We’ve another Seekers Book Club with Wardah Books! This time we doing it a bit different, it'll be a deep dive that's split into 2 parts across two dates.

Book: The Myth of the Lazy Native by Syed Hussein Alatas
Date: 11 May 2025 & 25 May 2025, Sunday
Time: 10.30am - 12.00pm
Location: Wardah Books (58 Bussorah St)

Programme Structure

Part 1:

An overall summary of the book
Different ways to approach the book
Key discussion points based on participants' questions and observations of the book’s themes

Part 2:

A deeper discussion on the key themes of the book, as raised by the participants in Part 1
Wayt to move forward after reading the book, decolonise our minds and reframe the “myths”

About the Book

The Myth of the Lazy Native is Alatas' most famous work. In the book, Alatas analyses the origins of the perception that the native Southeast Asians - including Malays, Filipinos and the Javanese - are inherently "lazy". He argues that the myth, which has led to harmful stereotypes of the native that persists until today, is a false perception of the colonised that came about to justify colonial oppression and exploitation.

Get the book from Wardah Books here.

About the Author

The late Syed Hussein Alatas was a Malaysian politician, academic, critic and sociologist. As a writer, he uses his voice and the power of the pen to write several books on the role of religion in a country, corruption, imperialism, the effects of colonialism on people's intellect and worldview, multiracial societies, and more.

About the Guest Academic

Walid Jumblatt Abdullah is an Associate Professor teaching Public Policy and Global Affairs at Nanyang Technological Unviersity (NTU). His research areas of interest include relationships between Islam and the state and Southeast Asian politics. He runs the Instagram live series Teh Tarik with Walid where he discusses political issues, promotes political awareness and makes politics more accessible, especially among the young in Singapore.

His books include Islam in a Secular State: Muslim Activism in Singapore and Why Palestine?: Reflections From Singapore.

About Seekers Book Club

Seekers Book Club by Maktaba Books (formerly known as A Shared Space Book Club) aims to bring together individuals from different backgrounds to read various books from an Islamic, Singaporean, and/or Southeast Asian lens. Whether the text is secular or set in an unfamiliar culture, there is always something within a book that can resonate with the Muslim faith.

That space of seeking commonality is what drives this book club. With each participant’s unique experience and perspective grounded in religion and identity, we discuss our thoughts and perspectives based on the pages of a book.

We look forward to seeing you there!

About Maktaba Books

Maktaba Books is a peer-to-peer community library. Give life to the books that are collecting dust on your shelves when you lend them to our readers! Our mission is to illuminate the path of knowledge within our community, ensuring that everyone has access to books.

Visit maktababooks.com to learn more.

The Myth of the Lazy Native by Syed Hussein Alatas | Seekers Book Club