https://elvin18tiran.github.io/Elvinelvintiran, blog, naturalist, fungi, book, 2026-02-07T12:54:06+08:00 Elvintiran Balan Jalong https://elvin18tiran.github.io/ Jekyll © 2026 Elvintiran Balan Jalong /assets/img/favicons/favicon.ico /assets/img/favicons/favicon-96x96.png Islam Melayu Komunis2026-01-30T00:00:00+08:00 2026-01-30T00:00:00+08:00 https://elvin18tiran.github.io/posts/Islam-Melayu-Komunis/ elvin I got curious and decided to pick this book up after reading the Jakarta method and also Ho chi minh journey. It started when I realised that story told on communism by the Malaysian history book was not entirely true so it got me digging and this book and Memoir Shamsiah Fakeh was direct challenge to our historical understanding about communism in Malaysia. There are three main figure that wa... The Journeys of Uncle Ho2025-12-28T00:00:00+08:00 2026-01-23T14:35:10+08:00 https://elvin18tiran.github.io/posts/The-Journeys-of-Uncle-Ho/ elvin When I was in Vietnam visiting my girlfriend, I got to learn a lot about Vietnamese culture and history. One notable observation was how renowned Ho Chi Minh was. He is very much adored by the people, and there is even a mausoleum where visitors can see his preserved body. This made me wonder how much of an impact he had on the people and why they love him so much. As I visited the War Museum t... Saving The Planet2025-12-28T00:00:00+08:00 2025-12-31T12:03:45+08:00 https://elvin18tiran.github.io/posts/Saving-The-Planet/ elvin When I first came across Saving the Planet after it was recommended by Malaysia’s former Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. He urged not only the public but also leaders around the world to read it. I was skeptical at first. Coming from a background in law, I wondered what authority he really had on environmental issues. On top of that, the book cost RM80, which... Silent Spring2025-11-17T00:00:00+08:00 2025-11-18T16:54:48+08:00 https://elvin18tiran.github.io/posts/Silent-Spring/ elvin This book was first recommended to me by a renowned professor in my university. He was giving a speech in front of our pest and disease industry partners and, at the end, he showed a slide of books he thought everyone in the room should read. I quietly took a picture of that slide. One of the titles was The Pesticide Conspiracy by Robert van den Bosch, and another was Silent Spring. Later, I sh... Unequal Partner2025-10-15T00:00:00+08:00 2025-10-15T00:00:00+08:00 https://elvin18tiran.github.io/posts/Unequal-Partner/ elvin A little context for non-Malaysian friends: Malaysia was formed on September 16, 1963 and not on Merdeka Day (Malaya’s Independence Day), August 31, 1957. Malaysia’s birth was through an international agreement called the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) which was signed between UK, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore (Which later seperated in 1965 due to racial tens...