Prince of dark fantasy

MALAYSIAN ABROAD
By WONG LI ZA

An award-winning Malaysian author goes for the macabre. 

Fact File
NAME: Tunku Halim Tunku Abdullah
AGE: 45
HOMETOWN: Petaling Jaya, Selangor
EDUCATION: St John’s Institution, Kuala Lumpur; Cheltenham College, Britain; Sussex University, Britain; City University, London; Inns of Court School of Law, Britain.
OCCUPATION: Author
CURRENT BASE: Hobart, Tasmania
YEARS ABROAD: 26
E-MAIL: tunkuhalim@gmail.com 

Master of the macabre: ‘I might use the supernatural, such as the orang minyak, in my stories but my intention is not to scare,’ says Tunku Halim Tunku Abdullah.

LOOKING relaxed in checked, short-sleeved shirt and jeans, Tunku Halim Tunku Abdullah had every reason to be laid-back. 

After all, he was on vacation and even had on his “holiday hat”.  

“I love hats. I wear one every day. I have a hiking hat, a gardening hat, a boating hat and a going-to-work hat,” said Tunku Halim, 45. 

Throughout the interview over coffee one late morning, Tunku Halim often paused before making his comments, as if to choose his words carefully. However, he is definitely not a man of few words. 

Currently based in Tasmania, Australia, Tunku Halim is an established author with 14 books to his credit. 

He published his first book, Everything The Condominium Developer Should Have Told You, But Didn’t, in 1992. At that time, he was working in Malaysia for a property developer (in marketing and legal) and came across many problems in regard to buying apartments. 

Tunku Halim has also written books for children, the first being A Children’s History Of Malaysia (2003) which is currently in its third reprint. 

He first thought of the idea for the book while writing his father’s (the late Tunku Abdullah Tuanku Abdul Rahman of the royal house of Negeri Sembilan)) biography and having heard stories about how his father lived through World War II and the British rule.  

“My knowledge of history was not very good so I had to do some research. From there, I realised that Malaysian history is actually so interesting,” shared Tunku Halim, adding that he was also inspired by a book called A Child’s History Of England by Charles Dickens. 

Then, the idea of an A-to-Z book of history for children came to mind, resulting in his latest release this January of his self-published History Of Malaysia: A Children’s Encyclopaedia.  

“It was initially meant to be a simple publication which would accompany A Children’s History Of Malaysia. Then I thought that it would be wonderful to include more photos and illustrations in full colour,” said Tunku Halim, who put the book together practically by himself. 

However, although the former St John’s Institution student has property and children’s books to his name, his forte lies with dark fantasy. 

A huge fan of Stephen King, Tunku Halim’s first book in this genre was The Rape Of Martha Teoh and Other Chilling Tales, published in 1997. One of the stories in it was subsequently turned into a full novel called Dark Demon Rising, which was nominated for the 1999 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. 

“I like to think there is more to this everyday world than meets the eye and that there’s another world beneath our humdrum day,” he said in explaining his interest in the subject.  

In 1988, one of Tunku Halim’s short stories, This Page Is Left Intentionally Blank (from BloodHaze: 15 Chilling Tales) won the Fellowship of Australian Writers’ prize.  

His other novel, Vermillion Eye (2000) is used as a study text in the National University of Singapore’s Language and Literature course. 

The unassuming author’s most successful book to date remains 44 Cemetery Road, a compilation of the best short stories from three of his earlier books.  

Tunku Halim’s latest published fiction is a novella entitled Juriah’s Song, which is about a rock star being haunted by a female spirit.  

People often categorise Tunku Halim’s work as horror but the former lawyer begs to differ.  

“I prefer the terms ‘dark fantasy’ or ‘darkness and imagination’ because people expect fear when they think ‘horror’ and that is not my intention,” he said.  

“I might use the supernatural, such as the orang minyak, in my stories but my intention is not to scare. One can read Silence Of The Lambs and not think it’s horror but it is,” he said to elaborate his point. 

Tunku Halim, the youngest son of Tunku Abdullah, left for Britain to study at the age of 13 and that was when he first started writing, exploring his interest in poetry.  

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law (School of Social Sciences) from Sussex University and also obtained a Masters in Shipping, Trade and Finance from City University (London). He later did his Bar examination at the Inns of Court School of Law. 

Upon his return to Malaysia after 10 years in Britain, he worked for Shearn Delamore & Co and that was the time he took up writing again. 

“Back then, Jalan Damansara in KL was a windy road surrounded by jungles on both sides and driving there at night was quite spooky. People used to say it was haunted by a pontianak (female vampire). In fact, people still say it is,” said Tunku Halim in all seriousness, adding that the story provided fodder for one of his books. 

The father of two turned full-time writer around 1997 and enjoys writing both fiction and non-fiction. 

“Non-fiction is easier to write, provided you have passion for the subject. You can research the topic and have references to go to and things are more clear-cut. 

“Fiction is easier in the way that you draw on your own experiences and mind but that means it’s also difficult because you need to tap into your mind,” said Tunku Halim, whose favourite books include The Old Man And The Sea (Ernest Hemingway) and One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez). 

Tunku Halim first moved to Australia in 1993 to work with Oracle Corporation as legal counsel in Sydney. He then moved to Tasmania in 2001 with his Malaysian wife, Suzanne, who is of Chinese and English parentage, and children Tunku Kristina, now 12, and Tunku Adam, eight.  

“We decided it was a better life because of the beauty of the place and I’ve always wanted to live right by the sea. In Sydney, it was too expensive to do that. 

“Tasmania also has good schools for the children and good amenities. Being a city of only 180,000, people are also friendlier there,” he said. 

Tunku Halim leads a healthy lifestyle by practising karate twice a week and doing yoga or pilates daily. He also hikes in the mountains with his family occasionally.  

Many people would assume that living in the beautiful Tasmanian surroundings presents the perfect writing environment. 

“That is not true. Inspiration is just for the idea but the rest is perspiration. I need isolation to write, which means I cannot do that in Malaysia because I’m always with people.” 

He credited Hobart, and Australia in general, for providing a conducive setting for writers. 

“In Australia, they have many writers’ centres which offer various writing courses and also guide you on how to get published,” he said, lamenting the fact that Malaysia lacks such resources. 

Currently, Tunku Halim is working on his latest novel, a dark comedy about a bomoh (witch doctor) who is initially hired by a tea lady to kill a Tan Sri. However, the bomoh later discovers that the Tan Sri is involved in a dam project that would flood his (the bomoh’s) village and realises he needs the Tan Sri to stop the project.  

“I want to be as Malaysian as possible so the novel will be very colloquial,” shared Tunku Halim, who plans to complete the book by the end of this year. 

Asked about his ultimate aim as a writer, Tunku Halim admitted to having none but adhered to a simple rule. 

“I just want to enjoy what I am doing, you know, do something meaningful and also give something of value to readers,” he said.