Malaysia & Singapore’s Transnational Progressive Networks 1950s – 1980s
This planning grant project aims to provide a comprehensive plan in digitizing and preserving a unique collection of personal repositories of various key individuals affiliated with Pusat Sejarah Rakyat (PSR), an independent archival historical research center in Malaysia. The collection comprises personal collections of Dr. Poh Soo Kai, Juliet Chin, and Dr. Syed Husin Ali, all of whom were associated with various political parties, progressive movements and workers’ unions in Malaysia and Singapore from 1960 to 1980s.
The primary materials include ephemerals like newspaper clippings, meeting notes, printing materials, magazines, flyers, books and pamphlets. These documents shed light on the debates on Malaysia and Singapore’s formation, internal discussions of diverse transnational leftist organizations, the active participation of Malaya and Singapore counterparts in the Afro-Asian Conference in Algiers (1965), and the activities of various progressive and workers’ unions. The project also encompasses the archiving of materials related to Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), contributing to the understanding of the genealogical continuation of progressive Malay-leftist and nationalist parties.
This collection holds significant historical value as it provides a critical background for the study of decolonization, as well as the history-making process in Southeast Asia, particularly from the perspectives of progressive political parties and unions suppressed during the formation of Malay(sia) and Singapore’s formation.
The Project Principal Investigator is Zikri Rahman and Lead Archivist, Nadia Nasaruddin
Dr. Lee Siew Choh Collection
Dr. Lee Siew Choh was one of the prominent members of Barisan Sosialis. This collection comprises 3,180 items from 123 series, all related to Dr. Lee’s political life, including his work with Barisan Sosialis of Singapore. Materials include correspondences, clippings, press statements and printed matter. The collection is now documented in two organizing Finding Aids:
Parti Rakyat Malaysia Collection
This Parti Rakyat Malaysia Collection includes membership forms from multiple Malaysian states to obtain the Party’s membership from 1950s to 2000s. These records humanize the political movement by documenting individuals of different demographics; from urban and rural areas of diverse social status, from workers, farmers, and activists who formally affiliated themselves with socialist organizations despite significant political risk. The collection comprises 14,464 items were recorded from 261 series.