Time fast running out

Let me set the record straight. Many people seemed to be under the assumption that since I was involved with the publication of FIDELIS, the commemorative coffee table book of The Old Frees' Association as a co-editor with Molly Ooi, we - that is, Molly and I - should be involved with the proposal to publish a similar book to commemorate the bicentennary of the Penang Free School in slightly less than three years' time.

All I can ask people to do is, please don't speculate and make assumption. Just because I was roped into the FIDELIS book project from Oct 2011 to Mar 2012, it doesn't mean that I will be the automatic choice for the PFS Bicentennary Committee or whatever relevant committee when it comes to selecting an editorial team for this project. Far from it.

But time is really fast running out for them. The year 2016 will come and go very fast in the blink of an eye.  And so, good luck to whoever are involved with the book eventually. The person will need the time to do a proper job, he will need the firmness not to be diverted and the assertion to make decisions, and he'll need the independence that should go with the job. Make sure he asks for and gets them because it will be essential for him to get the work done with as little intervention or interference as possible.

And I can assure you that unless he has the time, the independence and the personal qualities that go with being an editor, there will be lots of people giving him unneeded suggestions and wanting a finger in every pie all along the way. I've seen it happen with other projects and I don't foresee it being any different in this one. Good luck, again, whoever you are!