British author tells us how a history of clocks is a history of civilisation

Historian and author Rooney grew up in a house filled with clocks, thanks to his parents' clock restoration business. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani

It was a sweltering Sunday when British historian and author David Rooney arrived in Kuala Lumpur, but that didn’t stop him from taking a walk to the Sultan Abdul Samad building near Dataran Merdeka to see the clock tower.

As he turned around the corner and the square came into view, he was transported into the past – the day Malaya gained independence in 1957, and all the stories that came before.