Birthday boy dedicates book to ‘KKB’
Veteran journalist explores garden city in ‘Small Town’
HULU SELANGOR: Kuala Kubu Baru, a town once famed for its tin mines, can now be “traversed” through the lens of a veteran journalist. Rehman Rashid, who turns 61 today, dedicated his latest book Small Town to the town which is simply called KKB.
“It is a personal tribute to showcase the rich tradition and culture of the town,” he said at the launch of his book at Galleri Sejarah KKB yesterday.
KKB was planned in 1924 by Charles Reade, the first government town planner in the Federated Malay States, along the lines of the garden city in London.
The renowned garden city concept was mooted by Ebenezar Howard of the Garden Cities and Town Planning Association.
KKB now stands alongside other garden cities planned and built in other parts of the world, such as Lethworth and Welwyn in Britain, and Colonel Light Gardens (also planned by Reade) in Adelaide.
In his book, which he began writing in 2015, Rehman wrote on various aspects, besides KKB’s historical context.
“In terms of demography, it matches the national median for all, including the orang asli group. It all began with the tin industry in KKB which was started by the orang asli and Malays even before the British came.”
Rehman said his book was “a story of who we are”.
“And how we came about today and perhaps what the country will be. The town, I believe, also portrays Malaysia in microcosm,” he added.
Taiping-born Rehman had a 30-year career in print, broadcast and online media, winning various accolades. His other books are Pangkor: Treasure of the Straits (1990), A Malaysian Journey (1993) and Peninsula (2016).