Wakaf Tuan Farrer: Settlement Officer

Author Spotlights: Abdullah Sani b.Ismail, Settlement Officer ＂Wakaf Tuan Farrer＂ Published by Partridge Singapore. Genre: The truth is greater than Fiction. I use to write to the newspapers, mostly to the New Strait Times. My topics are primarily about Works and my interaction with the people. I was always on the field. In 1954, the year I joined the civil service, most of the lands in Kelantan were deep jungle full of wild animals. A good many of the people were also not developed: since there were few schools in the State. So my first job was to found a Settlement which can afford the people all the amenities such as school, playing ground, clinic, road, access plus a vast area for housing and plantation. The author Abdullah Sani Bin Ismail Wakaf Tuan Farrer: Settlement Officer, a post common to all the British colonies. He takes readers into the unknown portion of history, particularly during and after WWII, in Malaya. He recounts the ＂selling＂ of national landmarks to naïve villagers, notes significant natural wonders such as giant trees in his home region of Kelantan, and laments the refusal of Malaysia’s Islamic people to communicate with Israel. Reviewed by: Tony Espinoza Reviewed - Pacific Book Review. ________________________________________________________________________ ＂At present, the ’Wakaf Tuan Farrer’ stands with grace and dignity at the confluence of the once off-beaten track.＂ The author was a boy in Malaysia during the harsh days of World War II He witnessed beheadings by the Japanese army. The return of the British came as a welcome relief. He humorously recalls that British occupiers used to refer to Kelantan as ＂the other UK,＂ and recounts Chandra Bose was the first Indian General declared India Independence in Taiping. Those wanting to know more about Southeast Asian culture and history will find the author’s observations enlightening. Rights Reserved -Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott. The US Review of Books