Wong Keng Yi Malcolm (Mr)

Proposed Thesis Title: Orang Asli Experiences and Memories of the Japanese Occupation
Supervisor: Associate Professor Bruce Lockhart

I spent 4 years at NUS as an undergraduate studying history before eventually deciding to pursue an MA by research when I noticed a lacuna in scholarship while reading for his Honors Thesis.

My research aims to fill this by combining anthropological/ethnographical work with existing Japanese Occupation Scholarship to identify instances of continuity and disjuncture in Orang Asli experiences of the period. Ideally this would fill out a missing part of the historiographical canon by chronicling their voices and contributions, while also raising awareness of the current socially, economically, and politically peripheralized position as "4th World" inhabitants in Malaysia today.

My research interests broadly include social and economic underclasses, the Japanese Occupation, the construction(s) of race, and uphill-downhill historical relations. Besides research, I also enjoy boardgames and tabletop games immensely.