Mubin Sheppard, A Dynamic Malay Culture Activist (1905-1994)

This monograph is a review of several Malay classical practices as portrayed by Mubin Sheppard. He made a point not only to look for them in different settings such as old palaces, dusty libraries and private collections, but also to have them displayed or performed in public. Moreover, he took the trouble to give them a new future by enrolling a new generation of performers to practice with them. He was also a respected historian as he worked for several decades as the editor of the famous Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society based in Kuala Lumpur. Therefore, such a book should appeal both to the general public as well as to scholars and academics who intend to gain a broader insight of what Malay culture is.

Laurent Metzger spent thirty years in Southeast Asia as a lecturer at different universities in Malaysia and Singapore. As he was impressed by the local culture, he came across Mubin Sheppard's path and admired his approach to culture. Laurent Metzger became a member of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (MBRAS) of which Mubin Sheppard had been a vice-president and mostly the long editor of JMBRAS, the society's journal. Metzger has written 6 books in French, two in Malay and countless articles and conference papers on culture in Southeast Asia in English, French and Malay-Indonesian which have been published in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.