of malaysian literature....

Have we arrived? That is the question literary figures in Malaysia can answer somewhat positively today. Though we haven’t quite arrived yet, I can say that we are definitely getting there. Compared to some fifty years ago, Malaysian literature did not quite receive the acclamation it is getting today. Not to say that we had an insufficient amount of writers back then. It is just that they weren’t really that popular. Popular here meaning that they are read by a healthy amount of Malaysians. Mention Saleh ben Joned today and even school kids will be able to identify the recluse as a nationwide known writer. I believe we have the freedom of speech to thank for this. The influence of the freedom of speech that the US of A practices is now rampant in our society, though we are a lot more cautious than American writers. But as I have said earlier, we are getting there. Our writings are becoming more and more vocal today and that works well with the crowd. Why?

Number one……We love controversial pieces. Who wants to read boring literature when Shahnon Ahmad’s SHIT will prove to be a more enjoyable read? As a literature student, I am not inclined to agree, even for a second that SHIT qualifies as a piece of literary work. Even taking into account that Shahnon Ahmad was once Malaysia’s Poet Laureate. We know that people like controversy, and that’s what some writers today are banking in on. Why write about sober stuff when you get more attention by dissing other people through your writing? I am not saying that controversy is necessarily all the time bad. I am merely stating that the freedom that writer’s are granted with should not be abused and used to justify nonsense as literature. Controversial writings aren’t limited to merely taking out grievances on other people. For example, Saleh ben Joned’s Malchin Testament. It deals with how Malaysians are so misguided when it comes to the English Language. It is almost to the extent of the blind leading the blind. Our pronunciation and grammatical structure are so bad sometimes that it makes a person wonder, whatever happened to that 10 years spent in school learning English? And yet, we carry our bad English ever so proudly. In the Malchin Testament, Saleh addressed all these issues and he does it in a comical, ironic way. It can be said that his approach is somewhat controversial, but it is the truth and he isn’t attacking any one person in general.

Sadly, Malaysians copy way too much. We like the freedom of speech practiced by the Americans, and we copy it wholeheartedly. But in the event of doing that, the literary work we produce becomes nothing more than sampah.

Putting controversy aside, there are many positive reasons to why I think Malaysian and Singaporean writers are progressing more and more today. One reason being, increased readership. The level of education today is vastly different from that of thirty years ago. More and more people are getting highly educated and in that process, they read more.

The increasing demand for local literature, is I believe, due to the fact that, we are more culturally aware today. Maybe it is because there is an increase of awareness for us to know more about our own culture, or perhaps it could even be a trend. When once it was cool to have a copy of Rudyard Kipling, perhaps today, in Malaysia, you may appear to be more hip and sophisticated if you’re seen reading a Rani Manicka. The act of looking east may be a trend, but it is doing wonders for our local writers.

School children today are getting a lot more materials from local literature because the government has decided to incorporate literature into the syllabus. This is a good thing because young minds are fresh. They have this inane thirst for knowledge and by restricting the syllabus, we are merely doing them more harm than good. Local literature has a lot to offer. They need to be aware that Emily Dickinson, Charles Dickens, and the likes of them are not the only literary figures worth knowing and worth reading. Yes, they are great writers, but once in a while, what’s the harm in looking at our own backyard. They need to know that they can make is as writers too if they want to. When we inculcate this sort of thinking into the minds of our young ones, then they themselves will find it in them to look for local literature and enjoy reading them.

In a nutshell, we are indeed heading for something better. The local literature scene is blossoming thanks to the brilliant minds of Karim Raslan, Huzir Sulaiman, Jit Murad and so on. They are wonderfully open-minded people whose writings appeal to all ages. We mustn’t also forget the young upstarts who are colouring up the local literature scene with their talent and fresh views. As it goes, there are always two sides to a coin. Be it we’re progressing because of controversy or be it because of an increased sense of awareness, we are definitely getting there.

of black and white, and yellow and blue...

Racism is a disease that eats away the foundation of humanity and slowly kills a society from within. Ever since Medgar Evers and Emmett Till to Martin Luther King, way back to the birth of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, racism has been an issue that has received worldwide attention. Despite having gone through an immense change in technology and progressive development of a country as a whole, racism still raises its ugly head in the hearts of some people today. Perhaps it is more subtle than the days of the Klan, but racism is racism no matter how subtle or obscure it is. Take our country for instance, development-wise we have come a long way since May 13th, and yet we are not allowed to speak of it so much, it is not widely analyzed or written in any text books, pages of the newspaper during that time are missing from the national archives. The main reason cited is that we do not want to create unnecessary unrest among the rakyat. What is that supposed to mean? To me that just translates to fear. Fear of not being able to control a progressive, intellectual society. This fear is simply borne out of a constant need to exert power over the people. It’s about time that the people in this country come to terms that we are a multi-racial society. Regardless of who came here first or who came here last. Regardless of what our forefathers did or what they were brought here to do. The simple fact of the matter that carries weight today is that we are a multi-racial society and have been one for a long time now. Initially, the Brits were reluctant to grant us independence for fear that all the races in this country will not be able to work together harmoniously. But the fight for independence managed to prove the British wrong and here we are 51 years later, Merdeka. However, one question still begs to be answered. How Merdeka are we? Before some of you start to get overly defensive over this issue, just take a step back and ask yourselves. Are our minds Merdeka of any thoughts of superiority over other races? Are we truly in acceptance of all the races in this country and are we truly able to accept equality if equality is granted upon all of us? Most of us may say that we are, but only out of fear for getting branded as a racist. But some of us are still adamant that one particular race should forever remain superior over the others. I was born in 1981. I was born into a free and thriving Malaysia. I grew up in a multi-racial society. And I will forever be of the opinion that Malaysia belongs to all of us. As long as we were born and raised in this country, as long as we are allowed to vote, as long as we are allowed to raise our families in this country, as long as we are able to work and earn a decent living in this country and as long as we wish to remain in this country, then we all belong here and should enjoy the same benefits and privileges. Why must one race reign superior over the rest? If we really wish to get into that, I believe the rightful owners of Malaysia, so to speak, would be the orang aslis. Can’t we just put race behind us and learn to coexist peacefully and harmoniously? Why can’t we look beyond colour and countries of origin? If not for people like Martin Luther King Jr, the African-Americans in America would probably still be treated like second-class citizens in a country they have come to embrace as their own. If not for those who went to London to seek for our Independence from the British, we would probably still be colonized. But we are where we are today. And what we should do now is learn to accept that we were all put on this earth not to discriminate. I am not in any way discounting heritage and legacy. We should all be proud of who we are and where we came from, but what we should also do is learn to be more tolerant and eradicate superiority totally. Only then will we be able to realize our true potential and do more good instead of harm. I am pretty sure that many will not agree with me on my ideas, but then again I live by these words that was said by a very important man in the history of humanity, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” With that, I beg of you readers to think and speak out if you feel that injustice is at large. Silence will only propagate more harm.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..

of anniversaries again...

It’s been a year. How fast time flies… twelve months already. I can still remember the very day I walked up a flight of stairs and a certain stranger opened the door and invited me to come into the studio, and little did we both know at the time, into his life and heart. I never even thought that we would actually start to date much less last for a year. But here we are, despite the fights, still going on strong. This relationship is proving to be the toughest one I’ve had so far. But as my batman pointed out ever so sharply but filled with utmost honesty dipped in concern, nothing worthwhile is ever easy. At this point in time, we both still have no idea where this relationship is going. We’re just taking one day at a time, keeping our fingers crossed, and hoping for the best. But if it doesn’t work out, I will always treasure his presence in my life.

I realized I haven’t written in a while. I’ve just been suffering from a bad case of writer’s block. What it’s like can be likened to a cloud of annoyance hanging over my head. Sometimes I wonder whether I should continue down this road of writing as my main focus in life. But after much contemplating and toying with the idea of doing law or psychology or taking some other path, I realize that I was born to write. I may not be that good at it, but it’s the one thing that allows me to be me and as clichéd as this sounds, it makes me happy. Writing allows me to express myself and as most of my friends will attest to, I am one expressive woman. Every human being placed on this earth by God Almighty is filled with thoughts and ideas. It is up to the individual to find ways to express themselves. For me, I find comfort in ink and paper, or rather my keyboard. I honestly don’t know what I’d do if I woke up one morning and discover that language is a lost concept to me and I can’t put together a sentence anymore. Probably go nuts.

So in the spirit of sanity and all things happy and eccentric and weird, selamat hari ulang tahun yang pertama abang….salam kasih from your princess…. I love you with all my heart...