ETA) program, which is

part of the prestigious Fulbright exchange program

in Malaysia. (Continued P. 5)

Two of RPCV Mike Anderson's first mass comm students

in 1971 pose at Universiti Sains Malaysia front gate in

Penang. Dr Mansor Ahmad (left) and Dr Hamima Dona

(right) both went on to get PhDs in the U.S. and then

return to teach in Penang. Mike had a reunion with the

two on campus in Penang last March.

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(Continued from P. 4) Not too unlike my old Peace Corps

English teaching program, today’s ETAs are energetic,

young graduates of American universities who come to

Malaysia for an academic year, live in local communities

and make friends for the U.S. They are assigned as native

English speakers to work in primary or secondary schools

in six states – Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, Perak, Sabah

and Sarawak.

The popular ETA program started nine years ago and has

grown -- with the personal encouragement of both

President Obama and Prime Minister Najib -- to 100

participants. It is jointly funded by the two governments

and administered by the Malaysian-American

Commission on Education Exchanges (MACEE) in Kuala

Lumpur. According to U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia Joe

Yun, “As this program continues to expand, the bonds

and friendships the ETAs make will help us better

understand each other.”

Malaysia faces many challenges, but it has come a long

way in education and other areas of progress since the

Peace Corps concluded its programs there in 1983 after

21 years. Today, relations between the U.S. and Malaysia

arguably are the best they have ever been, and continued

warm memories of the Peace Corps plus active programs

like the Fulbright ETAs and other educational exchanges

play a role in sustaining friendship and building mutual

understanding. More can and should be done to bring

Malaysians and Americans closer together, but the

foundations for both an enduring bond and greater

cooperation are firm.

Reuniting Peace Corps FriendsBy

Barry Morris President FoM

Some years ago I wondered if I could re-

establish contact with former Peace Corps

Volunteers that I had trained with in

Malaysia. I had a few email addresses for

some of them and found a few more by

searching the Web. Here is the first

message that I sent them:

Hello Warren, Mike, Tom, Mimi, Linda, I

scrounged around the Internet and found

some email addresses for our Peace Corps

group and I think some of you have heard

from other former members of our group

such as Alice Keeling and Karl Schwalm.

Would any of you be interested in a sort of

round robin newsletter about the group -

where we would write some news about

ourselves and then pass it on to the others

and add other former group members to the

group as we can? Lets get back in touch while

we still hopefully have our mental faculties!

Barry Morris

That’s all it took to get the group back

together. A blog was put together and two or

more members took it on themselves to

locate former members. Dr. Karl Schwalm

and Linda Burgher both enjoyed being

detectives and trying to find out where

everyone was these days. Everyone was

found and most have participated in one way

or another. Several send biographical

information to be published on the group’s

blog. We have since we were organized had

two reunions: one in Chicago and one in

Malaysia. Of course, not quite everyone has

participated, but I think those that have have

been glad we were able to reunite and

reconnect us to what was an important part

of our past.

(Mike Anderson is a member of the board of the

Friends of Malaysia Board and a retired U.S. diplomat

who resides in the Washington, D.C. area.)

Recent Books of Interest

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U.S. Ambassador Promotes Closer Ties to

Malaysia

U.S. Ambassador Joe Yun (left) spoke on U.S.-Malaysia

relations at a recent Malaysia-America Society (MAS)

program at American University in Washington, DC. MAS

President Lynn Juhl (right), who is an RPCV Malaysia and

an FOM Board member, presented the new Ambassador

with an MAS souvenir cup at the conclusion of the

program. Ambassador Yun is a strong supporter of groups

like MAS and FOM which promote closer people-to-people

ties between our two countries. He replaced Ambassador

Paul W. Jones, who led efforts to celebrate the 50th

anniversary (1962-2012) of Peace Corps Malaysia. Two

other former Malaysia Volunteers, Paul Murphy and Mike

Anderson, also serve on both the MAS and the FOM

Boards.

A Memorial to Malaysia Peace Corps

Volunteers Who Have Passed Away

Charles R. Backus, 7/12/14

Faith Berglund, 8/8/13

Irving Randell Borden, 1933- 2013; 12/9/13

Kirk Bunnell,1/20/14

Michael Cook, 9/21/13

Nikki Drossel, 12/17/13

Ernest G. Eichler, 12/17/13

Larry Engstrom, 6/9/14

Jeffrey Ersoff, 4/16/13

Darlene Ann `Dolly' Fellows, 6/13/14

Valerie Granstra, 9/12/14

Carl J. Homan,11/27/13

Daniel Jones, 1/18/13

Sister Laura Ann King, 7/8/14

Kevin McCarthy, 7/8/13

Daniel Alan Montgomery, 3/15/13

Kathleen Murray, 5/10/14

Robert Pastor, 1/8/13

David S. Patz, 2/23/13

Gilda Emery Samuels, 7/31/13

John Davis Schnebly 8/15/14

Richard Straw, 10/14/12

Unfortunately we have no way of knowing when

these volunteers served or what programs they

were affiliated with. The board regularly talks

about the shrinking number of RPCVs that served in

Malaysia. If you know of others to add to the list

please pass them along to the editor.

Thaineallison@gmail.com

Remembering Limbang, Sarawak Rebellion

By

Thaine H. Allison, Jr.

Today is December 12, 52 years ago today Fritz Klatenhoff

a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sarawak, a British Colony, was

captured by rebels in the Brunei Revolt at Limbang. He

was eventually rescued by British Royal Marines along

with an Australian couple and two Dutch priests. Five

Royal Marines died in the rescue efforts. These events

were documented in a film several years ago, Return to

Limbang, that I was featured in. This last year the

daughter of the Australian couple wrote a detailed book

Limbang Rebellion by Eileen Chanin, available from your

friendly online book store. She was recently honored with

the Royal Marines Historical Society Literary Award She

documents the events and references the role of

Peace Corps Volunteers in those years. Take a

moment to remember those brave marines who

died that night and the tenacity of Peace Corps

Volunteers who serve in difficult and sometimes

dangerous situations. Thaine H. Allison, Jr. VP

Programs Friends of Malaysia Borneo I 1962-64

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrec

ords/2014/November/Eileen-Chanin-wins-

Literary-Award.aspx

7

Thanks to Peace Corps and Malaysia

By

Rod Zwirner

Dec.1964--About four days after descending onto the

very hot K.L. airport tarmac, we were ushered into Tun

Razak's office for an official welcome. Out came his Red

Book that delineated development projects and we

knew we were into some serious nation building. A

week later I was assigned to Dragon School, 24 miles

from Sarawak's capital--Kuching. There was a real

insurgency going on and I was lucky to have served 3

years in the US Army in Germany(serving with Elvis gave

me some prestige with the students who had seen GI

Blues) just because I was used to having multinational

armed forces around.

While focusing on the Sarawak Jr. and Cambridge

curricula I gradually absorbed what the multiethnic

student body needed to master. Confrontation and

7pm curfew became a fact of life. While I saw masked

terrorists kill 2 government servants in Kuching's open

market, the main incident for our school community

was the murder of two students's parents in our nearby

bazaar when local communists and Indonesian troops

came looking for "spies". Apparently, they had slept in

nearby caves where I had taken students for a hike not

too long before.

I mention all this because in facing students daily one

needed to think about making things relevant to their

political context. It was a steep learning curve for me

and the students helped by explaining things. For

instance, when the CID asked for the scorebook as I

coached the basketball team, they informed me that the

bazaar teams were often a recruiting mechanism for the

Communists. So my first major gift from Malaysia was

that I had to think through what is a nation and the

impact of the transition from colonialism in a multiethnic

society. I learned a lot about how the USA was put

together by teaching in Sarawak.

A second gift was having to focus on food production in

a developing global economy. In 1966 I volunteered to

teach Form One husbandry as an add on to my schedule.

Luckily, there was an Ag Experimental station not too far

away. For my third year I transferred to teach Kapit's

first exam class where I got to know the Methodist

agricultural mission personnel.

They had brought the first IR8 miracle rice to

Sarawak and were trying to lessen the dependence

on hill rice growing. Importing technology, whether

seeds or animals, is very tricky and trial and error

was necessary. Fast forward almost 40 years when

we caught a ride with a vehicle supplying a road

crew near the Bakun dam--they were delivering rice

from Vietnam, chicken from North Carolina,fish

from a Filipino-manned trawler and beef from

Australia. The second gift from my time in Malaysia

was the help in understanding the Global Economy

with its major changes and corruption.

A third gift was a better understanding of striking a

balance between family, tribe/clan, nation and

beyond. The complexity of choosing values,

technology, and a pattern of governance where all

can thrive, can take a toll on the planet and human

patience. Need, not greed, should take precedence.

This is why my retirement life is centered on helping

keep the earth healthy for future generations.

I grew up in New Jersey, the Garden State, but when

we returned(I married a PCV while training

volunteers in Kuching during 1969-1971) farms had

turned into houses, so we settled in rural New

Hampshire where local communities were more like

Malaysia. While I am a retired teacher and rural

mail carrier, peace building is always in my life. How

do people adjust to and create change that

improves life for all? This brings me to a fourth gift

from Malaysia--greater sensitivity to spiritual values

that can evolve, not be stuck in the past, but able to

deal with realities--political, economic, natural, etc.

Since my students were exposed to so many

traditions--several Christian missions, Islam, Hindu,

Taoist, etc--one gets asked a lot of questions. For

instance, why don't the "hantus" bother you when

they are so close in our dorm OR why are some

Christians(SDA) not allowed to eat pork. My Peace

Corps trainees experienced these traditions so they

could better understand their students.(I once had a

Form III science student whose family were spirit

mediums). Peace is not just the absence of war, but

a set of conditions that allows mutual acceptance

and sharing of experiences that lead to a form of

unity. Again, when greed takes over, things fall

apart.

Of course, we all have many stories (Continued P. 8)

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(Continued From P. 7) like my Kapit Boy Scouts who

were the first to bike from Sibu on the new, rough

road(1967) to see the capital(Kuching) despite about

20 flat tires. However, nostalgia is one thing, but the

realities we have to face today are more important.

Sometimes I am sad about what goes on in the USA

and Malaysia, but the complexities we face must be

met with shared responsibility and goodwill. My five

years in Malaysia made that very clear and I am

thankful.

Friends of Malaysia Board Members

http://FriendsofMalaysia.net

President: Barry Morris VP of Programs: Thaine H. Allison, Jr. VP of Membership: Paul Murphy Treasurer: Paul Murphy Secretary: Ruth Zwirner Newsletter: vacant Board Members: Rod Zwirner

Lynn Juhl Michael H. Anderson

Karen McClay Flolid Marjorie Harrison

Bob Cricenti

Join Friends of Malaysia

Membership gives you access to our latest newsletter and your

membership fee is used to help us make contributions to

charities in Malaysia

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Address____________________________________________

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Phone______________________

Email_______________________

Peace Corps Service ______________________________

Make checks payable to: Friends of Malaysia

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(FoM & NPCA) $50

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Mail to: Paul Murphy, 510 Little John Hill, Sherwood Forest,

MD 21405 Terima kaseh, lah

Learn more about the friends of Malaysia at our web site:: http://friendsofMalaysia.net Contribute to Apa Kabar: webmaster@FriendsofMalaysia.org

National Peace Corps Association

http://PeaceCorpsConnect.org

Group 28 Blog - PCVs who served in Malaysia from

1970-1973

http://peacecorpsmalaysia.wordpress.com

Peace Corps Malaysia on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/201309356552

602/

Malaysia American Foundation Webaddress

https://www.facebook.com/malaysiaamericafound

ation

We Get Letters

Do you recognize these volunteers? A former

student, Maria Sandra Sho, is looking to reconnect

with Joan Rominski Paparigian in Semporna 1970.

Also Kamarudin Mohamamad from Muar,

Jahore is looking for Sharon Shaackleford Who

taught High School Mathematics in 1966.

Joanne Fox was adopted in Sarawak in 1964 by

peace Corps Director Gay and Joseph Fox. She

is looking for volunteers that knew them.Saw

Tan (Tony) is looking for Larry and Lassie Orlin/

Olin. They were in Sungai Patani , Kedah mid to

late 1970’s. Let me know if you can help out.

We always contact the volunteer, make sure

he/she wants to correspond with the requestor

and if so pass along the contact information to

the volunteer and let them make the final

connection. Thaineallison@gmail.com