Reference

Malacca Municipal Health Office (1933). Health talks specially contributed to the Malacca Guardian. Malacca, Malacca Guardian.

 

Review

What did elementary school teachers, junior sanitary inspectors, nurses, midwives, estate dressers and various social work staff in Malacca have in common in 1933?

Answer: They were the intended audience of the book titled Health Talks.

Health Talks is a fascinating read for both medical and non-medical professionals alike because it highlights various illnesses (e.g. malaria, pneumonia, bowel diseases, tuberculosis, smallpox, beriberi, leprosy, septic diseases and plague) and simple methods for disease prevention. It also brings to our attention the living and economic conditions of different segments of society then.

In a chapter focusing on affordable nutrition, it encourages “the cheaper, the better” food consumption. Unpolished rice and wholemeal bread for instance, contain higher nutritional value than their commercialised equivalent — polished white rice and white bread. In another eye-opening chapter, it covers the prevention and treatment of germs which instruct readers to use kerosene to get rid of lice in their hair. Finally, the chapter on kampongs advises Penghulus then (i.e. the head of each village) to consider incorporating various housing and day to day living conditions, such as the inclusion of latrines, cement water wells, proper drainage systems and the practice of burying rubbish, into one’s village.

While most of these knowledge are well-known facts in current times, it wasn’t so in the 1930s when lifestyles and living conditions were more “primitive” comparatively, and knowledge spread was less rife. Readers today are not only given an insight into how our forefathers lived, but also their advice on domestic hygiene back in those days.