Yvonne Tan

writer & researcher working on SEA

[yvonnetan]

Academic Writing

“Collaboration, coercion and counteraction: British Centralisation Policy and 19th century “tax revolts” in Malaysia” in Altuğ Yalçıntaş  and Arne Heise (eds.) Decolonial Narratives in Economics : Alternative and Underrepresented Voices. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025. 

“Framing the Mass Media Abortion Debate in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore” in Christoph Bracks, Arndt Graf, and Patrick Keilbart (eds.) Towards the next 40 years of Southeast Asian Studies in Frankfurt. Essays in honour of Bernd Nothofer. Munich: Iudicium, 2024 (Frankfurt East Asian Studies, 6)  Biz Herman, Or Amma Panin, Elizabeth Wellman, Graeme Blair, Lindsey Pruett, Ken O. Opalo, Hannah Alarian, Allison Grossman, Yvonne Tan, Alex Dyzenhaus, and Nicholas Owsley. "RCTs in the Global South: Assessing Risks, Localizing Benefits, and Addressing Positionality." PS: Political Science & Politics, 27 May 2022

"Piractical Headhunters yang semacam Melayu dan Cina: Creating the Native Other in the Mat Salleh Rebellions (1894-1905)" in Farish Noor and Peter Carey (eds.) "Race and Colonial Wars in 19th Century Southeast Asia" Amsterdam University Press, January 2021

"Food in the Counterinsurgency of the Malayan Emergency: Security and Hawking" in Justin Nordstrom (ed) "Battlefields and Homefronts: An Anthology of Food and Warfare, 1500-Present" University of Arkansas Press, 2021

Yvonne Tan, Imran Rasid, Jeremy Lim, Tang Ah Chai (eds.) "509 People Have Spoken / 509: Suara Rakyat, Suara Keramat / 509：⺠意 覺醒" Strategic Information and Research Development Centre & Mentor Publishing, 2018

“Raden Adjeng Kartini” in Candice Goucher (eds.) Women Who Changed the World: Their Lives, Challenges, and Accomplishments through History, ABC-CLIO, 2022.

Creative non-fiction

"Indonesian and Malaysian Men Have One Thing That Is Shared, And It’s Not Pretty" Whiteboard Journal, 6 March 2025.

"Reflections from the Amoi Gaze on the Malay Dilemma: Pre-workings of a Manifesto" in Jordan Chan and Julia Merican (eds.) Obscuras, The Key Press, 2024.

Reprise after the meeting of a Biwa hōshi and Penglipur Lara, Kaleidoscope Japan: Online Exhibition 28 March - 24 April 2022

"Nationalising the Kebaya in the Nusantara" O for Other by Malaysian Design Archive, 8 Feb 2020

"Of Political Tsunami's Hope and its Hyperbolic Meanings" in Eric Goh (ed.) "Rasa Sayang" A+ WORKS of Art, 2019

"Ephemera Damansara" in Yvonne Tan (eds.) "Makna & Suara: Reflections from a Six-Month Project to Decenter Conversation" published by Projek Dialog, 2018

"Kiasuism: A Global Export" in Kong Hui (ed.) Printed Process, November 2019

"Glossary of What I think is Malaysia" published in Students In Resistance, Vol. 10, 12 August 2016

Regular Contributions at Projek Dialog

Op-eds

“A Conversation with Fa and Fon: A Twin Takeover of Designing Globalised Futurism” Search Magazine Vol. 02, January 2024

“A question of taste in regional culture wars” Malaysiakini, 24 April 2022

"The abortion debate in Malaysia" Malaysia Now, 25 Sep 2020

Climate Change

"Do urban megaprojects bring a sustainable, green future for Malaysia?" Malaysiakini, 18 December 2020

"Long, winding road to solving Selangor’s water crisis" Malaysia Now, 20 November 2020

"The Plastic Pandemic: Has COVID-19 shifted the Media Discourse on Plastics in Southeast Asia?" Climate Tracker and Break Free from Plastic, June 2020.

Fact sheets and country briefs on environmental issues in Malaysia to be available via “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0)”

Art Account

[yvonnetan]

Turun ke Jalan Bukan Budaya Kita A History of Protest in 10 Objects SAM Mansion, 14/9/2024-16/9/2024 Coordinator for an exhibition on Malaysia's history of collective and direct action, presenting the material culture of organising through 10 archival materials chosen from various critical junctures shaped by the people. This was held in conjunction with PESZTA 2024 at Zhongshan building.

Demo Archival Exhibition: 15 Years of Protest in Malaysia KL Chinese Assembly Hall, 25/5/2024 Exhibition Lead for the exhibition focused on celebrating and documenting protest history through multiple protests ephemerals in mapping diverse protests for the past 15 years in Malaysia. Ranging from artworks, videos, banners, placards, t-shirts, publications and other material, it serves as a critical documentation in exploring the narration and articulation of Malaysia’s grassroots social movements. This exhibition was held in conjunction with the Bersih Congress 2024. Kaleidoscope Japan: An Online Exhibition Online & KONGSIKL, 28/3/2022-24/4/2022 Writing titled "Reprise after the meeting of a Biwa hōshi and Penglipur Lara" was showcased along 12 other selected artists under the theme of reflecting perceptions and hopes of Japan and its relationship with Malaysia. Also conducted Obento Lunch Tour about women in myth stories from two different cultures and the ideas behind my adapted work.

A People's History of the Malayan Emergency KL Chinese Assembly Hall, 27-29/7/2018 Organising team of three day-long conference and exhibition of the historical event which received significant media attention and responses from cabinet ministers and the prime minister. The exhibition was designed into "White" and "Black" Areas to reflect how New Villages were organised and the different realities they had to present to evade colonial violence. Unrepresented KL @ Kota Peta Exhibition Ruang by ThinkCity, 5-12/2/2017 Writing on Rohingya foreign workers at Pasar Borong, Kuala Lumpur was showcased in a cultural mapping project of the city.