Release date: 29 June 2025
Welcome to the Listen by Heart: Stories from Women of the South China Sea podcast, by Jasmine H. Low. we interview Malayland (2024) author Dina Zaman. Kuala Lumpur-based, Dina Zaman is a writer and researcher. She is co-founder of IMAN Research, a think tank focusing on socio-political and security matters, and a founding member of the Southeast Asian Women Peacebuilders.
Dina is a former journalist, columnist and one of the most delightful thinkers from Malaysia’s East Coast of Terengganu. She speaks about “Ganu” with so much passion!
Dina is founder of Gong Kapas Media and a visit to www.gongkapasmedia.com will share more about her upcoming projects.
An Interview with Dina Zaman:
- Malayland, prologue | Narrated by Malaysian author Dina Zaman
- Dina Zaman, Malaysian Author of Malayland & Cofounder of IMAN Research
Books by Dina Zaman:
- I Am Muslim (Silverfish Publishing, RM45)
- King Of The Sea (Clarity Publishing, RM49)
- Malayland (Ethos Books/Faction Press, RM45)
Where to purchase Dina Zaman books: Lit Books, Gerakbudaya, Kinokuniya, Eslite, Tsutaya, Popular and MPH in Malaysia.
Recorded in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Feb 2024.
Released in June 2025.
Producer’s notes:
This audio interview has been edited for breadth only, and references in the beautiful Malay language are retained without explanation. You are most welcomed to ask us and leave us a message below. Thank you.
The Backstory
About Listen by Heart: A Legacy of Voices for Peace
Inspired by her mother Shirl, an English and Art teacher, dementia survivor, and two-time brain tumour survivor who cherishes recounting tales from her youth, creative producer and host Jasmine H. Low began recording their conversations. This simple act of listening created a profound experience for both mother and daughter. On International Women’s Day, March 8th, 2021, Jasmine embarked on Listen by Heart, an open-sourced oral history archival project that has a goal to document the powerful voices of women from countries bordering the South China Sea – a region marked by contention.
“We need more stories of women from this region, putting HER into HIStory,” states Jasmine. The project aims to record 99 women of Southeast Asian heritage, or those with a deep affinity for countries in the region. This podcast isn’t just about personal histories; it’s a powerful advocacy for peace, where the collective voices of these women stand as sentinels. Listen by Heart is available across platforms like YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and Audible.
You can find more details on this official website: https://listenbyheart.webprojx.com.
Thank you for listening to these vital stories.✌️
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Humbly yours,
Jasmine Low
Listen by Heart Podcast Host and Producer
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What is Listen by Heart all about?
Background: The Listen by Heart Podcast is inspired by my mother Shirl, who has dementia and a survivor of two brain tumour operations. A former English and Art school teacher, she loves telling me stories from her youth and when I started recording our conversations, I started to really listen. It was an amazing experience for us both. So, on International Women’s Day 8th of March 2021, I embarked on this project and have given myself al the time in the world to complete this. It shall be an open-source, oral history archival project and I hope to work with universities, institutes and foundations that have a similar interest. I feel we need more stories of women of this region, putting HER into HIStory.
The plan is to record 99 women, and myself as the 100th. Tall order! Women of Southeast Asian heritage, who have an affinity with countries bordering the South China Sea, an area of much contention of late. Listen by Heart Podcast is also a project that will advocate peacekeeping through audio interviews that are freely available across most platforms such as this one here on YouTube, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, also Amazon and Audible and the official website is a good start to learn more about the podcast:
https://listenbyheart.webprojx.com.
Thank you!
