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The Garden of Evening Mists is a symbolically charged historical narrative about the ramifications of Japanese colonisation in Malaya in the 1940s. A prominent metaphor in this novel is ‘the garden’ in memorium of the protagonist’s deceased sister. This article explores the greening of postcolonial memories of the Japanese colonisation of Malaya in the novel and its deep engagement of Malaysian framed within the social, political and historical contexts. Using postcolonial ecocriticism as a reading lens, the analysis is carried out to be emblematically functional across the limitations of space and time in the country’s colonial history. The analysis displays that the author, Tan Twan Eng, through his authorial-defined social reality, re-enacts numerous snapshots from the Malaysia ecosystem in order to achieve a coherent engagement of Malaysia pre, during and post Japanese occupation. The finding also reveals that while Tan’s narrative provides us with some insights into the ways in which the Malaysians navigate various colonial and postcolonial consequences, it should also be recognized that the ecology of the land adds to the narrative. Through the intersection of the Malaysian landscape and the country’s historical context, the current article reveal how postcolonial ecocriticism is instrumental in understanding the literary canon of Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the theme of cultural diversity in Hilary Tham's Tin Mines and Concubines (2005), a Malaysian fiction that depicts various family stories of multiethnic Malaysians in the 1960s, this article examines the ways in which the author draws on her cultural memories of Malaysian society through the lens of ecocriticism. While cultural memories convey the memories embedded in physical monuments, eco-cultural memories signify memories implanted in ecological substances. Eco-cultural memories entwine both natural and cultural aspects and are essential to the subject of ecocriticism, which emphasises human-non-human links. The research sheds light on Malaysia's varied cultures by examining cultural memories incorporating animal, plant and culinary aspects. Tham's perceptions of cultural variety vary according to ethnic origins, cultural upbringing, belief systems, social classes, cultural practices and experiences. In general, examining Tham's eco-cultural recollections about bodily functions, weddings, superstitions, cultural alienation and social class reveals how the organic relationship between the animal, food and plant components fosters intercultural consciousness and interracial mutual understanding and misunderstanding in Malaysian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]