April 2019 - Eksentrika

SHORT STORY | A Teacher’s Journey On A School Bus by Lo Sin Yee

Posted by Eksentrika | Apr 19, 2019 | Speak |

School Time by Jed Villejo Since my father was taken ill, I have been taking a school bus to work. Every day, I have to wake up very early in the morning, do my ablutions in a half-asleep fashion before waiting outside the gate for the bus. Surrounded by darkness, except for the dim street lights, most of the residents are still in slumberland. The morning air is cool and the stillness is occasionally punctuated by the sound of housewives stir-frying rice and the slow trickle of traffic plying the road in the distance. I stand drowsily at the gate,...

How did Nazri Noor top Amazon best sellers lists through self-publishing?

Posted by Eksentrika | Apr 18, 2019 | Think |

All images by Nazri Noor. I have to admit. When I first read Says’ piece on Nazri Noor I was a little skeptical. Is this guy for real? Does self-publishing really work especially for Southeast Asians? Turns out, it not only works, but there are meticulous ways to go about it. But first, a little introduction about the 37-year-old Sabahan born. Nazri Noor is the author of the Darkling Mage series. All five of his self-published books have topped numerous categories on Amazon’s Kindle stores in three countries: Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. If this doesn’t floor you, this...

POETRY | The Love Song of a Middle Class Woman in Blue by Catalina Rembuyan

Posted by Eksentrika | Apr 15, 2019 | Speak |

Asian Girl Vol. 1 by animegamer001 The interior design of a Kuala Lumpur café is a language that alters its geography. It is a capsule that seals its patrons in a country of make-believe-in-dreams, in an elsewhere in a town. I will demonstrate an example by naming one: La Parisienne, Bandar Biru Damansara, Kuala Lumpur – Thursday evening, Friday night; small on the ground floor of a skyscraper still against the strong winds kicking up city dust, solid and minute beneath the armies of clouds, black and voluptuous, rolling in the sky, witness to the crows and the crowds...

SHORT STORY | The Touch of Rebab by Atiqah Nik Ghazali

Posted by Eksentrika | Apr 12, 2019 | Speak |

Malaysia’s Guardian of Mak Yong, the Goddess Zamzuriah Zahari by Sukhbir Cheema The alarm broke the silence of the dusk. She slipped from her bed, careful not to disturb her sister who was sleeping and cousins who were staying here for a week. Tiptoeing her way out of the sardine-can room, she walked slowly down the stairway into the kitchen to start the morning routine she had established a couple of months ago; something she hoped would become a permanent habit. Her fingers clumsily tore the new packet of ground Arabica beans and dispensed it into the espresso machine....

How to be funny in a serious country such as Malaysia? Brian Tan reveals.

Posted by Nuha Thijaany | Apr 11, 2019 | Speak |

All images credit Brian Tan In the world of stand-up comedy, the one-hour show is the gold standard for any comedian. To be able to stand alone on stage and make the audience howl with laughter for more than 15 minutes takes some serious skill. People’s attention spans are dwindling and there are so many distractions in the form of social media. So how can one single person on stage with just a microphone in hand hope to compete against all this? Brian Tan thinks he can do it and here’s why. And he feels others can too. All...