Alam Pustaka: the world of Pustaka by Pharo Abdul Hakim, Saiee Driss and Mahmud Yusop.
Kuching: Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, 2015. 200 pp., RM 50.00 (Paperback) ISBN 9789839205459
Reviewed by Dr David J. Jones ([email protected])
Alam Pustaka depicts the environment, the flora and fauna, of the park in which the Sarawak State Library (Pustaka Negeri Sarawak) is situated at Petra Jaya, Kuching. As the creators of this work demonstrate, it is a very rich environment, with a lake, grassland, wetlands, open and dense forest, and some formal gardens, all set in a 92 acre park. Its flora is astonishingly varied, as the park’s designers intended: there were at last count 4741 ornamental shrubs and flowering plants, 878 local tree species (some very rare), 336 fruit trees, 275 palm species and 50 different herbs.
The park also has miles of jogging and cycling tracks which fitness enthusiasts use daily for health and recreation. The lake, aerated by a fountain, is home to many fish species and water birds, adding to the beauty and serenity of the setting. Pustaka and its park therefore provide a variety of opportunities for recreation, education and social interaction. But unseen by many of the joggers, walkers, cyclists and library users is a whole world of living creations, a microcosm of Sarawak’s environment, now vividly brought to our attention by the skills of the contributors to this book.
It is a beautifully-designed and printed book depicting a selection of the plants and creatures which call the park their home, together with their names in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Latin, and phrases describing the thoughts of an observer, often very evocatively. Readers are taken into micro habitats and gain a close-up view of how other living creatures exist in this environment.
Through the lens of the camera, Alam Pustaka readers are shown a sample of the species of flora and fauna and will probably, like me, be amazed by their variety and their often vibrant colours.
It will have taken long hours of waiting for the photographers to capture that perfect moment, especially with birds and insects, which are often difficult to photograph in the wild.
Remarkable, in particular, is the image of a hapless brown-throated sunbird feeding the fledgling violet cuckoo which it has inadvertently raised as its own. It is a great credit to the collaborative
efforts of fifteen photographers from the Photography Association of Quebah Clicks Kuching and Pustaka Negeri Sarawak which supported the marathon effort of organizing the photoshoots over many months, selecting and editing the images, documenting them and producing this marvellous publication. As was their intention, Alam Pustaka really does enable a greater understanding and appreciation of this and the wider environment and its denizens. It also shows how public buildings and recreational spaces, planned with ambition and vision, can be successfully integrated into a natural setting in which creatures, great and small, human and otherwise, can thrive.
