WOU added to its collection of printed reading materials in late July 2018 with the donation of 127 books and periodicals to the library by a well-wisher.
PART OF THE BOOK COLLECTIONS DONATED TO WOU LIBRARY.
The donor was retired teacher Leong Kok Hing, a graduate of Maktab Perguruan Temenggong Ibrahim and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and a close pal of WOU’s Board of Governors Chairman Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon. Leong boasts a career spanning some 25 years as a secondary school teacher in Malaysia and another 10 years as an education officer with the Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam.
Leong made the generous offer when Dr Koh went for the wake of Leong’s elder brother, Kok Kee, in mid-May.
DR KOH (2ND FROM LEFT) AND DR S. NAGARAJAN LOOKING THROUGH THE BOOKS.
“I got to know Kok Hing in USM in the late 70s. then Kok Kee. Both brothers later became very active leaders of the Young Buddhists Association of Malaysia (YBAM), of which I have been one of the advisors for the past four decades. We have been keeping in touch since then,” he elaborated.
Dr Koh was on hand to witness the simple handing-over of the books and periodicals to the WOU library today, in the presence of School of Humanities & Social Sciences (SHSS) Dean Dr S Nagarajan and Learning & Library Services head Chew Bee Leng.
FASCINATED BY A BOOK ON POLITICS.
“It seems to me that these books are quite relevant for our Mata Pelajaran Umum (MPU) and related courses offered by SHSS. They can also be good reference materials for research,” Dr Koh added.
The collections, comprising 93 book titles and 34 magazines, are mainly on nutrition and health as well as on Malaysian politics. There is, however, the memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew in relation to the Singapore story.
LEONG (LEFT) HANDS OVER THE BOOKS TO DR NAGARAJAN AND CHEW (RIGHT) WITNESSED BY DR KOH.
Among the book titles are: ‘Lost in transition: Malaysia under Abdullah’ (Ooi Kee Beng, 2008); Old vs new politics in Malaysia: State and society in transition’ (Francis Loh Kok Wah, 2009); ‘Mad about Malaysia’ (Dean Johns, 2007); ‘May 13: Declassified documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969’ (Kua Kia Soong, 2007); and ‘Mahathir vs Abdullah’ (Nathaniel Tan, 2007).
BOOKS AND MAGAZINES ON POLITICS.
Dr Nagarajan said the donated collection of books and journals “will be valuable reference materials for our students researching on Malaysian history and politics”.
