Wednesday January 24, 2007 Outstanding Asians
CHANNEL NewsAsia on MiTV has recognised Eddin Khoo (pic), founder of Pusaka, as one of Channel NewsAsia's Asians of the Year for his work on cultural preservation in Kelantan. A six-part series on Asians of the Year is being screened on Channel NewsAsia throughout this month. Khoo, 37, has been conducting research on aspects of oral transmission, cultural and religious politics, and ritualistic aspects of traditional theatre for more than 15 years. In 2002, he set up Pusaka, a non-profit organisation, to focus on the research and documentation of Kelantanese performance traditions such as wayang kulit, mak yong and manora. Pusaka was set up to create awareness on the importance of cultural tradition in a rapidly developing society. The Asians of the Year is recognised in six categories: environment, social causes, medicine/science, business, education and the arts. The award honours outstanding individuals who work tirelessly towards societal good. Khoo is accepted in the arts category along with Indonesian actress Christine Hakim and filmmaker Liu Xiaojin of China. The other Asians of the Year are from Japan, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. The programme is aired every Thursday at 9.30pm and is also available on Channel NewsAsia International on Monday (4.30pm) and Friday (12.30am and 12.30pm).//Thestar
