Author Event: Hafiz Noor Shams

Economists Hafiz Noor Shams  and Ooi Kok Hin will discuss the central thesis of Hafiz’ book, The End of the Nineteen-Nineties, which links the resurgence of extreme conservatism in Malaysia with the bursting of the Asian economic bubble at the end of the last millennium. Moderated by Fong Min Hun, the session will cover recent historical ground, both personal and national, and seeks to answer the question that Hafiz poses at the end of the book: Is it too late for a progressive Malaysia?

The event will be held at Lit Books on 24 Feb 2024, 8pm. There will be an audience Q&A as well as a book signing on the evening. Please purchase your tickets early as spaces are limited. Tickets are RM10 and you will receive a RM10 voucher to use on event day.

About the book:
When Malaysia won the Thomas Cup in 1992, the whole nation celebrated as one. And for most of that decade, we did seem to have reasons to celebrate: We had a national car, a national goal in the form of Wawasan 2020, and the future seemed as bright as KLCC lights. The economist Hafiz Noor Shams belongs to that generation that sang the Wawasan 2020 song in school assemblies. And he asks: What has happened to us since then?

The End of the Nineteen-Nineties places the decade within the context of our pre-colonial and post-colonial history, underscoring that brief, bright spark of optimism in the Malaysian journey. It also mourns the apparent collapse of the incipient Bangsa Malaysia ideal, which has since given way to ethnocentric silos. In weaving together personal, national and global events to contextualize and understand tensions that exist within Malaysian society, he asks: Do we still have a chance?