Air Force veteran releases another historical book
While others his age may be taking things easy, enjoying life at a slower pace, septuagenarian Major (Rtd) Dr Nor Ibrahim Sulaiman keeps himself busy writing historical books successively, due to his deep love for the country’s history.
Visitors to his blog, which he started in 2009, may be familiar with his work on historical accounts, especially those related to the struggles of national heroes.
Hence, it is understandable why he decided to write at length on the Baling Talks in his fifth book, which was published last month.
Nor Ibrahim, 72, an Air Force veteran, admitted that he would feel guilty if he did not share his knowledge with others, particularly on historical events that shaped the country to what it is now.
“Indeed, I do not deny that historical reading materials are quite heavy and less popular for a large group of people, especially the younger generation. But I will feel guilty if I don’t share what I know.
“Another factor as to why I am willing to sacrifice time and money (to write a book), is because I want to give a different view on what happened behind the scenes, before a certain event, such as why the meeting (of the Baling Talks) took place,” he told Bernama.
After years of gathering information on the Baling Talks, finally, in April his book on the country’s historical event, entitled Liku-Liku Pertemuan Baling, was published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
“I did not use the term Rundingan Baling (as the title of the book) because for me there were no direct negotiations. Both sides, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Chin Peng, did not budge from their respective objectives,” said the former Nuri pilot.
Nor Ibrahim plans to contribute his work to the National Archives and state libraries as he found that materials on the topic were relatively lacking.