CHEAH, Boon Kheng (1939–2015)

Cheah Boon Kheng was regarded as the foremost scholar on the modern political history of Malaysia as well as a pioneer of the country’s social and oral history. Although prioritizing the political history of a multiethnic, multicultural, and multireligious Malaysia, his spread of specialization ranged from the Japanese occupation, communism to oral history, peasant robbers, women in palace politics, and nation-building. He produced ground-breaking work that will remain as standard texts and authoritative references.