WEST COAST DISCOVERY
In 1885, a railway linked Taiping to Port Weld. The tracks are gone, but a visit to the old port reveals a story that still shapes the town.
Read the Port Weld Story
EAST COAST DISCOVERY
Sungai Lembing was once a thriving mining town. We followed its quiet streets and the traces of the tunnels beneath them to discover what remains.
Read the Sungai Lembing Story
Dato' Dr Ilango Karuppannan
After 33 years as a Malaysian diplomat, much of it spent abroad, I realised there was still much of my own country I had never seen. So I took the old roads with three friends, stopping in small towns and following stories we might otherwise have passed by.
Those journeys became East Coast Encounters and West Coast Encounters. Through conversations, local histories and the occasional unexpected detour, we discovered places that helped us see Malaysia afresh. I hope the books inspire you to make discoveries of your own.
A life in diplomacy
My diplomatic career took me to Germany, Guinea, the United States, Lebanon and Singapore. I served as Malaysia’s Ambassador to Lebanon and Cyprus and as High Commissioner to Singapore. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, my work included policy planning, ASEAN cooperation and negotiations with the European Union.
Living and working in different societies taught me to pay attention to what lies beneath official accounts: the memories people carry, the relationships that sustain them and the circumstances that shape their choices. Those questions continue to inform my writing.
Research and writing
I hold a PhD from Universiti Malaya, where my research examined Malaysia–Lebanon relations from 1963 to 2009. My forthcoming book on Malaysia and Lebanon draws on historical research and diplomatic experience to explore how a country pursues its interests and commitments within the limits of its influence.
I also serve as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and an Adjunct Professor at Universiti Malaya and Taylor’s University.
My writing moves between diplomacy, history and travel. Sometimes it begins with a question about foreign policy; sometimes with a conversation in a small Malaysian town. In both, I want to understand how people and places came to be as they are—and what we miss when we pass too quickly.
For my commentary on foreign policy and international affairs, visit Diplomatify.
Take the journey further
