The charmingly colonial Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Memorial in the capital city provided the venue for the screening of a docufilm to accompany a new book titled ‘Racket Boy: Where’s My Country?’ on April 27.
The premiere of the 50-minute documentary was attended by about 180 guests.
The Malaysian launch of the book took place a week earlier, on April 20, at Gerak Budaya in Petaling Jaya. Gerak Budaya is also the publisher of the Malaysian edition.
The book was officially launched in Frankfurt, Germany in October last year.
Next stop is the launch of the Indian edition next month.
Co-written by Malaysian author Geetha K and Philip George, the book tells the story of the latter who grew up in Prang Besar Estate before it became Putrajaya.
The story begins in 1957, when young Philip (fondly known as Mohan by his Malayalee family) was getting ready to attend the declaration of Independence by Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur.
Philip went on to excel at the game of badminton under the guidance of Coach Chan at Kajang Badminton Hall, and a carefree childhood in multiracial Malaya, as the country was then known.
His adventures continued when he moved to England at the age of 18 with only £20 in his pocket, half a dozen badminton rackets, and a dream to meet John Lennon.
After a stint as a mental health nurse and eventually in law in the United Kingdom, Philip now resides in Italy.
He is currently back in Malaysia to promote the book.
The docufilm acts as a teaser for the book, showcasing Philip’s extraordinary life story in a documentary format.
“This docufilm is not a short version of the book. It however gives a snapshot of what is in the book. You will need to read the book to know more about Philip’s exciting life journey,” the authors said during a Q&A session after the screening of the documentary.
Both also quickly declined to identify which was their favourite chapter in the book.
“All 25 of them,” said Geetha while Phillip quipped: “Everything!”.
A copy of the book is available in all local bookstores, or can be purchased online.
