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.
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.
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