Remembering Dr Cheah Boon Kheng (1939–2015)

Dr Cheah Boon Kheng

Editor’s Note: Dr Cheah Boon Kheng, formerly Professor of History at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang and for many years editor of the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, passed away on 27 July 2015. My friendship with Boon Kheng dated back to the 1980s, when we were colleagues in the History Section of Universiti Sains Malaysia. Boon Kheng was from a Peranakan background. After finishing his PhD at the Australian National University, he opted to move to Penang partly to immerse himself in a Hokkien-speaking environment. At USM he became part of a notable group of scholars that included at various times Abdul Rahman Ismail, Abu Talib Ahmad, K Anbalakan, Ariffin Omar, Badriyah Haji Salleh, Jan (Wisseman) Christie, Ralph Coury, Khoo Joo Ee, Leong Yee Fong, Mahani Musa, Richard Mason, Qasim Ahmat, Jagjit Singh Sidhu, R. Suntharalingam, Tan Liok Ee and Michael Vickery, and he began an illustrious career that culminated in his appointment as Professor of Malaysian History. A list of his major publications follows below but, in addition to those works, he wrote a number of influential articles and was a moving force in the production of several volumes of research articles drafted by members of the History Section.

In retirement Boon Kheng devoted time and energy to the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, serving as a vice president of the society and editing the society’s journal (JMBRAS) and monograph series for nearly two decades. He held a visiting appointment at the National University of Singapore for a year, and gave occasional guest lectures that served as quiet embellishments to a distinguished academic career.

When Boon Kheng was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, he rejected aggressive but debilitating treatments, saying that in the time he had left he wanted to be able to enjoy good food, talk with old friends, and enjoy the company of his wife, Ai Lin, their son Lu Hsun, and his granddaughter. He told friends that he had had a good life and was ready to face what lay ahead. Over the next few months, a steady stream of visitors made their way out to the western suburbs of Kuala Lumpur to visit him, and the final months of his life passed with dignity and grace, as he intended.

Major Authored Works

• The Peasant Robbers of Kedah, 1900–1929: Historical and Folk Perceptions. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1988; re-issued in a new edition by NUS Press at the National University of Singapore in 2014.

• Malaysia: The Making of a Nation. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2002.

• Red Star over Malaya: Resistance and Social Conflict During and After the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, 1941–46. Singapore: Singapore University Press, 1983, 1987, 2003; fourth edition NUS Press (2012), reprinted 2014.

• The Masked Comrades: A Study of the Communist United Front in Malaya, 1945–48. Singapore: Times Books International, 1979.

• To’ Janggut: Legends, Histories, and Perceptions of the 1915 Rebellion in Kelantan. Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2006.

Major Edited Works

• A. Samad Ismail: Journalism & Politics. Kuala Lumpur: Singmal Pub. Bureau (M), 1987.

• From PKI to the Comintern, 1924–1941: The Apprenticeship of the Malayan Communist Party. Ithaca: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program Publications, 1992.

• Isu-isu Pensejarahan: Esei Penghargaan kepada Dr. R. Suntharalingam. (Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia bagi pihak Pusat Pengajian Ilmu Kemanusiaan, 1995).

• New Perspectives and Research on Malaysian History: Essays on Malaysian Historiography. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2007.

• Papers Relating to Brunei. Kuala Lumpur: MBRAS, 1998.

• Reminiscence of Tunku Abdul Rahman on the Japanese Occupation, 1941-1945. Pulau Pinang: Jawatankuasa Sejarah Lisan dan Perpustakaan, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 1989.

• The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, vol. 7. Singapore: Archipelago Press, 1998.

• Sejarah Melayu (MS Raffles No. 18).

• Tokoh-tokoh Tempatan (Kumpulan Eesei Sejarah Malaysia oleh Pelajar-pelajar U.S.M.); & Dokumen-dokumen dalam Sejarah Malaysia. Pulau Pinang: Universiti Sains Malaysia, 1982.

• Kolonialisme di Malaysia dan Negara-negara Lain. Petaling Jaya: Fajar Bakti, 1990.

• The Challenge of Ethnicity: Building a Nation in Malaysia. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish...