GOL? The first web project by Matahari Books

So there I was, chatting with Danny Lim a few weeks ago (it was a virtual chat: he is in London doing his Masters), when we thought that a World Cup book by Malaysians would be a good idea.

Then it became a website. Because a website can be much faster, more spontaneous and interactive. And the website is http://mataharibooks.com/gol/.

Gol? features nine Malaysian writers and the site is bilingual.

Each writer will describe the experience of watching the matches. Because the World Cup is nothing if not a social phenomenon. Six of them will be in Malaysia all the time, two will be in South Africa part of the time, and one will be in Indonesia part of the time. They will be encouraged to watch the matches in public spaces (such as mamak restaurants). So it will be a mix of not only sports writing but personal narrative and (dare we say it?) sociology. One of the writers, Umapagan Ampikaipakan, proudly admits that he knows nothing about football.

The writers count among my favourites. I have reviewed books by Shamini Flint and Pipiyapong before, so you can check 'em out for yourself. Danny is, of course, the compiler of The Malaysian Book of the Undead, one of the first Matahari Books titles. His photo-essay on KL street demonstrations was also in New Malaysian Essays 2.

We hope you enjoy it. Please bookmark, spread the word and (when the articles start coming in this weekend), do comment!

If this works out, stay tuned for more web projects ;-)

Majulah sukan untuk negara!