From Nasi Lemak to Female Education, and much more in between
The Humanities Interconnecting the Local to the Global and vice versa in the Asia Pacific of the 21st century

Professor Dr. Ooi Keat Gin
Academy of Brunei Studies
Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

The humanities – encompassing the disciplines of language, linguistics, literature, history, jurisprudence, philosophy, comparative religion, ethics, the arts (music, theater, dance, cinema), architecture – have been essential over the centuries in telling us where we have been and assisting us to envision our journey of where we are heading in the foreseeable future. Paralleling the humanities, seemingly to be in competition is STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) which has been increasingly emphasized in national education policy hence translated into curriculum content. Moreover, in our midst (since 2022) there is an AI (artificial intelligence) boom accelerated by ChatGPT, a generative AI chatbot that adds to what had been ubiquitous since 2001, the almost all-knowing Wikipedia. Some quarters might harbour the impression that the humanities vis-à-vis STEM, AI, ChatGPT, Wikipedia is being sidelined. On the contrary, far from being marginalized its imperativeness lies in nurturing critical thinking that enabled us to analyze complex multifaceted issues and challenges, in understanding different and diverse viewpoints, and in developing creative and sustainable solutions to pressing problems in contemporary times.

Furthermore, the pendulum of focus in the world that has centered in North America (read U.S.) and Europe during the greater part of the 20th century has increasingly swung to the Asia Pacific. The shift to some extent had beginnings in the 1990s with the advent of Hallyu whence South Korean popular culture dramatically burst on the world stage enjoying global popularity that remained sustainable three decades thereafter. Black Pink was phenomenally explosive in the past three years with the likes of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa who as a quartet literally took the world by storm.

My intention here is to put forth the argument that a local cuisine hailing from provincial provenance could not unlike Black Pink be elevated to the world stage, becoming popular and ubiquitous. If America’s Macdonald’s and KFC possessed chain outlets across the globe, the humble Malaysian nasi lemak could similarly attained likewise with initiative, ample creativity coupled with resourcefulness. Nasi lemak could just be a tip of the iceberg so to say, for other grassroot dishes such as Thai pad thai, Vietnamese phở, Chinese Peking duck, Taiwanese niu rou mian (beef noodle soup), Japanese sushi, Iranian chelow kabab, Arabic falafel, Central Asian shorpo (soup) and shashlik (grilled meats), Punjabi keema, Bengali hilsa curry, Tamil dosa and idli or Fiji’s kokoda and lovo, Vanuatu’s santo beef and citrus fish, Tonga’s kapisis pulu and lu pulu, Cook Islands ika mata and curried octopus, or New Caledonia’s crayfish stuffed crabs could equal or surpass Macdonald’s Big Mac, French fries, apple pie. Imagine a nasi lemak outlet adjacent to (New York’s) Times Square, in proximity to (Paris’) Place de la Concorde, on (London’s) Oxford Street, off (Rome’s) the Corso, or along (Athens’) Adrianou Street.

On the flip side, what has become universal and global such as female education should likewise be available, accessible and commonplace in all localities in all countries across the Asia Pacific. No girl aged seven or eight, the acceptable age to attend school should have access to education regardless where she is residing, whether in Samarkand or Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan), Xinjiang (China), Keningau or Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia), or Tongatapu (Tonga), or elsewhere in the region.

The humanities through the complementarity of disciplines such as language, history, the arts, architecture could propel local cuisine like nasi lemak to the global market place. At the same time, the disciplines of language, law, philosophy, ethics, architecture, and the arts could promote the importance of female education throughout the Asia Pacific in rural and urban settings. Whether from local to global (nasi lemak) or global to local (female education), the creativity and resourcefulness inherent in the humanities need to be maximally harnessed.

Keywords: humanities; Asia Pacific; local and global; food culture; female education; gender equality; culture and heritage; identity; tourism; economy

Biodata

OOI Keat Gin is currently professor of the modern history of Brunei/Borneo at the Academy of Brunei Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei and visiting professor of the Korean Institute of ASEAN Studies (KIAS), Busan University of Foreign Studies, Busan, South Korea. An elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (London), he serves as associate editor of Suvannabhumi: Multi-disciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, and honorary advisor of International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), both Scopus-listed peer-reviewed scholarly journals. Having an area of specialization in Southeast Asia, his particular expertise lies in wars and conflicts, sociocultural and socioeconomic history, biographical studies, urban colonial history, historical references (encyclopaedias, dictionaries), modern Malay literature, food culture (street foods).

Recent book-length works include A Story of George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia c.1780s to c.2000s (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka 2019), Borneo in the Cold War, 1950–1990 (Routledge 2020), and as editor, Borneo and Sulawesi. Indigenous Peoples, Empires, and Area Studies (Routledge 2020) and Malaysia and the Cold War Era (Routledge 2020). He co-edited The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei (Routledge 2023). Together with Cao Kim Lan, Bao Ninh's Contribution to Vietnamese and World Literature: The Sorrow of War and his Short Stories (Routledge, 2025), and a co-edited volume with Kathrina Mohd Daud, The Literature of Brunei History, Culture, and Challenges (Routledge, 2025).

Two forthcoming volumes, viz. co-authored with Victor T. King, The Handbook of Southeast Asian Studies: Pioneers and Critical Thinkers (Springer, in press), and, co-edited with Norainie Ahmad, Women's Agency and the State in Contemporary Brunei (Routledge, in press).

Works in progress inter alia The Chinese in Brunei (edited volume, Routledge); ‘Islam in Contemporary Brunei: Issues and Challenges’ (co-edited volume with Mohd Hairul Azrin Haji Besar); ‘Islam as the Central Pillar of Brunei’s Malay Islamic Monarchy’ (co-edited volume with Nur Amali Aminnuddin).