Tues, 30th Nov 1999. By Stephanie Sta Maria FMT INTERVIEW PETALING JAYA: Tucked in a corner of the Arts Faculty in Universiti Malaya (UM) is a tiny office overrun by history books. Hardcovers, coffee table editions and paperbacks are either squeezed into bursting bookshelves or piled into tall towers around the room. Sheaves of papers lay in messy heaps, some in danger of toppling off a table that is already littered with stationery and a coffee cup. Professor Emeritus Dr Khoo Kay Kim sat behind this table, almost dwarfed by the surrounding disarray which he affectionately calls “organised chaos”. “I created this chaos... so I know where everything is,” he laughed as he swept an amused glance around the room. But even if he doesn't, there is always another place where he's guaranteed to find the information he seeks – in his mind. The 73-year-old Khoo knows Malaysian history like he lived each and every moment of it. A query on just about any historical event has him reeling ...
It is all Mimesis