BRITON Roger Cowdrey, an international business consultant, author and motivational speaker, is currently in Penang to introduce his fourth children’s book in the Malaysian Squirrel series, titled ‘The Mission of the Malaysian Squirrel: To Stop the Taman Negara Feud.’
Today, he will share the narrative with students of Dalat International School, marking his third consecutive school visit in as many days.
According to Cowdrey, the inspiration for the book came from an idea proposed by Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak after the Penang governor officiated the grand launch of his third book, ‘The Penang Sea Mission of the Malaysian Squirrel’ at the Penang Library in Seberang Jaya last year.
“During a lunch discussion with the Governor after the book launch, we talked about the potential of Malaysia achieving more if all groups could work together. He then suddenly turned to me and asked, ‘Do you think the (Malaysian) Squirrel’ could do it?’” Cowdrey, 77, recalled.
The Malaysian squirrel, a central character in the book series, serves as the leader of a team dedicated to missions aiding distressed animals.
The conversation fuelled Cowdrey, who has resided in the country for over four years under the Malaysian My Second Home (MM2H), to embark on yet another meaningful story. In this latest instalment, much like his previous three books, he uses animal characters to continue the narrative in his series.
In the fourth book, Taman Negara (national park) was expected to have peace after the animals had earlier collaborated to get rid of poachers. But this did not happen.
Cowdrey said after the poachers were gone, the animals started arguing about who owned the land.
“The big animals, such as tigers, tapirs and bears said they should run the forest, but the monkeys, squirrels and others disagreed.
“You need the birds to consume and distribute seeds for the growth of new plants. You need elephants and water buffaloes to break up the soil so that things can grow. You need the monkeys and squirrels to play a role in pollinating the trees.
“So, only by working together can we all protect the forests. Unfortunately, nobody seems willing to embrace change,” Cowdrey said.
Quoting a conversation from the book, one animal expressed: “Having got rid of the poachers, we have the freedom to build an even better forest. However, now we have a place where groups keep to themselves, where some groups want to control what others do, and where some animals are thought not to be real animals of the forest. Even the macaques, lemurs and squirrels no longer play together. Surely a system like this can never really grow the forest and its creatures.”
Cleverly addressing these issues, Cowdrey allows the Malaysian squirrel, named Shaari, and his team to attempt to solve the problems by talking to both the elders and the youth.
Towards the book’s conclusion, Shaari observes: “We have discovered that not working together will damage the forest for future young animals, but that working together will make the forest a better and healthier place. Now, tell your youth what your decision is. Will you work together or not?”
The story concludes with Shaari saying, “I bet humans don’t have the problems we have just dealt with.”
As the book is quite fresh from the press, Cowdrey said he would like to present a copy to Tun Ahmad Fuzi.
All of Cowdrey’s Malaysian Squirrel series, published by Precious Pages, revolve around helping animals in distress. He said his first book, ‘The Secret Mission of the Malaysian Squirrel’, was written for her granddaughter, Layla.
Using the pen name August Moon, Cowdrey explained: “My granddaughter used to visit me in August in Turkey. I would hold her in my arms, and together we would go up onto the balcony and admire the moon and bid it goodnight. Moon was the first word I ever taught her.”
While staying at the Rasa Sayang Hotel in Batu Ferringhi during a holiday a few years ago, Cowdrey saw a squirrel and a monitor lizard (mistaken by his wife, Pamela, for a crocodile) on the hotel grounds.
He then decided to write a book on the Malaysian squirrel for his granddaughter. Initially, he drafted only two pages, but with the onset of Covid-19 and outdoor restrictions, he found the time to complete the book.
The narrative introduces four main characters: Shaari, the Malaysian squirrel and team leader; Karnchana, a squirrel from Thailand; Safrina, a sunbird from Penang; and Thiri, a sunbird from Myanmar.
The book unfolds with Shaari’s 6,500-mile journey across Asia and Europe to rescue a rare red squirrel held captive by a wicked witch, aiming to return her to her natural home. He has a close affinity with red squirrels having seen them often when he was young in England.
The second book, ‘The National Park Mission of the Malaysian Squirrel’, tells of Shaari, the Malaysian squirrel, in his brave effort to save pangolins from poachers.
For the third book, titled ‘The Penang Sea Mission of The Malaysian Squirrel,’ Shaari and his team tackle the danger to sea creatures around Penang.
“The amazing thing about the third book is that the Squirrel wrote to the Penang governor, and the Penang governor wrote back,” said Cowdrey, who was introduced to Tun Ahmad Fuzi through a mutual friend.
Shaari sought the governor’s support for their mission to enlist the help of Penang children in making the waters and beaches cleaner and safer.
Tun Ahmad Fuzi, in his reply, thanked Shaari and Friends for their hard work to help protect the environment and expressed hopes that children reading about their mission would try and influence their parents to take care of the environment, including the coast and sea creatures.
Cowdrey has been invited to deliver a two-hour talk to members of the WomenBizSENSE today before their annual general meeting.
“I have worked with over 2,000 small businesses for the past 25 to 30 years in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
“My talk will be interesting; it will be based on two books that I wrote: ‘Creating An Entrepreneurial Mindset’ and ‘Preparing for Uniqueness,’” Cowdrey said.
He wants to share his experience and knowledge with the small businesses in Malaysia.
“I love children. I want to keep writing stories about the Malaysian squirrel. Shaari will keep embarking on missions,” Cowdrey emphasised.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud