【49th Talk】Asst. Prof. Dr. Pang Koon Kein: “Technology, Rubber, and Agrarian Labour: The Global Crisis of Rubber Plantations and the Malayan Emergency”
Upcoming Event
| Introduction | The 49th session of the “Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series,” organized by the Institute of International Education and the Tan Lark Sye Institute at New Era University College is now open for registration. In this lecture, Asst. Prof. Dr. Pang Koon Kein from Hua Qiao University will explore the global rubber plantation crisis and the Malayan Emergency. In 1948, the Malay Peninsula entered a twelve-year period known as the "Malayan Emergency." Traditional narratives claimed that this was purely political strife, with research perspectives largely focused on the British colonial authorities, ethnic elites, and representative organizations within the decolonization movement. A small number of studies involved the labor movement. However, these traditional narratives carry an "amplification effect," which to some extent has caused other factors influencing post-war Malayan social development to fade from public view or even be forgotten. This lecture will focus on a neglected factor behind the history: "Rubber." Dr Pang will examine how rubber, as a tropical crop, triggered a political, economic, and social storm in Malaya. Through this, this lecture hope to provide a new perspective that leads the audience into a history defined by survival, capital, and miscalculation. |
| Speaker | Asst. Prof. Dr. Pang Koon Kein (Research Institute of Global Chinese and Area Studies, Hua Qiao University) Dr. Pang Koon Kein, a Malaysian Chinese scholar who has served as an Assistant Professor at the Research Institute of Global Chinese and Area Studies, Hua Qiao University, since September 2024. He holds a PhD from the Department of History at Peking University, where his doctoral thesis was honored as an Outstanding Graduation Thesis. During his studies in China, he was a recipient of the Tsinghua University Scholarship, the Peking University Freshman Scholarship, the Beijing Government Scholarship, and the Chinese Government Scholarship. His primary research fields include Southeast Asian history and the history of Overseas Chinese, with a current focus on the history of Chinese laborers in Malayan plantations. He is currently leading one university-level project and one national-level project. |
| Moderator | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lew Siew Boon (Institute of International Education, NEUC) Dr. Lew received her PhD from the National University of Singapore and is currently the Assistant Dean at the Institute of International Education, New Era University College. Her main research interests include folklore and folk culture, and the history of Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaysia. She has published several works, including Discovering the Goddess of Mercy in Swee Nyet Temple of Pulai, Kelantan and Hakka in China and Southeast Asia: Cross-Regional Field Work and Essays (co-authored). She has also published more than 20 academic papers. |
| Information | Date: 29 April 2026 (Wednesday) Time: 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM Venue: ZOOM (ID & password will be sent to your mobile number and email) Registration Form: https://bit.ly/3seNHqc Registration is free. Please complete your registration by Tuesday, 28 April 2026. |
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