THREATENED PARADISE

by April Alliston ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 24, 1967

Subtitled ""North Borneo and Its Peoples,"" this book describes past and present conditions in Sabah, which is probably the least known state in the Federation of Malaysia. With an area of nearly 30,000 square miles and a population a good deal less than half a million, Sabah is threatened on the one hand by Indonesia, with whom she shares a long, mountainous, equatorial border, and on the other by intermittent claims put forth by the Philippines. Sabah's people represent four entirely disparate ethnic groups: the coastal, Moslem descendants of the pirates familiar to all Conrad fans, the primitive tribesmen of the interior, the European settlers, and the Chinese merchant-tradesmen. Mr. Alliston treats each in turn, informatively and informally, more in the manner of a travelogue than of serious history or sociology. Since solid scholarly materials on the region are largely nonexistent, he had little choice but to fall back on what he saw and heard himself there, and on the scanty, biased records of adventurers and colonial administrators. But while this explains the affectionately condescending tone throughout, and the predilection for viewing Indonesian aspirations as wholly sinister, it is not a sufficient excuse. Another drawback here is the fact that the text is nearly two years old, and political realities have shifted considerably since then. Nevertheless, with so little else of any value whatsoever available on this subject in English, Mr. Alliston deserves cautious attention and measured gratitude.

Pub Date: April 24, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Roy

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION