Harris’ nostalgia Facebook page, “Down Memory Lane” (DML), may not be the only throwback social media group in the country but it is seen as special in the way it promotes unity and friendship.
It shows, practically on a daily basis, how much Malaysians have in common by bringing people together with an avalanche of historical, candid and funny recalls peppered with delicious anecdotes.
Thousands of lively stories and photographs from the early days of the country have emerged since building contractor Harris built a community tied by harmony and caring in 2013.
“The stories of our communities through good times and bad are endless,” said Harris, 64. “Each narrative has the common touch, a precious gift for togetherness.”
He said the stories reveal the many ways people of different races, religions and cultures lived, worked and played as one, how they celebrated events together, entertained themselves and followed the latest fads.
“In today’s frantic pace of life, it is easy to forget our past as well as the toils of the generations before us who built the country we live in.
“The unsettling times now mean the appeal of the bygone years when things were different, and presumably well, in the country is even more seductive.
“Any talk on race, religion and politics is disallowed,” said Harris, whose wife Shahin and their four children also act as page administrators to delete unwarranted comments or posts.
Harris launched DML after an old photograph of a man selling ais kacang (sweet dessert) he had posted on his personal Facebook page in 2013 struck sweetly with people longing to remember happier times.
Soon, DML set people of all races and ages on journeys back to their youthhood and within weeks, more than 10,000 joined the group.
Today, DML’s almost 43,000 participants nationwide and overseas have created something like a long-lost national photo album, providing a window into a Malaysia without smartphones and SUVs.
Harris said DML has also helped rekindle friendships with old friends, schoolmates and relatives whom they have not seen for up to 50 years.
Regular contributor Sivaraman Sabapathy said: “DML acts as a reset button to jumpstart faltering identities and to relish in the faces, places and moments in history that are frozen in time.
“When I check-in the DML group, I feel a glow of happiness, nostalgia and cheer within me as hundreds of wonderful memories, stories, experiences and lessons are shared.
“And judging from the posts and comments, one thing is crystal clear, that all of us, immaterial of race, religion, social or economic status, have so much in common.
“DML is a group that heals the soul in these difficult times. We share a common past and we shall share a common destiny.”
Another member, Aliyah Khan, said the experiences of everyday people and photographs were important social documents to understand society and communities from different generations.
Steven Ng, 25, said he was glad there were no arguments and bickering in DML, adding it was more a place to have “fun, laugh and be happy”.
Topics on DML are varied and get a little serious when people talk about the disappearance of the art of handwriting and of the young who are no longer using fountain pens to write in cursive.
Let’s look at 10 photographs below that triggered feisty banter.
