Modern Malay Literary Culture: A Historical Perspective 9789814376341

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I5EA5 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies was established as an autonomous organization in May 1968. It is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modern Southeast Asia. The Institute's research interest is focused on the many-faceted problems of development and modernization, and political and social change in Southeast Asia. The Institute is governed by a twenty-two-member Board of Trustees on which are representatives from the National University of Singapore, appointees from the government, as well as representatives from a broad range of professional and civic organizations and groups. A ten-man Executive Committee oversees day-to-day operations; it is chaired by the Director, the Institute's chief academic and administrative officer. The responsibility for facts and opinions expressed in this publication rests exclusively with the author and his interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views or the policy of the Institute or its supporters.

MODERN MALAY LITERARY CULTURE A Historical Perspective Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Research Notes and Discussions Paper No. 62 INSTITUTE OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES 1987

Published by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Heng Mui Keng Terrace Pasir Panjang Singapore 0511 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

© 1987 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies The responsibility for facts and opinions expressed in this publication rests exclusively with the author, and her interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views or the policy of the Institute or its supporters. Cataloguing in Publication Data Maimunah Mohd. Tahir, Ungku Modem Malay literary culture: A historical perspective (Research notes and discussions paper/ Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; no. 62) 1. Malay literature -- 20th century -- History and criticism. I. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies II. Title. III. Series. DS501 I596 no. 62 1987 ISBN 9971-988-52-6 ISSN 0219-8828 Printed in Singapore by General Printing & Publishing Services Pte Ltd

CONTENTS

Introduction

1

The Impact of the West: Education in Colonial Malaya

2

The Beginning of Modem Malay Literature

20

Literary Conventions in Pre-War Writing

25

Post-War Literature: ASAS 50

32

Conventions in Immediate Post-War Literature

43

The Literature of Independence

46

Conventions in Post-Independence Literature

53

Malay Literature in the 1970s

56

The 1970s: Literary Conventions

68

Conclusion

70

MODERN MALAY LITERARY CULTURE: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Introduction An approach often adopted in the study of modern Malay literature is to separate literary texts from the environment which produces them. Literature is seen as discrete, whose understanding calls for

scrutiny of

its

structural

technique, rhythm and the like. the study of literature. aspects

are

survey

of

important modern

socio-political

only

such

as theme,

This paper, however, contends that both and

Malay

changes

elements

Context, is often peripheral to

attempts literary

which

the

to

integrate

culture. country

them

It

in

its

traces

underwent

the

from

the

period of British colonialism to the present nation state, and sees

this

historical

influenced

the

formative

force

context as an extra-textual

literature are

the

produced. literary

No

less

conventions

factor which

important which

as

a

writers

inherit, how they adopt and adapt their literary heritage in the process of evolving a literary mode for their own situation and also their own unique role as they, as writers, influence the literary environment in which they operate. The survey also highlights writers' response to their immediate social realities and

how

society.

this

shapes

and

colours

their

perceptions

of

their

Couched in literary expression, these perceptions draw

attention to the prejudices,

in short, the value orientations 1

2

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

evident factors,

in

modern

Malay

literary works.

In

discussing

these

this study seeks to point out developments which take

place as well as show continuity which persists in modern Malay literature. The paper is organized into periods, not as an attempt at periodization

of modern Malay literary history,

facilitate understanding.

but merely to

However, the basic assumption remains

that appreciation of specific historical

and cultural

bases is

crucial for a clearer understanding of modern Malay literature on its own terms.

The Impact of the West:

Education in Colonial Malaya

The various policies introduced into the Malay states by British colonial administration wrought a major transformation especially of the social and economic landscape of the Malay peninsular. particular

its

education

policy

was

to

have

In

far-reaching

implications on the production of Malay literature and culture. This

was

education

especially was

true

introduced

of

the

into

the

early

years

when

country.

In

secular order

to

appreciate the impact of British presence in general and their education

policy

in

particular,

it

is

necessary

to

have

an

understanding of the structure of Malay society prior to British colonialism. Traditional Malay society exhibited a rigid division between the

ruling elite

(bangsawan)

and

its subjects

(rakyat).

This

division was based on birth and was strengthened by belief and custom.

It was believed, for example, that rulers were vested

with divine majesty (daulat) and that any infringement (derhaka)

Modern Malay Literary Culture

3

on this daulat would incur a tulah (retribution). This served to consolidate the rulers' position as one which admitted no challenge. Custom also helped to perpetuate the stratification by laying down as desirable and proper such conduct as absolute obedience and respect for elders and chiefs. The subject class was therefore obliged to serve their superiors without question. In this highly stratified society, control of virtually all aspects of life lay in the hands of the ruling elite. This elite class in traditional Malay society was made up of two groups, the ascriptive and functional, which sometimes The former were royal kinsmen who automatically overlapped. belonged to the Malay upper-class by virtue of birth. The latter exercised administrative and political functions, and as such enjoyed the authority and power which attended their social role. Within this functional elite, the sultan constituted the supreme authority as the head of state, the largest territorial unit consisting of districts which, in turn, were composed of villages. As the head, he had rights to land under his jurisdiction and was empowered to collect revenue from his subjects, usually in the form of goods, tolls and taxes on trade and produce. He was assisted by a number of greater and lesser chiefs who were heads of districts. These chiefs in turn were assisted by several officials, the lowest being the penghulu (headman) who was in charge of a kampung (village), the smallest political unit. A penghulu served, by and large, as a mediator between the ruling and subject classes, and was responsible for maintaining order in his village, assisting revenue collection and organizing compulsory labour (kerah) for the ruling class. Within this system, mobility from the lower to the upper strata, while not altogether impossible, was rare. When British presence was first felt in the Malay states, in the mid-nineteenth century, social structure within those states had become

4

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

prescribed, and was resistant to change (Roff 1967; Kennedy 1962; Tilman 1964; Syed Husin Ali 1965, 1977). British penetration of Malaya began with the foundation of Penang in 1786.

In 1826, the British grouped Penang with Malacca

Singapore to

and

form

the

Straits

Sett 1ements.

In 187 4,

the

British signed the Pangkor Treaty with the Sultan of Perak, and this

saw the appointment of a British Resident

to advise the

Sultan on all matters of government except those which pertained to

Malay

religion

po 1 it i ca 1

and

stability

culture.

was

The

necessary

British

for

subsequent exp 1oitat ion of the country's wealth.

As

such,

they

saw

as

their

the

recognized

that

deve 1opment

and

natura 1 resources and principal

purpose

the

creation and rna i ntenance of law and order a 1 ong the lines Western-type importance,

governments. was

the

Alongside

principle

of

this

aim,

but

responsibility

of

of

less

for

the

"advancement" of the Malays, a policy which was to be achieved without destroying the traditional

fabric of Malay life.

This

dual purpose, introducing innovations where necessary on the one hand, and preserving traditional Malay life on the other, was to characterize British occupation of the Malay states, especially Perak, Negri Sembilan, Pahang and Selangor which came to be known as the Federated Malay States in 1896. In implementing their colonial policy, the British retained, and indeed, reinforced the demographic pattern preva 1ent in the country.

Prior to the coming of the British, the bulk of the

indigenous

population,

ethnically

Malay,

were

engaged

in

semi-subsistence agricultural production of wet rice in the rural areas.

Some were fishermen and petty traders, while a few lived

in the towns, especially around the royal courts, and worked as petty

bureaucrats

and

engaged in tin-mining.

artisans.

Initially,

some

Malays

were

However, when the Chinese entered this

Modern Malay Literary Culture

5

field, the Malay's traditional method of panning for surface tin soon rendered economically unviable beside the Chinese

was

Further

underground.

tin

mine

to

able

was

which

water-pump

improvements in methods of mining and cheap labour imported from greater

expansion

British

economic

a

industry,

the

of

process

to

accelerated

by

on

heavily

relied

which

infiltration

led

tin,

for

demand

world

greater

by

accompanied

China,

Chinese

By the middle of the nineteenth century tin-mining

middlemen.

was a large scale enterprise virtually controlled by the Chinese areas

mining

These

labourers.

Chinese

employing

and

developed into urban centres such as Taiping and

soon

Ipoh with an

overwhelmingly Chinese population. the

Towards

this

entering

from

The Malays,

into Malaya.

introduced

industry

rubber pre-war

soon

and

by

the

With

infiltration,

especially

accelerated

of

intensification

the

tin-mining

and

the

areas.

urban

Meanwhile,

the

Malays

British

industry became

rubber

full-scale capitalist enterprises with their commercial in

the

labourers

Tamil

India to w0rk the rubber estates,

expanded,

boom.

rubber

capitalist

and

rulers

their

British, and laws to this effect were passed. were thus imported from

was

however, were discouraged by

both

field

new

rubber

century

nineteenth

the

of

end

centres in their

remained

semi-subsistence economy which was confined mainly to the rural areas. The

growth

of

urban

centres

and

i nst itut ions for the

resulted in the development of educational children of the urban dwellers. occurred were

in

the Straits

established

by

At first, missionaries

purpose of disseminating their religion. in

the

Malay

states

the

and as had already

Settlements during the

Christian London

population

settled

a

1830s,

schools

the

primary

for

In setting up schools

Missionary

Society

sought

to

6

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

promote

Christianity

through

education.

Bryson,

for

example,

observed that "the missionaries were there to preach the Gospel and seek converts to Christianity as a first duty; education was merely

a

means

association

to

with

that

end"

(Bryson

Christianity

of

1970,

schools

p.

in

14).

The

general,

and

English-medium schools in particular, was not without its effect on the Muslim Malays. education

and

"modern"

It engendered hostility and opposition to

effectively

education

alienated

available

to

the

the

Malays

general

the

only

population.

from

So

strong was the opposition that even when mission schools offered secular education, Malay suspicion could not be allayed. Alongside

the

mission

schools,

the

British

colonial

government also started government-aided English schools. came about in the need for English-educated low-level and subordinate staff, private sector.

This

clerical

both in the government service and the

Such posts thus far had been filled by clerks

and other functionaries expatriated from the Indian Civil Service and from Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

With increased British involvement

in the Malay states, the need for such staff became more acute, and it was considered economical to train local these

subordinate

posts.

So

between

1883

people to fill

and

1885

a

government English schools were opened in Perak and Selangor.

few In

opening these schools, however, the British were careful to do so sparingly and, areas.

more

importantly,

to

confine them to the urban

It was clear that the British tended to tread carefully

in the sphere of education, warning

of

danger to

the be

demographic

Resident-General,

guarded

indiscriminately"

a caution

against

is

reflected

Frank an

pattern

already

referred

Swettenham:

attempt

(cited in Loh 1975, p. to,

in the stern

to teach

15). the

"The

one

English

In view of the concentration

of

schools in urban areas meant that they were not available to the bulk

of the

indigenous

population.

In

effect,

it was mainly

Modern Ma 1ay Literary Culture of

members

the

immigrant

communities

who

were

able to

7

avail

themselves of the modern education offered by these schools. The passing of the Britain, that

however,

the

state

education

for

signified was

its

colonial

Education

British

morally

people,

ground in Europe. the

Elementary and

a

Bill

adoption

legally

of

of 1870 in

the

entitled

principle which was

principle to

provide

also gaining

In line with these developments in Britain,

administrators

in

late

nineteenth

century Malaya

began to turn their attention to the question

of an expanded

state education system for the indigenous population. cantly

then,

for

the

colonial

meant education for the Ma 1ays.

administrators

state

Signifieducation

Furthermore, in conformity with

their policy of preservation and innovation, the British de vi sed an education policy which would retain intact the class division and the demographic pattern existing in the country. the

provision

of

two

quite

separate

and

This meant

distinct

education

systems, one for the elite and another for the masses. Where education for the masses was concerned, the British held

fast

to their

traditional

society

policy and

of its

preserving the

fabric

peasant

Introduction

base.

of Malay of

education, especially English education for the masses, would be seen as

a breach of this

anxious

to

avoid

what

policy.

had

come

Moreover, to

be

the British were

seen

as

"Macaulay's

'singularly tactless and blundering championship' of the English education" which had resulted in the anglicization of India and, as the British saw it, the problem of over-education which it entailed

(cited

in

Loh

1975,

p.

15).

Given

their

Indian

experience, the British shrewdly adopted a policy of vernacular education

for

the

Malay

peasantry.1

As

R.H.

unofficial member of the Federal Council remarked:

Kenion,

an

8

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir The great object of education is to train a man to make his living •••• You can teach Malays so that they do not lose their sk"ill work.

and craft in fishing and jungle

Teach them the dignity of manu a 1 1abour so that

they do not all become kranies (clerks) and I am sure you will not have the trouble which has arisen in India through over-education (cited in Roff 1967, p. 126). The adoption of this principle meant that Malay vernacular education mainly

remained,

for

education, Alongside

at best, at a rudimentary level.

boys,2

the

schools

provided

and

teaching

was

confined

these

subjects,

school

a

four-year

to

vegetable

Catering

the

primary

"three

plots were used to

provide elementary instruction in agriculture.

Pupils were also

taught habits of cleanliness, punctuality and obedience. from

its

poor i nte 11 ectua 1 content,

Rs".

Aside

Ma 1 ay vernacu 1ar education

was to suffer from other handicaps, not the 1east of which was government

neglect.

Housed

usually

in

makeshift

premises,

schools were badly equipped with instructional material, the only reading

material

available

being

Sejarah

Melayu

[The

Malay

Annals], Hikayat Hang Tuah [The story of Hang Tuah] and the daily Utusan

Melayu.

Wilkinson,

The

dearth

the Federal

of

reading

material

appalled

Inspector of Schools from 1903 to 1906,

who arranged for Ma 1 ay romances to be copied down.

This move

notwithstanding, shortage of reading material remained a critical problem.

To augment the situation, teachers were ill-trained and

were poorly paid. this

poor

However,

standard,

Frank

inspite of, or indeed, Swettenham

was

satisfied

because of with

it,

considering it "sufficient for the ordinary requirements of Malay boys,

who

wi 11

become

bullock-wagon

drivers,

padi

growers,

fishermen, etc." (cited in Chai 1964, p. 249). The British efforts to keep the Malay masses tied to the

Modern Malay Literary Culture fields were clearly successful. were

effectively

government,

the

cut

With their Malay education, they

off from employment opportunities

professions

and

the

commercial

which made knowledge of English compulsory. who

graduated

clerk.3

from

Malay

9

schools

in

in the

world,

all

of

Of the 2,900 boys

1903,

only

one

became

a

The efficacy of the education policy in minimizing the

aspirations

of

the

Malay

masses

was

to

occasion

Birch,

the

"It is very satisfactory to know

Resident of Perak, to comment:

that this system does not over-educate the boys ••• (who) almost all

followed

the

avocations

of

their

parents

or

relations,

chiefly in agricultural pursuits" (cited in Roff 1967, p. 25). If Malay vernacular education met with the approval of the British,

clearly

it

did

not

satisfy

the

bulk

of

the

Malay

population who began to realize its limited scope and barriers. The fact that it wrought little economic benefit was thrown into greater relief by the economic prosperity enjoyed by the other ethnic groups. English

In the light of this reality, Malay demand for

education

soon

voca 1 •

became

In

1913,

Ma 1ay

the

villagers in the Lenggong and Krian districts of Perak, asked for English

schools

to

be

established

in

their

Winstedt, then the District Officer of Matang, the

request.

In

1916,

the

residents

of

villages. Perak, Klang,

R.O.

rejected Selangor,

petitioned for an English class to be started in the Malay school in Klang.

This petition was approved, and an English class was

started in January, only to be closed in April of the same year. The reason for this sudden termination was given by David Bishop, the

then

Inspector

of

Schoo 1s

Se 1angor,

for

misunderstanding

as

to

as:

the

"There was

apparently

some

experiment,

it being regarded as an unauthorized innovation in

educational policy" (cited in Loh 1975, p. 53). petition

was

forwarded,

Despite

these

repeated

but

it

failures,

was

nature

the

In 1919, another

similarly

Malay

of

demand

turned for

down. English

10

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

education increased and the British found themselves faced with voices of protest which could not be ignored. The British were not unaware of the contradictions inherent in the Malay vernacular education. As early as the 1890s, W.H. Treacher, then the Resident of Selangor, pointed out the marginal prospect of government employment for graduates of Malay schools, a situation clearly inconsistent with a Malay state. Further, as Wilkinson made clear, Malay vernacular education had not produced a core of highly-educated Malays who could lead the mass of the population. Education such as deemed worthy for the Malay peasants clearly could not produce civil functionaries. Inspite of this, the British remained unbending in their policy, determined not to over-educate the Malay peasantry. However, faced with growing protests, the British conceded that Malay vernacular education needed improvement. At the same time, they were determined not to alter the prevailing policy of keeping the masses tied to agricultural pursuits. To see to the improvements Wi nstedt, who was then an Assistant Director of Education (Malay), was charged with the responsibility of making recommendations for Malay vernacular education. Sent to Java and the Philippines in 1916 to study the situations there, Winstedt's recommendations were to have far-reaching implications on Malay education and modern Malay culture as a whole. 11

11

,

Winstedt's ideas were put into force in 1917, and showed an unswerving fidelity to the British policy of preservation of Malay traditional life. As the Federal Council Proceedings of 1920 indicated: It is no real education that qualifies a pupil in reading, writing and arithmetic and leaves him with a distaste, or perhaps even a contempt, for the

Modern Malay Literary Culture honourable

pursuits

of

husbandry

and

handicraft.

11

It

will not only be a disaster to, but a violation of the whole spirit and traditions of, the Malay race if the result of our vernacular education is to lure the whole of the youth from the kampung to the town

(cited in

Roff 1967, p. 138). It was thus that Wi nstedt 's propos a 1 s were to i nst i tut i onalize the concept of "rural popu 1at ion of the co 1ony. colonial

government

bias" in the education of the Malay Centra 1 to the scheme adopted by the

was

a

teacher-t raining

co 11 ege

whose

graduates wou 1d return to the vi 11 ages to influence the genera 1 well-being of the Malay pesantry. This

college,

the

Sultan

named after Sultan Idri s Ibni

Idris

Training

College

(SITC),

Iskandar of Perak, was opened at

Tanjung Malim in 1922, following the closing down of the existing teachers' training colleges in Matang and Malacca.

It drew its

students from the peasantry, mainly sons of fishermen and peasant farmers. the

Selected by an examination, students came from all over

country,

and

by

students

a

remained

elementary

year.

the

The

1920s

SITC

curriculum

and

included

was

for

taking its

in

about

three-year

arithmetic,

course

drawing,

Malay

language, Malay literature, hygiene, geography and history. addition,

students

were

religious instruction. down,

handicraft,

became essential

given

two

hours

a

week

of

In conformity with the rural

basketry, features

gardening,

especially

of the curriculum

In

Muslim

bias

the

120

laid

latter,

(Awang Had Salleh

1980, pp. 89-104). Under 0. T. Dussek, the first pri nci pa 1 of the co 11 ege, who was to remain in the position for seventeen years, SITC was to take on a distinct character.

Dussek had a great love for the

12

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

Malay language and culture and saw in SITC a potential educational Thus,

for an

centre far bigger than that envisaged by Winstedt.

while

biases,

he

widened considerably the scope of the college's activities.

In

on

1924,

adhering

his

to

the

initiative,

rural

the

and

Malay

transferred from Kuala Lumpur to SITC.

practical

Translation

Bureau

was

Both he and Za 'aba, the

principal translator, had envisaged the role of the bureau to be like that of the Netherlands idea was

mooted,

however,

refusing to be seen as several

handicaps,

forty-eight

textbooks

Indies'

Balai

Pustaka.

"imitating" the Dutch.

between in

When the

Winstedt turned it down, 1924-32

the

its Malay School

reportedly

Inspite of its bureau

Series.

produced In 1929 it

started the Malay Home Series which made available to the now literate peasantry classical popular Island

English and

literature

the

like.

Malay stories and translations of such

In

as

Robinson

addition,

the

Crusoe, staff

Treasure

produced

a

fortnightly newspaper which featured their own literary writings and those of the able students.

In concert with these efforts to

foster indigenous language and culture, Dussek insisted that all teaching

should

be

teaching of English:

in

Malay,

and

categorically

forbade

the

"The Malay schools must be run for those

Malays who will and must remain in the villages.

They must have

no connection and no point of contact with English; English and Vernacular make very poor bed-fellows" (Straits Times, 15 August 1935). With

this

emphasis

clearly marked out,

Dussek strove and

succeeded in instilling in his students a sense of responsibility towards their language, literature and culture.

A common theme

in his speeches to the college students was the need to preserve the dignity of one's religion, culture, language and literature in order to ensure the perpetuation of one's race. his tutelage

SITC emerged

as

a centre for

Thus, under

literary activity.

Modern Malay Literary Culture

13

Students and staff alike, almost all of whom were Malays except for

the

principal

and

literary and cultural literary

writings

his

assistant,

became

life of the college.

and

cultural

involved

performances were

activities which the college diligently fostered. of college 1 ife, Dussek wrote: cultural

and

in the

Debates, speeches, some of the Of this aspect

"every activity that is genuinely

genuinely Malay has flourished

in an astonishing

manner" (cited in Roff 1967, p. 143). Whilst SITC may symbolize a concrete effort to improve Malay vernacular education,

and Dussek's own

initiatives in widening

the scope of the college curricula were commendab 1 e, it must be borne in mind that the position of Malay education in terms of employment opportunities remained very much the same.

Students

with Ma 1ay education went back to the fie 1ds or were emp 1 oyed as 1abourers and gardeners, whilst employment in the government and the

professions

remained

completely

sealed

off

from

them.

Graduates of SITC went back to their villages to teach in rura 1 schools

from

whence

they

themselves

originated.

Winstedt's

"vision"

of a strong peasantry capable of providing continued

supply of staple food and adept at making waste-paper baskets and trays, handicrafts whose marketable value he himself doubted, was to remain a decisive factor in the colonial education policy for the Malay peasantry. If the education po 1 icy for the masses tied them to their land

and

the

different. followed

villages,

that

for

the

elite

was

decidedly

British penetration of the Malay states had always the

traditional co-operation

logic

elite. and

of

recognizing the

ruling position of the

Alliances concluded with them ensured their by

extension

that

of

the

masses.

This was

especially true in the context of a society in which the elite provided leadership for a subservient mass.

The prudence of such

14

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

a policy was perhaps reflected in a confidential letter from the High Commissioner to the Secretary of State, 1928:

"I think it

is all important to maintain the Malay rulers and leading chiefs in considerable affluence. mind essential

asset.

Politically they are a real and to my

But for them the Malays would become a

mob" (cited in Loh 1975, p. 89). It

was

decided

that

the

traditional

elite,

unlike

the

masses, should be trained in matters of government, in conformity with

the

provision useful

aim

stated

of

special

public

English

in

the

facilities

servants"

the

Education

language

(cited of

to

Report to

instruct

in

Roff

government,

Malays

1967, it

see to

p.

"the

to become 100).

followed

With

that

the

traditional elite was to be provided with English education. early as 1890, members of the various

royal

As

houses were given

access to English education, a move made possible by the fact that

most

royal

courts

were

in

the

urban

areas.

In

cases, the young scions were sent to Britain to study. the

pattern

century

that

when

characteristic necessary

to

persisted

education form. place

for To

it

until the

the

the

of

traditional

understand

in

end

this

context

the

elite

certain Such was

nineteenth took

development,

of demands

on it

facing

a is

the

British colonial administration at the time. In

line

with

their

manifest

aim

to

acquaint

the Malays

especially the elite with a modern form of government, British policy had provided for the inclusion of high-ranking Malays in positions of administrative this

ideal

might

responsibility.

have seemed in theory,

However attractive

it was,

in

practice,

difficult to carry out.

The Malay traditional elite was on the

whole

Western-type

unfamiliar

with

complexities of its administration.

government

and

all

the

Further, the rapid growth of

commercial centres called for specialized skill and knowledge in

Modern Malay Literary Culture

15

specialized areas, both of which the Malay elite lacked. In the face of this reality, the recruitment of European staff from the point of view of practical considerations was found to be necessary. This practice prevailed until 1896 when the Federated Ma 1ay States were formed. The new po 1it i ca 1 entity necessitated the establishment of a more unified Malayan Civil Service which, in turn, created greater demand for the services of the European staff. By the turn of the century, the Federated Malay States were to see the dominance of European staff in its The high cost of maintaining European staff administration. called for cutting down their number, which in turn necessitated the creation of a Malay administrative cadre. This move also came about in the 1i ght of protests from the Ma 1ay rulers, who saw their power seriously curtailed by British "indirect" rule, in contrast to the relative autonomy enjoyed by the Sultans in the Unfederated Malay States of Trengganu, Perlis, Kelantan, The matter was raised at the Rulers' Kedah and Johore.4 with the contentious issue of the together 1903, of Conference virtual absence of Malays in the Malayan Civil Service (MCS). As late as 1904, the MCS had only two Malays in its lower rank and five others in minor services ( Khasnor Johan 1969, pp. 29-30). This dismal figure reflected poorly on the so-called British commitment to instruct the Malays in matters of government. British commitments and the Sultans' grievances aside, the question of demographic composition was no less important in The influencing British policy towards the Malay elite. of influx the to led British the by adopted open-door policy immigrants particularly from China and India, and before lo~g the Malay states were to see a marked increase in the immigrant population. Regarded as aliens, British policy towards these immigrants was to allow them freedom of economic pursuit but to bar them from the political and administrative sphere, which was

16

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

manifestly to remain the preserve of the indigenous population, especially the elite. However, whilst this might be a stated policy, the British seriously considered the possibility of non-Malays encroaching upon governmental and political spheres of the country, a possibility not altogether remote given the growing strength of the non-Malays especially the Chinese. Faced with this possibility, Clementi, the then Govenor, urged for the restoration of more power to the traditional elite comparable to that enj eyed by the Rulers of the Unfederated Ma 1ay States. It was argued that in a country which was becoming multi-ethnic, and alongside the fact that the power of the traditional elite was more symbolic than real, greater Malay participation in the administration would serve as "buffer", and also help to perpetuate what Roff ca 11 s "the myth of cant i nued Ma 1ay sovereignty" (Roff 1967, p. 24). Political expediency, financial considerations and British commitments thus combined together to bring about a school geared towards producing a generation of Malay civil servants who could be tailored to British needs and objectives, in short, civil servants who would bear the British impress. This concern with the "British stamp" was to determine the form and character of the school. With the idea of the "right" background as ideal for public services gaining ground in Britain, the Malay College Kua 1a Kangsar (MCKK) ( Khasnor Johan 1969), as the schoo 1 1ater came to be known, was to be run along the lines of English public schoo 1s. Concomitant with this was its decidedly c1ass bias and the attendant notion of elitism. Opened on 2 January 1905, the school counted among its first boarders the son of the Sultan of Perak, a few re 1at i ves of the Sultan of Selangor, the brothers of the Yam Tuan of Negri Sembilan, the son of the late Raja Muda of Perak, and the son of

Modern Malay Literary Culture

17

the Raja Muda of Selangor. Others were either members of the various royal houses or sons of chiefs. Attempts to take in commoners were strongly opposed by the Sultans, and MCKK held In the main, MCKK's fast to the policy of exclusiveness. curriculum was in line with that of English day schools in the country, and showed a markedly "English" orientation. English history and English literature, for example, featured prominently in the syllabus. In MCKK, however, the English bias was especially stressed and acquisition of the English language with emphasis on fluency and "purity" of accent was made a top priority. Concomitant with this the college conducted elocution classes because it was deemed proper that a prestigious schoo 1 such as MCKK shou 1d cultivate a pub 1 i c schoo 1 accent among its students. MCKK was to prove successful in this endeavour and its graduates' English, both in terms of fluency and "purity" of accent, was considered among the best in the country. Whilst the English bias was decidedly the principle, Malay language and literature, optional subjects in the English day schools, were also taught in MCKK. Po 1it i ca 1 expediency pointed to the need for the boys to retain their "Malayness", while imbibing the ethics of British civil servants. As Khasnor Johan points out, "these boys in the school were in the future to be the link between the British and the Malay masses. Under the circumstances Malay studies could not be disregarded" (Khasnor Johan 1969, pp. 75-6). Further, in conformity with the specific socio-political role its graduates were to play, the college curriculum was tailored to lay emphasis on character-building, deportment and the inculcation of gentlemanly qualities, all of which were deemed crucial to the proper image of the British civil servant. To this end, the college was staffed by Europeans who were selected by the Co 1oni a 1 Office in London, and were themse 1ves the product of public schools. Placed in charge of the boys' welfare, these teachers were to serve as mode 1s for their charge to ernul ate.

18

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

Along with these were the trappings of the public school such as the monitorial and prefect systems, prep, the High Table and the saying of "grace" and also its high priority on ext ra-curri cu l urn activities such as sports, the scouts and cadets.

In the light

of these measures, it was little wonder that MCKK soon acquired the name, "The Eton of the East".

With its strict observance of

the English bias, MCKK students were consciously and deliberately moulded into bureaucrats who were anglicized. In

the

light

of

the

political

role

for

which

it

was

designed, MCKK was not placed under the Education Department, but designated

a

"federal

institution",

supervision of the Resident-General

and

came

under

the

assisted by the Director of

Education working in close touch with the headmaster.

In 1901,

the government launched a scheme to facilitate the creation of a Malay administrative cadre called the Scheme for the Employment of Malays (Higher Subordinate Class) which was later changed to Malay Probationer Scheme

(Roff 1967,

p.

104).

It allowed for

those who had passed the Standard VI I ex ami nation to undergo a further three-year course of study at the college.

Selected from

among the promising students in the college, the "probationers", as

they

were

Assistants

called,

(later

were,

changed

on to

graduation, Malay

admitted as

Officers)

to

Malay

the

Malay

Administrative Service (MAS), a junior branch of the prestigious Malayan

Civil

Service.

In

the main,

appointments

within

MAS

remained non-administrative.5 Notwithstanding the non-administrative nature, positions in MAS must be understood within the context of Malay society as a whole. birth

MAS had great political and social implications. to

a

new

English-speaking,

leadership imbibed

group

with

that

Western

was ideas

It gave

Western-educated, and

values,

and

whose association with the British administration endowed it with

Modern Malay Literary Culture a considerable measure of social colonial

Malaya

in

which

the

prestige.

traditional

19

In the context of framework

of Malay

society was largely intact, the position of this group was thus a privileged

one

and

removed

from

the

masses.

Further,

MAS

constituted the culmination of an education policy symbolized in the MCKK,

the two becoming almost synonymous.

This, in turn,

means that MAS appointments could be made possible only by the British, who, in turn, reserved them for the traditional elite. This served to further consolidate the position of the aristocratic class, and left little room for mobility within the social structure.

More importantly,

it reinforced the class division

prevalent in Malay society. By the turn of the twentieth century, then, colonial Malaya had

felt

the

full

preservation

of

innovation.

British

force

of

traditional

British Malay

penetration

two-pronged

life

of

and

the

Malay

policy

of

introduction

of

states

brought

about an ordered form of government, introduced communication and transport,

and

fostered

creating commercial

the

growth

of

a

monetized

centres where none existed before.

economy, In the

process, it created a demographic structure which bore a distinct character, with the indigenous population overwhelmingly confined to the rural areas.

More importantly, it kept Malay society tied

to a semi-subsistence agricultural economy, effectively isolating it

from

framework

the

mainstream

of traditional

of

urbanization.

Malay society,

Within

the

social

British policy allied

itself with the elite, and though depriving the latter of much of its power, it retained virtually intact its structural form, and indeed, helped to reinforce it further.

Its education policy was

beset with cant radi ct ions, and wittingly or otherwise, it was to have far-reaching effects on other areas of Malay life, not the least of which was

its

language,

literature and culture.

In

understanding this aspect of British policy, the MCKK and the

20

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

SITC stood to epitomize its inherent fundamental dichotomy. draws

a

striking

difference

between

the

two

Roff

educational

institutions: At

Kuala

Kangsar,

traditional

there

were

the

sons

of

the

ruling class, and the wealthy, undergoing

training for entry into the English-speaking world of government

and

professions;

administration

on the other,

and

occasionally

the

at SITC, the sons of the

peasantry and the poor, undergoing training for return to

the

Malay-speaking

world

of

the

rural

village

school. With the political role assigned to it, MCKK was to retain its notion of elitism,

borne partly from the students'

impeccable

geneao logy and social status, and partly from the Western ethos which it proudly strove to maintain.

However, the utilitarian

role assigned to the peasant-based SITC was to be increasingly associated

with

Dussek's

Malay-oriented

policy.

The

class

division which British education policy served to reinforce was also to highlight a cultural component in that division. language,

literature

and

genuinely

•••

enshrined

Malay",

culture, in

"every

activity

Malay

that

vernacular education,

is thus

came to be seen as non-elite cultural forms.6

The Beginning of Modern Malay literature? The dichotomy in the colonial

education policy meant that the

elite

participation

were

distanced

from

production of Malay literature.

in

the

on-going

Literature came to be centred in

the Malay-educated, who were largely teachers and journalists.

A

Modern Malay Literary Culture

21

study of modern Ma 1ay 1 iterature has to take cognizance of this fact.

Modern Malay literature was the product of the non-elite

who were predominantly of rural

background and whose education

upheld the rural bias with its intention of strengthening the tie between the land and the village world.

This close link between

literature and the peasantry was to have a far-reaching effect on modern Malay literature as a whole. Prior

to

the

appearance

of

the

Penulis

Guru,

as

the

teacher-writers were known, and the Penulis Wartawan (journalistwriters), the Malay literary scene already bore the imprint of the efforts of a group called Penulis Agama (religion-writers). These were Middle-Eastern educated Ma 1 ays who, influenced by the Islamic reformism of Turkey and Egypt, took home with them a new understanding

of

an

insight

into

Islam.

Their

ideas

were

vigorously expressed and debated in the newspapers and magazines, foremost amongst which were Al-Imam (1906-09, terminal unclear)

and

later Al-Ikhwan

(1926-31)

and

Saudara

date is

(1928-41).

The old ulama or authorities on religion, who were closely allied to the traditional elite as advisors on matters of religion, did not accept the new ideas, and the disagreement culminated in the famous

Kaum Tua

-

Kaum Muda clash

(Roff

1967).

Syed Sheikh

Al-hadi, a prolific campaigner of the new understanding, carried his ideas

into the realm of fiction in the first Malay novel,

Hikayat Setia Asyik kepada Maksyuknya atau Syafik Afandi dengan Faridah Hanum [The story of a lover's faithfulness to his beloved or Syafik Afandi Finding fiction

and Faridah Hanum],8 which was well writing a lucrative enterprise,

he

received. produced a

series of romantic stories, mainly adaptations from Egyptian and Turkish

literature,

[Life's

fantasies],

under and

entitled, Cerita Rokambul

the

also

tit 1 e, a

series

Angan-Angan of

detective

Kehi dupan stories

[The story of Rokambul], all of which

were pub 1 i shed by his own Je 1 utong press.

While the presence of

22

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

the religion-writers was not inconsequential, they constituted a small

group

compared

to

the

Malay-educated

teachers

and

journalists who dominated the literary scene. The fact that Malay school

teachers assumed a significant

role in Malay 1 iterary hi story should be seen in terms of the environment

at

SITC.

As

stated

above,

Dussek's

initiatives

created a climate favourable to the growth of Malay literature, language and culture.

Further, the Malay Translation Bureau made

Western literary works available to the students, while novels published by the Netherlands Indies' Balai Pustaka were purchased for

the

college

teachers

alike,

personally

library.

From

enthusiastic

subscribed

to

the

mid-l920s,

for

literary

Indonesian

students

and

publications, such

periodicals

as

Sri

Pustaka and later Panji Pustaka, Suluh Rakyat Indonesia and the like.

Za'aba's enthusiasm for Pujangga Baru, expressed openly in

a letter to Armijin Pane in 1932, similarly underlined contact with and awareness of the Indonesian literary renaissance of this period (Foulcher 1974, p. 198).

These periodicals, together with

local magazines and newspapers, became essential reading material for

the

college

students. magazine,

literary

works

In

November

Cend ra

besides

1923,

Mat a, its

which

reports

the

students

accommodated on

college

started

a

students' activities.

Further, through the efforts of its graduates, the Majalah Guru came into being in 1924 and became a channel contributions

of

Wart a Malaya was aside

a

column

the

teacher-writers

published specifically

in

1930 for

(Ali

for the literary

Ahmad

(terminated

SITC

1975). 1941 ) ,

students.

students also wrote for Majlis (1931-41) and Saudara.

When it

These

set same

Indeed, it

was not unknown for SITC students and graduates to become special correspondents for the papers. Aside from the conducive environment for literary activity,

Modern Malay Literary Culture there

was

the

responsible. Malacca

more

important

Earlier

maintained

factor

teacher-training

students'

for

which

colleges

parochial

in

identities

23

SITC

was

Matang

and

by

housing

those from the same state in the same dormitory or block. deliberately did away with this state identification.

SITC

Students

from all over the country were intermingled and a broader sense of Malayness was inculcated. their

common

cultural

The students were made to recognize

tradition

strength lay in unification.

and

heritage,

and

that their

This consciousness of a wider Malay

world which transcended state loyalty, in turn, generated among students

and

teachers

situation as a "race".

alike

an

awareness

of

their

The presence of a colonial

common

power which

had successfully pushed aside their own traditi anal

elite, the

inflow of immigrants which was left unchecked, the rapid growth of

a

monetized

economy

accessible

to

the

immigrants

but

effectively cut off from their own people, the flourishing of urban centres which generated mores and values alien to theirs, their

own

"inferior"

education

with

its

potentially

weak

bargaining power-- these were some of the political, economic and social

realities which forced themselves upon the students.

Their consciousness was fired even more by the struggles of the Indonesians

against

Dutch

rule,

news

of

which

reached

students through magazines and other reading material to

them.

movement,

In

1930,

inspired

by

the

Indonesian

the

available

nationalist

Ibrahim Yaakub, together with thirty-five fell ow SITC

students, formed the Belia Malaya, an organization modelled on similar youth groups in Java and Sumatra, and subscribed to the Partai

Nasional

Indonesia's

newspaper,

Fikiran

Rakyat.

Belia

Malaya sought to engender similar political nationalism among the college

students.

Around

this

time,

too,

SITC

students

had

contacts with Ojamaluddin Tamin of the Partai Republik Indonesia (PARI), who visited Malaya from time to time. discussions

about

the

Malay

situation

became

In the college, frequent,

and

24

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

students started to write to the dai 1ies, not under their own names,

which

was

forbidden,

but

under

pseudonyms.

The

consciousness bred in SITC was to remain with them when they went back to their villages. Equally important was the field of journalism to which those with

literary

bent

and

aspirations were attracted.

focus on current issues, newspapers weekly)

highlighted

economic

and

news

political

which

changes

With

it.s

(some issued bi-weekly and

centred taking

around

place

in

the the

social, country.

Saudara, Warta Malaya and Majlis, and later Utusan Melayu (1939), were among the papers which zealously brought to the attention of their

readers the crucial

issues

affecting the Malays such as

their education, political rights, economic welfare especially of the rural

Malays and their overall

pathetic poverty.9

Majlis,

under Abdul Rahim Kajai, for example, challenged the British to honour their ob 1i gat ions to the Ma 1ays.

Further,

readers were

invited to express their opinions on a wide variety of subjects which concerned them, in columns set aside for readers 1 letters. Wart a Ahad, Wart a Jenaka and Utusan Zaman, for examp 1e, started the column "Celoteh", literally "chit-chat", which took up the questions of Malay poverty and backwardness, and urged the Malays to

improve

inclusion

themselves, of

such

both

columns

economically

opened the

and

socially.

journalistic

writings which were not strictly berita (news).

The

horizon

Readers

1

to

views

and opinions soon took the form of short stories, and before long Warta Jenaka, a popular weekly, had a section specifically for short stories. Indeed, the notion of writers as social critics was not new. Seventy years earlier, Abdullah Munshi had laid the foundation, as it were, of social criticism of the Malays which included the

e1 ite

and the masses.

The same concern for the Ma 1ay situation

Modern Malay Literary Culture

25

had already found loud and cogent expression in the magazines and newspapers which proliferated at that time. the same medi urn,

that is,

And it was through

the magazines and newspapers, that

Malay literary works reached their readers.

This close link with

journalism reinforced the orientation towards social

criticism.

Given this fact, combined with the challenges of the time, and the writers' own perception of their role, literature thus became a medium by which writers articulated their thoughts and perceptions of their surroundings.

It was with the conscious intent to

teach and guide the readers, to make clear to them the realities surrounding them -- the blatant syphoning of their wealth to an ali en country and ali en pockets which 1eft them poor and disadvantaged in their own country, the intrusion of ideas, values and ways of life completely alien, and in most cases, antithetical to their own, and the crying need to do something about the situation which threatened to engulf them. the

urgent

sense

to

transform

literature came into being.

society

In short, it was with that

modern

Malay

This same context was to determine

the conventions which governed the new literary expression.

Litera~

Conventions in Pre-War Writing

In studying the form of pre-war Malay literature, it is important to note that the writers' Malay education precluded them from any significant contact with Western literary tradition.

The efforts

of the Malay Translation Bureau, which saw to the translation of works such as Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels and the like, did

not

acquaint

readers

with

Western

literary

tradition.

Interest in these nove 1s went 1itt 1e beyond that of the story itself.

The

finer

points

of

Western

literary

conventions

remained quite inaccessible to the majority of the Malay readers.

26

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir However, while pre-war writers might not have had access to

the Western literary tradition, they had available to them a rich oral heritage. writers

It was this tradition of story-telling that Malay

brought

to

bear

upon their modern

literary material.

Analysing pre-war short stories, Hashim Awang finds that these early literary efforts bore structural characteristics similar to those of oral narratives. familiarity marginal

with

and

influence

suggests

that

He attributes this close affinity to

availability of

other

of oral

literary

narratives

and

traditions.

He

the thus

pre-war s hart stories were largely an evolution

from the old literary tradition, and that they formed a bridge to the

modern

(Hashim

Awang

1975).10

The

close

tie

with

oral

narratives indicates, on the one hand, the link with the rural areas

where

such

stories

demonstrates how writers

flourished.

On

the

other,

it

adapted literary conventions at their

disposal to suit the needs of a changing soci o-cul tu ra l en vi ronment.

In appreciating modern Malay literature of the period, a

point to be borne in mind is the underlying motivation which prompted literary writings in the first place. this

factor,

the

question

of

genres

was

In the light of

irrelevant

to

the

writers, a point borne out by the dis regard for length, a criterion often used to distinguish between short stories and novels. The short stories of the period words.

ranged between 160 to 48,000

Writers were concerned with the more important question

of the purpose for which their writings were employed.

In this

respect Za'aba's definition of a short story, which appeared in Majalah

Guru

in

January

1926,

perhaps

best

demonstrates

ground rules which governed literary writings of the time: Cerita iktibar

yang dan

boleh

jadi

pengajaran

sebagainya.

Bukan

dan

tauladan dongeng

cerita-cerita aj a i b yang t i ada terupa pad a aka l i ni (cited in A. Bakar Hamid, ed. 1975, p. 344).

dan atau zaman

the

Modern Malay Literary Culture Stories which can serve as and the like.

27

lessons, examples, models

Not fairy-tales or fantasies which are

unacceptable to the minds of the people in this age. [My translation.] Short stories and

similar writings thus had to serve the

specific purpose of providing examples and morals which readers could

emulate.

This

was

consonant

with

perception of their role as social critics.

the

writers'

own

In the light of this

over-riding concern with literature as a "medium" to transform society, modern Malay literature of this period was inevitably didactic and tendentious. Hashim Awang's di dact i ve devices period.

study gives a comprehensive survey of the

evident in the short stories of the pre-war

It suffices here to cite a few examples of writers' use

of these devices as a means towards a specific end.

A glaring

example of this didactive device was the use of buah, literally a "fruit". appeared

This was a summary of the moral

after the cone l us ion of the narrative proper, in the

manner of an appendix. less

effective,

was

like

similar

which,

of the story which

Perhaps less b1 at ant than buah, but no the

use

of

literary

black/white devices,

characterization facilitated

easy

i dent ifi cation with the values, messages or moral of the story. Writers found in this convention a desirable and effective way to influence their readers towards an awareness of their situation, in what they saw as a critical period in the hi story of Malay society. The writers' unambiguous moral position in their narratives gives an insight into their intellectual and perceptual bent in respect to the questions and issues raised in their writings.

In

formulating their perception, writers brought to bear upon their

28

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

material the values and mores closely associated with their rural education

and

eventually

settled

background. in

Even

the

the

urban

journalist-writers

centres

were,

in

who

the main,

similarly the product of the rural environment and an education system

which

emphasized

the

rural

bias.

These

writers

thus

remained largely on the periphery of modernization and alien to the

ethos

of

urbanization.

It

was

thus

from

the

rural

perspective that writers confronted the many questions which they raised in their writings. The Ma 1 ay writers'

concern,

by and 1a rge, centred on the

presence of a 1i ens in their midst, and the threat they posed to the

economic

religious

position

values.

of

While

the

Malays

Malay

and

their

cultural

and

writers were sensitive to the

presence of a colonial power, their writings, especially of the early

period,

government.

were not

vocal

on the question

of politics or

To a certain extent, this could be due to the fact

that Malay school

teachers were bound by a General

prohibited them from i nvo 1 vement

Order wich

in po 1it i cs and government .ll

Whilst there is no reference in the Order to 1 iter a ry writings (with political overtones), it could be argued that it could well have

served

as

a

deterrent

anti-colonial sentiment. it

a

policy

religious

or

not

to

the

expression

of

any

overt

Indeed, Majalah Guru, for example, made

accept

political

to or

issues.

publish Further,

writings the

which

fact

raised

that

Malay

sultans had British advisors could also contribute to writers' hesitation to express openly their anti-colonial views. this

is

not

to

nationalistic

suggest

that

sentiments,

for

Malay

literature

works

which

was

However, devoid

demonstrated

of

this

fervour were evident, such as Ishak Hj. Muhammad's Rumah Besar Tiang

Sebatang

[A

big

house

with

a

pillar]

(Warta

Ahad,

7

December 1941) which categorically called the British arrogant and treacherous

(Hashim Awang

1975,

p.

75).

There were also

Modern Malay Literary Culture

29

works which alluded to British deceit in stripping Malay leaders of

their

However,

power.

instances,

and

became

such

evident

sentiments

only

in

the

were

years

isolated

immediately

before World War II. While

the

British

presence

caused

resentment

among

some

writers, it was rna in ly the other non-Mal ays in the country whom they found objectionable, and whose presence they categorically rejected.

Rejection of the Chinese was closely tied up with the

larger issue of Malay poverty, an issue, as we have observed, popular among the Malay writers. economic

backwardness

often

Stories which highlighted Malay underlined

as

its

cause,

the

twin factors of Chinese economic aggression and Malay habits and pastimes which inhibited economic development.

On the one hand,

writers admonished the Malays for their laziness, their penchant for

extravagances

especially

in

wedding

feasts

and

their

partiality for getting into debt, and urged them to instil themselves,

in

a sense of diligence, frugality and the like as a

means of combating their economic plight.

On the other hand,

writers cautioned their readers to be wary of the devious and deceitful

Chinese and their limitless

greed for wealth.

They

perceived the Chinese as unscrupulous and bent on seducing the Malays

positive

economic

endeavours to opium-smoking, gambling and prostitution.

especially

the

young

men

away

from

Further,

the Chinese exploited Malay leaders' weaknesses by placing them in situations where they were susceptible to or were recipients of bribes.

Whilst such portrayals might show the Malay leaders

in a poor light,

the focus of the stories was on the Chinese

whose unscrupulousness included "buying" influence. the

Chinese,

Malay

writers

also

rejected

the

Apart from DKKs

(Darah

Keturunan Keling -- Indian Muslims) and the DKAs (Darah Keturunan Arab -- those of Arabic descent), generally referred to by the derogatory

terms

kacukan

(hybrid)

or

peranakan

(mixed

race).

30

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

Stories which featured DKKs and the DKAs often centred on the crucial

question

of

takrif

Melayu

(what

constituted

a

Malay), and of writers' rejection of them as "not Malay".

true These

characters were similarly portrayed as unscrupulous opportunists who would

resort

to

any means

to

acquire wealth

quickly

and

easily, and thence to use it to sully the purity of the Malay "race"

(bangsa) by marrying into Malay families.

Together with

the Chinese, and to a certain extent, the British, the DKKs and the DKAs were bracketed as a group apart from the Malays, and presence

whose

was

both

undesirable

and

detrimental

to

the

from

the

general well-being of the Malays as a whole. Another

major

concern

which

similarly

stemmed

presence of non-Malays in the country, was the adverse effects on traditional

Malay

Westernization areas.

and

life

and

values

modernization,

from

as

an

encounter

symbolized

in

the

with urban

The writers' rural perspective gave rise to a myopic view

of the city which they perceived as a negation of both Ma 1 ay culture and religion. sordid

aspects

whatever

of

positive

Portrayal of the city thus centred on the

city-life,

and

writers

influence

the

city

tended

could

to

discount

offer.

Their

rejection of the city was either boldly stated or implied in the stereotypes

and

symbols

associated

with

it,

such

as

alcohol,

dance-hostesses, gamb 1 i ng, nightclubs, prostitutes and the 1 ike. That

such

symbols

came

readily

to

the

writers'

minds

is

understandab 1 e in the light of the occupation a 1 patterns of the Malays

and

non-Malays,

especially

the

Chinese,

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. items were which

were

"merchandise" in

great

among

the

the

late

Alcohol and such-like

for which the Malays demand

in

had no use but

Chinese.

Further,

non-Malays constituted the suppliers of these merchandise (Tham 1977). to

Writers

everyday

thus

Malay

rejected

life

and

them were

because proscribed

they by

were Islam.

alien As

Modern Malay Literary Culture

31

narrative symbols they were a powerful expression of rejection of the city. Concomitant with rejection of the city and the urban ethos was the writers' idealization of the village.

By and large, the

rural area was associated with moral excellence, good conduct and positive va 1ues such as honesty and diligence, and was seen as everything that

the

city was

not.

Common among writers were

stories of morally good village youths meeting their ruin in the city or of young girls ending up as prostitutes when they left the sanctuary of their vi 11 age homes.

Or, working in reverse,

writers also suggested that the moral

degenerates of the city

could find salvation in the village.

A classic example of this

kind of perception was Gelombang Hidup [The waves of life] (Bulan Melayu,

May

1933)

in

which

the

writer

described

how

the

protagonist was destroyed by alcohol, gambling and prostitution in the city.

The mora 1 of the story further asserted that the

village alone could save him and restore dignity to his life. the

sum,

value

system

which

underpinned

literary

In

works

emphasized, explicitly or otherwise, the moral superiority of the village to the city. Closely tied up with the question of values and mores was the position of Islam.

The moral framework of pre-war stories

asserted that Islam and its teachings were valid and should serve as a point of reference for a 11 which

portrayed

other

religions,

often

upheld

embrace

the

situations such

as

validity

in in of

manners of conduct.

which

Islam was

pitted against

inter-ethnic/religious Islam

by

marriages,

having the

non-Muslim

Islam before a marriage could be contracted.

affirmations superficial

of

Islam

religious

were

found

upbringing

or

in a

stories

Stories

which

lackadaisical

Further posited attitude

towards religion as the root cause of the downfall of the Malays

32

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

as a whole.

In approaching the position of Islam in literary

works, a point to be borne in mind is that the moral framework of the narratives asserted that Malay culture and religion were not differentiated, and that positive "cultural" values were seen as Thus, stories which upheld synonymous with "Islamic" values. what could be seen as Malay "cultural" values became, implicitly or otherwise, an affirmation of Islam and its values, and vice versa. Shaped by socio-political

circumstances brought into being

by late nineteenth and early twentieth century British colonial a both developed general in literature pre-war policy, characteristic literary form and by implication a concept of what it was to be a Malay. Divorced from the elite by socio-political forces, Malay literature came to be the expression of champions of the masses against "outsiders" and the "city" by writers who origin and not far

were themselves of rural masses. rural,

removed from the

Hence the image of "Malay identity" was crystallized as poor,

but

disadvantaged

moral centre in Islam.

nonetheless

virtuous,

with

its

Alongside this notion of Malay identity

was a literary form which, while superficially Western-derived, cultural and literary was actually much closer to rural traditions.

All

these

characteristics were

reinforced

by the

link with journalism.

Post-War literature: A study of modern

ASAS 50 Malay

literature of the immediate post-war

years inevitably points to the role of Singapore as the centre of literary activity. After the war, Singapore ranked as the most important port in the region, attracting trade and business from

Modern Malay Literary Culture

33

all over the world.

As a cosmopolitan city, it was a focus for foreign tourists, artists and scholars and held the promise of a

1 ively

cultural

1 ife.

Its

many 1 ibraries,

the University of Malaya {1949) and Nanyang University {1955) combined to make it an ideal centre for literary activity. However, Singapore's importance, especially in the context of the development of Malay literature of the period, lies not only in its strategic location as an international sea-port. It is also tied up with the larger and more important over a 11 c 1 i mate of the day. In Singapore, political, social and economic forces combined to create an environment which brought into being a style of literary activity which was to leave a distinct mark in the history of modern Malay 1iterature. The 1940s were significant in the Asian region as a period of intense struggle for independence from colonial rule, with Indonesia gaining its independence in 1945, India in 1947, and Burma in 1948. Under the influence especially of the political struggles in Indonesia, the 1930s saw the growth in Malaya of a number of political organizations in Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Perak. In May 1937, Ibrahim Yaakub and a few others including Ishak Hj. Mohammad founded the Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM -- Young Malays Association). Openly anti-British and radical in outlook, the organization advocated fighting for independence by aligning itself with Indonesia. During the Japanese occupation, progressive political movements were encouraged and Pembela Tanah Air (PETA -- Defenders of the Motherland) was formed. This was a paramilitary group supported by the Japanese. After the Japanese surrendered and British took over control of the country, the Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Sa-Malaya (PKM -- Malay Nationalist Party) was founded. However, following the stepping up of Chinese-dominated communist activities, with murders of several Europeans, the colonial government imposed a State of Emergency

34

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

throughout

Malaya

1948.

in

This

resulted

in

the

banning

of

political organizations suspected of being "left" or in sympathy with anti -government activities. and

both

its

subsidiaries,

Among those banned were PKMM

Angkatan

Wanita

Sedar

(AWAS

Organization of Aware Women) and Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (API-Organization of Awakened Youth).

Alongside political

agitation

against colonial rule, the period was a1so marked by an upsurge in Malay communalistic feelings in terms of their position as the This came to a head in 1946

indigenous people of the country.

when the British tried to introduce the Malayan Union, a proposal which, among other things, would have dispossessed the sultans of their

sovereignty

Moreover,

by

transferring

citizenship

was

to

irrespective of ethnic group. Union was so great that

it

be

to made

the

British

available

Crown. to

all

Malay opposition to the Malayan

it was

revoked and replaced with the

Federation of Malaya of 1948 which, among other things, retained the

sovereignty

of the sultans

and made citizenship available

only after fifteen years of residence.

The event was significant

in that it underlined the political strength of Malay solidarity in respect to their position and identity.

This climate of keen

political

importantly

consciousness

was

to

feature

in

the

development of the literature of the period. Following the imposition of the Emergency, many leaders and supporters

of

Singapore.

As

the a

banned colony

political outside

the

organizations Federation

fled

of

to

Malaya,

Singapore was not stringently affected by the Emergency law and was thus considered relatively "safe".

Aside from providing a

haven for nationalists under threat, Singapore was also important as a thriving city with ample employment opportunities.

After

the war, there was a steady stream of migration to Singapore of youths from rural areas in search of jobs.

These youths brought

with them their Malay education which they obtained in their

Modern Malay Literary Culture

35

villages and which equipped them for lowly jobs such as dockyard labourers,

drivers

and

special

constables.

These

newcomers

joined the mainstream of Malays in Singapore who represented, by and large, the lower strata of society.

Equally important to the

understanding of the literary development of the period was the fact that Singapore was also important as a centre for printing and publishing.

The rapid growth of its publishing houses such

as the Pustaka Melayu Raya Press,

Pustaka H.M. Ali, Qalam and

Harmy and the proliferation of magazines such as Mastika, Hiburan and Mutiara and especially the newspaper, Utusan Melayu, made it emerge

as

an

important centre for

sponsoring and di stri buti ng

literature. After

the

war,

particularly

between

1947-51,

Singapore

attracted from the Federation of Malaya a number of journalists and

aspiring

journalists

and

writers.

Alongside

its

active

journalistic world, the Kesatuan Guru-Guru Melayu Singapura (KGMS Singapore Malay Teachers Organization) was one of the most active organizations

in

Malaya.

It

was,

at

the

time,

various social, cultural and literary activities.

involved

in

There was also

the Sahabat Pena (Pen-Pals), a group which encouraged exchange of ideas through letter-writing.

There thus developed in Singapore

a group of people enthusiastic about 1 iterature and keen to see it

grow and develop.

initiative

of

journalists

and

On

Sahabat

Pena,

teachers,

Sasterawan 50 or ASAS 50. journalists

played

a

26 August

group

of

largely through the young

came together to found

men,

mostly

the Angkatan

As in the pre-war years, teachers and

crucial

literature of the period.

a

1950,

role

in

the

development

of the

A sample of the membership of ASAS 50

in 1954 testified to the fact: Teachers

27

Journalists

14

36 Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir Policemen Workers (farmers and shopkeepers) Students Clerks (+ 2 copy-writers) Hospital attendants Laboratory assistants Electricians Storekeepers Others (including an abattoir worker, a typesetter, an operator, a labourer, an actress and an advertisement worker) Source:

14 11 7

6 3 2 2

2

7

Syed Husin Ali (1959), p. 24.

Of these writers, the journalists were the most prolific. However, as in the pre-war years, modern Malay literature of the 1950s was the work of representatives of the Malay-educated masses. There was hardly any participation from the Malay elite. Members of the ASAS 50 were young people in their early twenties, energetic and full of ideas and ideals. Their main aim in forming the organization was to promote the growth of the Malay language as a means of achieving independence and to initiate changes which would bring about a more equitable society, as stressed in their Memoranda ASAS 50, 1956: Dari mula ia didirikan Augustus 1950 Angkatan Sasterawan '50 telah bergerak bersama-sama dengan (kerabat-kerabat kongres ini khususnya dan) seluruh masyarakat umumnya dengan sikap dan pendirian yang tegas bahawa bahasa dan kesusteraan adalah alat untuk perpaduan kebangsaan dan perjuangan kemerdekaan; bahawa bahasa da kesusteraan ada 1ah juga a 1at untuk memaj ukan

Modern Malay Literary Culture fikiran

rakyat

masyarakat,

sesuai

dengan

kemakmuran,

cita-cita

keamanan

dan

37

keadilan

perdamaian

hidup

(Memoranda Kumpulan ••• 1962; p. 39). From its inception -- August 1950, Angkatan Sasterawan '50 has moved together with (members of this Congress in

particular,

attitude

and

and)

society as

standpoint,

a whole,

namely

that

with a firm language

and

literature are a means towards creating nationalism and a tool in the fight for independence; that language and literature

are

a

means

towards

uplifting

people's

thoughts, in line with the ideals of social equality, prosperity, peace and harmony.

[My translation.]

Between 1950-56, ASAS 50 was led by Kamal udd in Mohammad or Keri s Mas and Asraf, with help from Usman Awang or Tongkat Warrant, the 1 atter as a committee member and later as its Secretary.

These

three men were to play a crucial role in ASAS 50, both in their capacity as organizers and leaders of the organization as well as writers in their own right. Much has been written on ASAS 50 and it suffices here to highlight a few salient points (Ismail Hussein 1959; Syed Husin Ali 1959; Noriyah Hussain 1975-76; Warisan ASAS 50, 1981).

ASAS

50 was a literary group governed by no political party and had no political affiliations.

Nevertheless, it was a product of an age

which was politically conscious and determined to shake off the colonial yoke.

Further, its members, and significantly those at

the

links

helm,

had

organizations of the

and

sympathy

period.

with

progressive

political

Keri s Mas, for ex amp 1e, was the

Information Officer of the banned PKMM, Temerloh branch.l2

Asraf

was an active member of the banned API, whi 1e Tongkat Warrant, though

not

a

member

of

any

political

organization,

was

38

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

sympathetic positions

to as

the

nationalist

journalists

movement.

with

Utusan

In

Melayu

addition, brought

their

them

in

contact with a number or political veterans, such as Dahari Ali and Sa ll eh Daud, each of whom had at one time or other been the Secretary of PKMM.

The implications of this were enormous.

political

aspirations

channel.

Whilst ASAS 50 members were aware that they were not a

political

group, they nevertheless realized they could act as a

pressure

group

in

terminated

the

by the Emergency found

The

politics

of

language

and

a new

literature.

Indeed, ASAS 50 laid down the promotion of the Malay language and literature as

one

of

its

main

aims.

ASAS

50

recognized

the

reality of British education policy which promoted the English language and made it the "passport" of the new emerging society. English

was

therefore

seen

as

growth of the Malay language. would

only

grow

colonialism.

in

a

responsible

for

retarding

the

ASAS 50 believed that the language

climate

free

Freedom from colonial

from

the

restrictions

of

rule was thus perceived as

integral to the literary struggle. While significant from the point of view of language growth, British presence was tied up also with the more important and broader issue of the socio-economic structure of Malay society. As pointed out above, British colonial policy retained the rigid division of Malay society into the ruling elite and the masses. It also produced a new phenomenon of the bureaucracy, a new group of Malay leaders, which served to reinforce the stratification. The bureaucracy served as a channel the

public.

Officer

(DO)

At

the

district

between the government and

level,

there

was

the

District

and the various heads of departments who were in

charge of civil, legal and educational matters, with the headman, whose function

in

pre-British days was to mediate between the

sultan and the masses, becoming the lowest member of the state machinery.

The members of the bureaucracy were a minority group

Modern Malay Literary Culture who

enjoyed

both

social

status

and

economic

well-being,

39 and

aligned with the British in the colonial government, they found themse 1 ves drawn into increasing prominence in the 1 i ght of the anti-colonial struggle of the period. privileged

group

was

the

vast

Alongside this relatively

majority

of

the

masses

whose

poverty was confirmed by the soci a 1 rea 1 i ty which surrounded the writers

in Singapore.

As

Ismail

Hussein

points out,

in

1947

Singapore had a population of 940,824 of which only 72,154 were Ma 1 ays, the majority of whom 1 i ved on the outer is 1ands or in congested areas in the city such as Geyl ang and Kampung Me 1 ayu. Further, they p1 ayed a peri phera 1 ro 1e in the soci a 1 structure of the

city,

with

the

majority

working

as

labourers,

dockyard

workers, drivers or junior clerks (Ismail Hussein 1976, p. 311). Indeed,

the

writers

themselves

were

part

of

this

class.

As

further confirmation of the economic backwardness of the Malay masses, newspapers of the day reiterated again and again the fact of Malay

poverty.

glaring social the writers

The

presence of a

colonial

~lite

the

inequality which it produced were to develop in

a form

of class

consciousness,

and encourage the

expression of protest not only against colonial the

power and

of

their

own

"race".

As

in

the

rule, but also pre-war

years,

1 iterature became a medium for expressing a critique of society. It sought to highlight how society malfunctioned, and did so by exposing what it saw as the ills which plagued it.

However, it

did not venture to suggest so 1 uti ons to remedy these ills. was

primarily

concerned

with

drawing

attention

to

It

social

injustices, in its attempts to elicit sympathy for the sufferings of the poor.

Asraf saw this critique as its ultimate task and

urged writers to reflect the truth about the masses in all their writings

(Asraf 1981, p. 43).

It is in this respect that the

1 iterature of this period is often he 1d up as the "1 iteratu re of the underdogs".

It

is for the same reason, too, that

it was

various 1y referred to as sastera teri kat (commit ted 1 iteratu re),

40

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

sastera

bertendens

(directed

literature),

sastera

propaganda

(propaganda literature) and sastera prates (protest literature). Indeed, the conditions for protest literature were all there, and significantly it was the protest not of outsiders or observers but of participants,

people who were actively involved in, and

were a product of, the social realities they described.

It was

in the light of the role they assigned to literature, and the consciousness which underpinned it, that ASAS 50 crystallized its attitudes

in

its

slogan,

Sastera untuk Masyarakat or "Art for

Society". The importance of the slogan in determining the character of the literature of the period cannot be underestimated.

It was

given much publicity and was enunciated, discussed and elaborated in the newspapers, on radio as well as at gatherings of literary enthusiasts.

Indeed, it was so crucial as the basis of the ASAS

50 struggle that a polemic occurred between Asraf and Hamzah, the latter, also an ASAS 50 member, favouring seni untuk seni or "art for art's sake". into personal

The polemic, some which at times degenerated

clashes, was extended to exchanges in newspapers

and magazines, thereby giving it more publicity.

It ended with

Hamzah pulling out of ASAS 50 to found the Persatuan Angkatan Persuratan Melayu Baru

in April

1954.

However, as a literary

group the latter was eclipsed by the more forceful ASAS 50.

This

served to confirm the ASAS 50 standpoint, and the slogan "Art for Society" was to

remain the hallmark of the

literature of the

1950s. ASAS 50 and its slogan were able to hold sway for several reasons, the most important of which was the close link between literature and journalism.

As in the pre-war years, most of the

writers

and

were

newspapers.

journalists More

importantly,

teachers the

who

newspapers

also and

wrote

for

magazines

Modern Malay Literary Culture

41

constituted the only medium by which literary works reached the readers.

This was especially crucial

in terms of the ASAS 50

era. It is a well-known fact that the most established newspaper of the period, and one which enjoyed the widest circulation, was Utusan Mel ayu and its off -shoot publications, Utusan Zaman and Mastika.

All three publications carried literary columns, and

Mastika, in particular, enjoyed "respectable and strict", that is, stalwarts of ASAS 50 were directly Keris Mas started working with Utusan

a reputation of being of a high standard. The linked with Utusan Melayu. Melayu in 1947, and by the

time ASAS 50 made its mark as a literary organization, Keris Mas' reputation and position at Utusan Mel ayu was we 11 entrenched. Indeed, in 1948, at a time when Mastika was showing signs of weakening, Keris Mas was given sole responsibility for its rejuvenation on whatever terms he envisaged best. He turned it into a magazine devoted solely to literary writings and essays. Asraf and Tongkat Warrant, together with another ASAS 50 member, Awam-il-Sarkam, similarly worked with Utusan Mel ayu and Utusan Zaman. And for a time Keris Mas, Asraf and Tongkat Warrant shared the editorship of Mastika and Utusan Zaman. With

ASAS

50

stalwarts

"based"

advantageously

in

Utusan

Melayu, there was a virtual monopoly of the medium by ASAS 50 members, and this had far-reaching effects. On the one hand, their positions with Utusan Melayu made it possible for them to ensure that their works were published. Keris Mas admitted to writing and publishing short stories and essays regularly in the weekly, Utusan Zaman, and the monthly, Mastika, under several pseudonyms including his famous "Keris Mas", "Kamal" and several others.

On

the

other,

it

placed the ASAS

50 members

in

a

position to publish or reject literary works sent to the media for publication. It is highly likely that only works which upheld ASAS 50 ideals were published.

Syed Husi n Ali observes

42

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

that

of

the

nine

writers

whose

works

appeared

regularly

in

Mastika, six of them were well-known ASAS 50 members, including Keris Mas, Tongkat Warrclnt, Asraf, Mas, Masuri S.N. and Hamzah (Syed Husin Ali

1959,

p.

25).

Indeed, the effect of ASAS 50

monopoly of the media on the literature of the period has been pointed out that the

repeatedly.

media which

Ismail

a few

Hussein,

key

figures

for example, observes controlled

gave them

unlimited opportunity to determine the 1 iterary development for the following two decades (Ismail Hussein 1981, p. 76).

In sum,

it could be said that ASAS 50 exploited its advantageous position within

Utusan

Melayu

to

generate

and

perpetuate a

literature

which conformed to its ideals and demands. Less important than the newspapers, but nonethe 1ess serving to enhance ASAS radio,

50

influence on

the

general

public,

was the

where ASAS 50 members were invited to talk on various

issues.

These

addition, reputation

talks

were

later

the

three

leaders

of

as

tokoh

(figures

published

the

of

group

in in

authority),

Mastika. time

with

gained Keris

In a Mas

referred to as the cerpenis (short story writer), Tongkat Warrant as the penyajak (poet) and Asraf as the kritik (literary critic). As

tokoh

they

were

often

invited

to

give

ta 1 ks

at

meetings and gatherings, or to offer kelas bimbingan classes in literary writing). models which were emulated.

1 iterary (guidance

Moreover, their works soon became All these factors meant that it was

the ASAS 50 and its principles which determined the nature of Malay literary production during the 1950s.

Conventions in Immediate Post-War literature Although overt didacticism of the pre-war years was no longer as evident,

writers

of the

1950s

continued to

be

guided

by the

Modern Malay Literary Culture motivation to inform their readers. evident

in

their

society

and

the

Indeed, this was especially

single-minded desire subsequent

efforts

43

to

expose

geared

the

towards

ills of

producing,

maintaining and perpetuating a literature tailored to the maxim of

"art for

society".

To this end, there was thus the same

concern with making their message clear.

The literature of the

1950s thus showed structural similarities with pre-war works in so far as they showed a heavy reliance on literary conventions which facilitated easy identification of and with the moral of the story. As

an

expression

of

the

consciousness

which

pervaded

literary production during this period, the writers' own social position and the overall condition of Malay society at the time, the literature of the 1950s took on a di st i net character.

This

interplay of forces generated forms of perceptions which held the Malay masses

as

victims of colonialism and feudalism.

literature of the

1950s

In the

as a whole, there thus took shape a

distinct perception of social inequality in terms of "them" and "us".

In the one camp were grouped the British and the Malay

elite, the privileged of society who constituted "them".

In the

other, were the masses be they in the city or the rural areas, all of whom were characterized by their common socio-economic relation to society as a whole. They were perceived essentially as the socially-deprived and disadvantaged, and writers expressed their sense of common identity and solidarity with them. With this division clearly mapped out, the literature of the period ethical

began

to make

issues which

clear

its thematic concerns.

largely dominated

Moral

pre-war writings

and still

appeared in post-wars works, but their importance was diminished. They were superseded by other issues which were largely social in nature.

Narrative preoccupations of the 1950s cent red, on the

44

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

one

hand,

on

the

hardship

survive in an environment prevalent was this

of the

poor and their efforts

host i 1e to their needs.

picture that

Ismail

to

Indeed, so

Hussein aptly calls it

metos yang menyayukan or "a touching myth" (Ismail Hussein 1974, p. 15).

On the other, were stories of "them" which centred on

the life styles of the rich and the upper-class. this,

the

aristocrats

with

and

British

and

the

Malay

elite,

especially the bureaucrats,

Concomitant

including

were perceived

the as

those with administrative responsibilities within the government machinery.

More importantly, they were seen as those furnished

with the authority to initiate changes, especially changes for the

betterment

of

the

masses.

On

the

rural

scene

were

the

headmen and religious leaders such as the lebai (mosque official} and the imam (leader of congregational prayer) who, like their urban

counterparts,

were

similarly

perceived

as

figures

of

authority with some measure of power over the peasants. Hand in hand with this categorization was a value perception that was dichotomous.

The poor and the oppressed were assigned

positive qualities and virtues, while the elite and the rich were denied any good at a 11.

A common trait was the port ray a l of the

poor as diligent, patient and steadfast in the face of hardship and with a high sense of religious piety.

On the other hand, the

British were seen as patronizing hypocrites

bent on flaunting

their supposed superiority while the Malay leaders were callous, uncaring of their own people and guilty of betraying their own "race".

The

Western-educated

bureaucrats

were

portrayed

as

excessively Westernized, if not completely sold to the "yellow culture".

They were usually presented as irreligious, steeped in

vice

and

Like

their

villages

obsessed urban

were

with

the pursuit

counterparts,

similarly

cast

the as

of sensual authority hypocrites

positions to further their own selfish ends.

gratification. figures

who

used

in

the

their

In particular, the

Modern Malay Literary Culture

45

religious leaders, usually old men, made use of their titles such (one who has performed the pilgrimage to Mecca), 1ebai

as haj i

and imam, and the attendant favourable association these evoked to persuade parents into giving their young daughters to them in marriage. Within that

it

the total

entailed,

perception of social

the

city

was

no

inequality and all

longer

singled

distinct enemy, as was the case in pre-war years. portrayal

in

an

unfavourable light

remained.

out

as

a

However, its

Symbols

such as

alcohol, women, nightclubs and the like, associated in pre-war writings with the city and used largely in a moral and ethical context

to

denote

moral

laxity,

persisted

retained the same va 1ue connotations. served to

in

the

1950s

and

The use of these symbo 1s

validate the negative percept·ion of the upper class

with whom such symbols were often associated, and also the city as

a

place

where

these

"merchandise"

could

be

found.

implication, the absence of these symbols in the rural

By

setting

served to cast the village environment in a morally favourable 1 i ght.

The 1 iterature of the 1950s was a product of an era marked by socio-political agitation.

Championing the masses, it bore a

distinct continuity with the pre-war years in its perception of its role as a means towards a specific end. literature

which

was

both

conscious

and

Indeed, it was a

proud

of this

role.

Within the framework of its objectives, it strove to expose what it saw as the prevailing social

maladies, and in so doing, it

moved towards a clearer definition of the "enemy". token,

it also made clear its biases.

the poor, class

both rura 1 and urban,

with

common,

literature, too,

identifiable

By the same

Within this literature,

were bracketed together as a allegiances.

Within

this

"Malayness" came specifically to be associated

46

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

with the

masses

as

against

the

elite.

Concomitant with this

division was a value perception which made clear its sympathies with the masses, as it did its rejection of the elite.

The Literature of Independence The 1960s signalled the beginning of a totally new phase in the history of the country.

Malaya

gained its independence on 31

August 1957, and as a result the 1960s were characterized by a complex interplay of the political, brought

into

being

post-independence

by

the

social

circumstances

Inevitably,

era.

and economic forces

during these years made themselves

the felt

of

an

complexity

immediate of

events

in certain significant

ways in the literary development of the period. The

1960s

were

generally

referred

to

as

zaman

mengisi

kemerdekaan or an era in which to give substance to (the meaning of)

independence.

In

line

with

this

aspiration,

the

administrative sector undertook to accelerate what was known as the process of Malayanization. committee

was

recommended

that

Malayan Civil 1957

and

set

up

for

to every

Prior to independence in 1955, a

look

into

this

five

officers

process, recruited

Service (MCS),13 four should be Malays.

1962,

the

number

of

British

officers

in

and into

it the

Between the

MCS

decreased from 220 to 26, while that of Malays increased from 128 to 219. 709.

By 1968, the number of these Malay officers had reached

The 1960s were thus to witness the emergence of these MCS

officers as a distinct Malay group. there also grew a

group which

came

Alongside the MCS officers, about as

a

result of the

adoption of parliamentary democracy, namely the parliamentarians and

councillors

(Wakil

Rakyat).14

Together

with

the

MCS

Modern Malay Literary Culture officers,

they

drew

attention

leadership as a whole. earlier years,

to

the

phenomenon

of

47

Malay

To be sure, this question was evident in

but it became more pertinent in the context of

independent Malaya where the leadership of the country was now solely in the hands of the indigenous population. society in particular, the Wakil especially

the

latter

ministries and the

with

their

various

Within Malay

Rakyat and the MCS officers, pervasive

statutory

presence

in

all

bodies, were seen as the

body with the authority and power to shape the fortunes of the Malays. Alongside

this

development

were

more

opportunities

for

English education for the Malays.

Through an expanded Special

Malay

were

Class

scheme,

Malay

pupils

admitted

into

English

schools after three or four years of Malay vernacular education. Placed in Special pupils

then

Malay Classes for two to three years, these

joined

the mainstream

English

education.

Besides

education, various economic policies were introduced to stimulate economic

growth,

eradicate

poverty,

provide

employment

opportunities and ensure economic equitability among the various ethnic

groups.

Such

policies

had

been

introduced

before

independence itself with the Draft Development Plan of 1950-55, but independence saw a more concerted effort towards this end. The

question

various

rural

of

rural

poverty

development

received

programmes

to

much

increase the

status of the rural population were launched. Plan

(1961-65),

rice-growing predominated.

for

sector

example, of

the

was rural

attention,

economic

The Second Malaya

especially economy

and

devoted

where

the

to

the

Malays

However, while the economic growth of the country

proved impressive, rural poverty remained a serious problem.

As

late as 1970, for example, of the 49.3 per cent of all households in Peninsula Malaysia which had incomes below the poverty line. eight-six

per

cent

were

rural,

and

of

these.

the

Malays

48

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

constituted 1 itt 1e

the

change

continued

in

Malay

majority. the

Independence

economic

poverty

impotence of Malay leadership. be

especially

1960s.

Malay

status

underlined

clearly of

what

the

was

had

wrought

peasantry,

perceived

and

and the

This was a factor which proved to

significant for the literary development poverty

as

its

relation

to the

of the

newly emerging

Malay administrative class came to be a pervasive issue in the literary production of the period. Within the 1 iterary world itself, the 1960s were to witness sever a 1 changes, at the same time as certain 1 i nes of continuity were rna i nta i ned.

Foremost amongst these changes was the coming

to an end of the ASAS 50 monopoly on the actual writing of Malay literature.

By

the

1960s

its

members

were

ceasing

to

be

productive, and ASAS 50 as a literary organization showed a rapid decline.

This process coincided with and was accelerated by the

demise of Singapore as the centre of Malay literary activity, and the

emergence

of

Kuala

Lumpur

as

the

new

centre,

a

change

associated largely with the move to Kuala Lumpur of institutions such as

the Department of Malay Studies,

(1959),

Dewan

Bahasa

dan

Pustaka

University of Malaya

(1957),

several

publishing

enterprises such as Utusan Melayu and the opening of a new office in

Kua 1 a Lumpur by Oxford University

Press.

By 1958 a 11

the

Malaya-born journalist-writers who worked with Utusan Melayu had moved

to

Kua 1a Lumpur.

In

1959,

the Maktab Pergu ruan

Bahasa

(Language Institute) was opened, and in 1961 Persatuan PenulisPenulis founded.

Nasional

(PENA -- Federation

of National

Writers)

was

This was followed by the formation of other literary

groups and organizations. The

move

contrast to

to

Kuala

the ASAS

Lumpur

had

several

implications.

In

50 era in which the 1 iterary wor 1d was

virtually confined to Singapore and to ASAS-50 members, the 1960s

Modern Malay Literary Culture witnessed an

opening

up

49

1iterary hori zan with greater

of the

participation by writers from all over the country.

At the same

time, writers of the 1960s were, by and large, better educated than

their

earlier

counterparts.

education,

while a few,

tertiary

education.

socio-economic Ismail

of

them

Together

with

similarly

showed a marked

survey

of

this,

literary writers

1959-69 points to their

relatively

p.

314).

While

English

Ismail's

survey

is

the

had

writers'

improvement.

in

Kuala

Lumpur

comfortable income

with only twenty per cent earning 1ow income 1974.£_,

had

such as Kassim Ahmad and Ajikik,

position

Muhammad's

between

Some

(Ismail

Muhammad

confined to

Kuala

Lumpur, the same may be said of writers outside the capital city. Indeed, subsequent years showed writers enjoying the same measure of economic security, and, in some cases, cons i derab 1 e comfort. At the same time, by virtue of their higher education they were, by

the

end

of

themse 1ves

of

the the

decade,

in

products

a

of

better

position

i nte 11 ectua 1

to

and

avail

1 i terary

traditions from international sources. While certain variations were taking place on the literary scene, however, members of the ASAS 50 continued to influence the direction of literary development during this period.

This was

due, in large measure, to its members' advantaged position within the

publishing

world.

Certain

key

figures

of

occupied positions of importance in the dailies,

the

ASAS

50

Utusan Melayu

and Berita Harian, and also in Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

After

the move to Kuala Lumpur, Asraf joined Oxford University Press as an

editor,

while Awam-il-Sarkam and Usman Awang joined Utusan

Melayu, the latter to take charge of Utusan Zaman and Mastika. Later he joined Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and became the editor of its publication, Dewan Masyarakat. dan

Pustaka

important

to

as

editor

note

that

of as

its

Keris Mas joined Dewan Bahasa

journal,

publications

Dewan of

Bahasa.

Dewan

It

Bahasa

is dan

50

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

Pustaka, the highest government agency associated with Malay language and literature, Dewan Bahasa and Dewan Masyarakat enjoyed a reputation for literary respectability, and works published in these two journals soon became a yardstick by which good literary products were measured. As editors whose main responsibility was to select writings to be included in the magazines, Keri s Mas and Usman Awang were thus able to exert a considerable influence on the literature of the period. Equally important was the reputation of these figures as figures of authority in matters of literature, a reputation enhanced by their association with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. Moreover, former ASAS 50 figures were prominent recipients of official penghargaan (tokens of recognition) which included trips, special appointments and decorations, overseas responsibilities, participation in seminars and conferences and the like. Both Keris Mas and Usman Awang, for example, were recipients of the maximum eleven different types of recognition. In 1983, Usman Awang was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy by University of Malaya. As "authority" figures, their views and advice on matters of 1iterature were often solicited and respected. During this time, too, their works and also those of other ASAS 50 members were compiled and published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and Oxford University Press, and were thus easily available in book form. No less important was the role of Abdul Samad Ismail.l5 Never a member of ASAS 50, Samad was nevertheless regarded as the "brains" behind the organization during its heyday and was also Keris Mas' and Usman Awang's "teacher" especially in the field of journalism. As the editor of the influential newspaper, Berita Harian, and with a reputation as one of the leading journalists in the country, Samad was in a position to determine Be rita

Modern Malay Literary Culture Hari an's po 1 icy in respect of 1iteratu re.

51

Between 1959-65, for

example, when Berita Harian held short story competitions, Keris Mas was selected as one of the judges.

Indeed, it was claimed

that Samad made the Berita Harian columns available to literary writings

which

upheld

the

ideals

of

ASAS

50

(Ismail

Muhammed

1974.£). Another factor which helped ASAS 50 to exert considerable influence on the 1 iterature of the day was the absence of any other

clear

focus

PENA,

which

was

of

literary development

founded

with

the

aim

of

during

the

period.

uniting

the

various

1 iterary groups that had mushroomed during the period, failed to effect this union.

This was largely due to the fact that its

activities were confined to Kuala Lumpur.

Writers and literary

groups outside Kua 1 a Lumpur thus remained very much on their own with

little

diffuse

or

no

rapport

with

literary environment,

PENA.

In

the continued

the

light

of

this

prominence of ASAS

50's key figures served as a clear focus for the Malay writers. Indeed, the continued influence of ASAS 50 on the literature of the

1960s was

a characteristic feature

of the period

and the

practice of emulating ASAS 50 works became a trend which claimed among its many fo 11 owers those who were significant writers in their own right such as Shahnon Ahmad, S. Othman Kelantan, Ajkik, Arena Wati

and several

others.

In sum, it could be said that

a 1 though the s 1 oganeeri ng of ASAS 50 was absent, its cont ro 1 over literary orientation was clearly evident. The 1 iterature of 1960s must be seen within the context of the

interplay

of

this

literary

orientation

and

the

socio-

po 1 it i ca 1 rea 1 ity which high 1 i ghted the failure of the new breed of leaders to bring about economic betterment to the poor Malays. Given

this

scenario,

social comment.

literature

became

a

conscious

area

for

Like the previous years, literature attempted to

52

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

expose the ills of society, drawing attention to them so that they could be remedied.

By the same token,

it demonstrated a

sustained concern for the plight of the Malay poor. Alongside important

this

in

development was

characterizing

the

another

literary

which

was

environment

equally of

the

1960s.

This was the change taking place in the Malay publishing

world.

The period saw a growing demand for cheap entertainment

fiction.

With

a

ready

market,

book

publishing

and

printing

became economically viable, and it was indeed no coincidence that in the ear 1y

1960s severa 1 book

stores

such

as

Pustaka Abbas

Bandong and Pustaka Melayu Baru extended their business scope to include

publishing.

Between

1960 and

1969,

no

less

than

200

nove 1s by seventy writers were pub 1 i shed, with 1967 showing a record high of sixty-two novels for that year alone.

This figure

was especially impressive when compared with the sixty-two novels by eleven writers produced between 1945-58.

Out of this tot a 1

output, ninety per cent were "light" novels produced for purposes of meeting the demand for popular entertainment (A. Bakar Hamid 1973, p. 352).

Central to such novels was the preoccupation with

sex, and they were various 1y referred to as nove 1 1 ucah (obscene novels), novel porno (pornographic novels) or novel picisan (dime nove 1 s).

"Pornography" was defined as:

gambaran

sejelas-jelasnya perlakuan

seks yang

berlaku

dan diungkap sejelas mungkin dalam cerita, semata-mata untuk tujuan

perangsang nafsu dan perniagaan

(Supardi

Muradi 1978-79, p. 170). The

explicit

portrayal

of

sexual

acts

in

the

story

which is couched in the clearest terms possible, solely with

the

aim

to

commercial gains.

arouse

desire

and

[My translation.]

for

purposes

of

Modern Malay Literary Culture

53

The immense commercial success of these novels in the 1960s made them an established feature of the writing and publishing world. In

the

years

undiminished. Amir

to

follow,

their

proliferation

remained

In fact, the monopoly publishers of these novels,

Enterprise

and

Penerbitan

Pena

Sendirian

Berhad,

soon

started a "Siri Kisah Cinta" (Love Story Series) to accommodate such

novels

exclusively.

It was

during this

period too that

Yahaya Samah made a name for himself as the writer of sex novels. According to Supardi, readership

from

by and

among

large,

factory

such novels claimed their

workers,

junior

clerks

and

office-boys.

Conventions in Post-Independence Literature Over the years, Malay literature developed a measure of stylistic sophistication with blatant didacticism fast disappearing by the time of the 1960s.

Stereotypes persisted, however, as did the

dual preoccupation with the plight of the poor and the conduct of the

leaders

of

the

country,

1 iterature of previous years.

which

largely

characterized

the

By and 1 arge, the 1 atter concern

tended to dominate the 1 iter a ry scene.

In giving expression to

this concern, however, the literature of the period was to show a slight variation in focus.

In line with the change of leadership

from the British to 1ocal bureaucrats on the political scene, the literature shifted its focus to this new breed of leaders.

It

presented them in their position as the sole administrators of the

country,

depiction

of

and

their

response

to

this

new administrative

this class,

Ma 1 ay 1eaders seen in the 1950s preva i 1 ed. MCS officers, who were va ri ou sly

new

role.

In

the

the perception of When portraying the

referred to as Pegawa i

Kanan

54

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

(Senior Officer), Pegawi Division Satu (Division One Officer) or Tuan DO (Mr DO or Mr Di strict Officer), writers tended to dwe 11 on their English or Western education which adversely gave rise to a new 1 ife-styl e of "vice and moral depravity". of

these young

betrayed their their

own

leaders

to them as

defenders

people and become strangers

society.

berkiblat ke Barat ~

pointed

Concomitant

with

Descriptions

and

this,

who

had

alienated from

phrases

such

as

(facing towards the West) and bukan Melayu

(no longer Malay), highly perjorative in connotation, became

common usage when these 1 eaders were described, both in and out of fiction. The Wak il Rakyat ( s) fared no better as targets for negative portrayals.

They were perceived as "irresponsible and

devious 1eaders" who put their own interests above those of the masses. making

They were seen as particularly glib, and excelling in promises

portrayed as

they

had

no

intention

of

keeping

having a propensity for illicit sex.

and

were

Within the

rura 1 setting writers were apt to identify two groups of vi 11 age 1eaders.

The first group were the headmen while the second were

religious leaders made up of the haji, the imam, the khatib ( the person who de 1 i vers the sermon) and the bil a 1 (muezzin). the

former were apt

assigned

the

to

latter

was

abuse

power,

their

Wh i 1 e

the stereotype generally

polygamous

inclinations.

This

negative perception of the leaders suggests, by implication, a continued

sympathy

with

the

undifferentiated

victims of their corrupt 1eaders, disadvantaged.

masses

remained neglected,

who,

as

poor and

This perception of the Malay poor was reminiscent

of the past years. As far as the so-ca 11 ed pornographic nove 1 s are concerned, Malay

critics

non-literature. of seriousness

on

the

whole

simply

dismissed

them

as

Ramli Isin, for example, suggests that its lack leaves

little or

no

lasting impression on the

readers (Ramli Isin n.d., p. 48), while Diskusi Sastera points to

Modern Malay Literary Culture

55

the absence of the aspect of humanity, an aspect it deems crucial in a literary work.

It further suggests that such sensational

issues were more suitable as news than as creative works Bakar Hamid, ed. 1975, p. 184).

(A.

Such dismissals notwithstanding,

these novels pro vi de an insight into the writers' perception of their environment and the material they dealt with.

Absence of

religious upbringing and the influence of what writers considered as the morally decadent West were often cited as some of the causes of the moral downfall of the Malays, especially the youth. Further, it is interesting to note that in "pornographic" novels the city almost always featured as the setting of the story, with writers

fully

availing

themselves

of the

vice and depravity associated with it.

stereotypes

of sin,

It is worth noting that

some of these perceptions are reminiscent of those which were prevalent in earlier Malay literature, especially of the pre-war years. In the literature of the 1960s

in general , there was an

attempt to narrow down the "enemy" to the Malay leaders. In doing so, the literature of the period highlighted a perception of

class

sympathy

in for

Westernization

Malay the

society.

masses.

among

the

By

implication,

Through leaders,

its it

it

demonstrated

depiction maintained

of excessive the

implicit

concept of genuine Malay identity as being "of the masses", the theme which was prevalent in the 1950s.

It is important to note

that these perceptions were the result of a conscious choice for, unlike their predecessors, the writers of the 1960s were, by and large, better educated and economically more prosperous. This orientation, together with the conception of the social role of literature, both of which had spanned the entire development of modern Malay inherited.

literature,

were

the

legacy

which

the

1970s

56

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

Malay Literature in the 1970s A discussion of the context of Malay literary development in the 1970s inevitably begins with mention of the racial May 1969.

riots of 13

Among other things, the ethnic disturbances of this

time highlighted what was perceived as the basic problem of Malay poverty and the pervasive issue of economic i mba 1ance among the ethnic

groups.

Dissatisfied

with

position, Malays became more vocal

their

inferior

share in the wealth of their country.

In the face of mounting

pressure, the government introduced several outlined in the New Economic Policy (NEP). 1969,

the

rural

poverty,

planning, issue

question

was

to

that

economic strategies Implemented on 1 July

of eradicating poverty,

which

was

had

receive of

featured emphasis

eliminating

economic

in their demand for greater

especially that of

persistently yet

the

ethnic group and economic activity.

again.

close

in

economic

Alongside this

correlation

between

As such, the NEP strove to

make it possible for bumiputera(s) or the indigenous population and the Malays to own thirty per cent of the corporate sector by 1990.

To

bring about these objectives, the policy introduced

several

measures

rura 1

economy,

agriculture

and

geared towards reducing providing

generating a more

dependence economic

on

progressive

semi-subsistence

opportunities

for

participation in both the rural and the urban economy.

greater For the

Malays, the 1970s was to be a period of better opportunities and expanding prospects. saw

its

task

as

As underlined in the NEP, the government

that

of

maintaining

steady

economic growth,

developing the country and forging a nation in which the twin issues

of

activity

poverty could

and

begin

identification to

be

of

resolved.

race The

with era

of

economic "giving

substance to independence" of the 1960s was now to give way to what

was

common 1y

development).

known

as

zaman

pembangunan

(an

era

of

Modern Malay Literary Culture

57

While on the one hand, the period was marked by some measure of perceived economic success and also promises of even greater progress

in the economic sphere,

continuing problems showed a decline, towards

it was also a time in which

seemed to defy solution. especially in the rural

its eradication was

far

Although poverty

areas, the progress

from satisfactory.

Similarly,

other economic measures did not yield the desired results (Andaya and

Andaya

1982,

pp.

282-89).

Thus,

while

the

"era

of

development" generated a new kind of confidence, especially among the Malays, it also tempered it with a keen awareness of problems still awaiting solutions. Within

the

literary

world,

the

diffuseness

which

characterized the 1960s was to give way to changes in the 1970s, in line with the overall spirit of development.

In view of the

plethora of liter a ry groups scattered all over the country, and PENA 's failure to unite them, writers,

literary supporters and

enthusiasts deemed it expedient to establish a central serve as a rallying point. this

regard,

Penulis

PENA itself took the initiative in

and on 23 October 1970 GAPENA ( Gabungan Persatuan

Nasional

Malaysia

--

Federation

Writers' Association) was founded. principal

body to

aims

the

desire

to

of Malaysian

National

It underlined as one of its

bring

all

writers

and writers'

associations in the country under a single umbrella.

Based on

the principle of gabungan (federation), it professed to allow the respective member associations to have some say in the literary development of the country and retain their independence in their own internal affairs. been

led by

Ismail

{First Chairman).16 range

of

workshops

From its inception until today, GAPENA has Hussein,

literary

activities,

and

now

the

who has served as

its Ketua Satu

Since 1970, it has been the initiator of a including seminars,

familiar

which is held once in two years.

Hari

Sastera

conferences,

(Literature Day)

Also, in association with other

58

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

bodies and organizations such as ESSO, Yayasan Sabah and Bank Bumi put ra, it has organized several novel and short story writing competitions. Whilst one needs to exercise caution in assessing GAPENA's achievements especially in terms of the options it offers, the degree of literary consciousness it brings to Malaysian society and the literature it helps to promote, it cannot be denied that GAPENA has played a crucial role in Malay literary development since the 1970s. Under Ismail Hussein, GAPENA took on a distinct character, unequivocably declaring its basis to be concern with and commitment to the Malay masses. At a conference of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) writers in 1977, Ismail Hussein elaborated this stand and made clear the ideological framework which underlined GAPENA's literary commitments. It is worthwhile to quote Ismail Hussein at length: Here I am talking about myself of course, because I was involved in GAPENA's movement since the very beginning. As a participant in the movement, I was conscious all the time where it was heading and it was a tactical move which I have supported openly. Acutely aware of the dominating and stifling power of the elite, I was concerned in protecting the non-elite, because they had been the backbone of our literary life for all this while and that the other group has hardly offered a convincing alternative as yet. Also the elitist group has hardly needed any protection, as they were strong enough to face any assault. But more than this I was trying to prove a point, that is' to provide an anti-thesis to the elitist literary development that was taking place in many metropolitan cities of was taking was not Southeast Asia. The stand

Modern Malay Literary Culture

59

essentially that of an anti-elite, it was the elitist mind or the elitist attitude that I was up against-the mind that tries to rna i nta in the status quo of the group,

indifferent to greater social

problems (Ismail

Hussein 1978, p. 154-55). In

pursuing

this

end,

Ismail

conceded

that

GAPENA's

leadership resorted to sloganeering for purposes of mass appeal. In his own words, "slogans for an agrarian literature, down with internationalism and cosmopolitanism, down with individualism and up

with

masses'

especially

in

its

creativity"

became

early days

of

GAPENA' s

vigorous

catch-phrases,

campaigning

(Ismail

Hussein 1978, p. 154). To be sure, Ismail's perception of elitist and non-elitist writers is open to question, and it is true that Ismail was far from c 1ear about the "alternative" which GAPENA offered or the 1 iteratu re concern

it

with

advocated. the

However,

masses,

GAPENA

in

1 i ne

worked

with

its

towards

stated greater

participation by the masses in the literary development of the country.

It saw its role as that of providing ordinary Malays

with opportunities to express their own situation, and to be able to do so in ways with which they were comfortable, without fear of feeling inferior or having to conform to the standard already "established" by well-known writers, especially those domiciled in Kuala Lumpur or other big cities.

To this end, it geared its

activities towards de-emphasising the city as the only legitimate cultural

centre,

and

"took

literature"

(bawa

sastera),

the

expression usually used, to the people in the various provincial towns. soon

Indeed, there was no mistaking GAPENA's orientation, and terms

literature)

such as

rakyat

(masses),

sastera agrari a

became identified with GAPENA.

(agrarian

This was projected

into special prominence at the Hari Sastera of 1976 which carried

60

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

telling theme, Penulisan Kreatif dari dan untuk Rakyat In his opening (Creative Writing from and for the Masses). speech on this occasion Ismail reiterated GAPENA's pro-masses stand, a theme which was to be heard repeatedly in Ismail's many speeches. Referring to GAPENA's first novel-writing competition,

the

for example, Ismail asserted that it was Sayembara Rakyat (Competition for the Masses), while the recipients of the Hadiah Budaya GAPENA which it initiated were termed Budayawan Rakyat (Cultural Figures of the Masses). Indeed, Ismail Hussein never tired of talking about the masses, of the Malay cultural tradition which was rooted in the intellectual peasantry and from which the elite was totally This subject was repeated so often that it was alienated. generally referred to as Ismail Hussein's "theme song". He also dedicated his book, Sastera dan Masya rakat, to "Shahnon, Lahuma, Jeha, Pak Senik, Awang Cik Teh dan kebangkitan masyarakat petani melayu umumnya" (Shahnon, Lahuma, Jeha, Pak Senik, Awang Cik Teh and the rising of the Malay peasantry as a whole) [Ismail Hussein, l974.Q_]. In sum, it may be said that Ismail and GAPENA consistently employed all the means at their disposal to generate a literary environment which ensured that literature was seen as In this sense belonging to the masses, of them and for them. then GAPENA's singular preoccupation with the masses may be seen as a continuation of the legacy of employing literature to serve society. GAPENA's role in the 1970s cannot be minimized. Both its ability to dominate the literary world of the period, and indeed, its continuing influence today are due to its role as a rallying point for the writers in the country. Claiming no less than twenty-one member associations from all over the country including Sa bah and Sa rawak, a feat never achieved before, it

Modern Ma 1ay Literary Culture

61

presented a massive front and assumed the position of spokesman not only for literature but also for the culture of the country. It

then

moves.

perpetuated Events

this

image

organized

by

by

means

GAPENA

of

often

various

tactical

i nvo 1 ved

cabinet

ministers and/or chief ministers of the various states, a move which would ensure massive coverage by the press and television. Being

literary

Sastera

and

activities

other

they

similar

also

found

magazines.

a

place

Further,

in

Dewan

GAPENA

often

worked in close association with the prestigious Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka to promote various literary activities. was

the

Conference

of

ASEAN

Writers

which

Of significance

helped to

enhance

GAPENA's image as the legitimate voice for Malaysian literature and culture beyond the borders of the country. is

the

person

of

Ismai 1 Hussein

No less important

himself whose

position

as

a

Professor of Malay Literature in the University of Malaya gives GAPENA a considerable measure of legitimacy. contacts

with

those

in

the

high

echelons

His own personal

of society,

in the

academic world in and outside the country, in the press and other media

helped

towards

extension, that of GAPENA.

consolidating

his

position

and

by

Further, his uninterrupted leadership

of GAPENA, des i rab 1e or otherwise, a 1 so gives credence both to his leadership and the organization, especially in the light of GAPENA's continued active involvement and dominating role in the literary development of the country.17 It literary

was

during

world

the

showed

time too,

of the

GAPENA's influence

ascendancy that the of

other

elements.

Responding to ca 11 s by writers for more government part i ci pat ion in the 1 iter a ry deve 1opment of the country, Tun Abdu 1 Razak, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, set up the Hadiah Karya Sastera, popularly known as Hadiah Sastera (Literary Award) in 1971 under the chairmanship of Tan Sri Mohd. Ghaza 1 i Sha fie who was then a Minister with speci a 1 functions attached to the Prime Minister's

62

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

Department and also Head of National Unity and General Unit.

Certainly,

literature

was

government

evident

participation

earlier,

in the promotion of

especially

commemorated ten years of independence.

Planning

when

the

country

However, Hadiah Sastera

was greeted by the literary world as a more concerted effort on the

part of the government towards

Under this

scheme,

a panel

literary production, plays

(in

1973,

and

short

of judges

reviewed

in

literature.

a whole year's

including short stories, novels, poems and

literary

essays

those worthy of the award. poems

involvement

were

included),

and

selected

These prize-winning works, especially

stories,

were then

campi led and published by

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the secretariat for Hadiah Sastera. Although Hadiah Sastera was terminated in 1976, -- it was revived in 1984 under the new name of Hadiah Sastera Malaysia -its presence during those years served to stimulate the literary activity of the period. validation

of

tremendous

incentive,

literary

Regarded as merit

and,

and

in

official

ability,

some

cases,

recognition

it

soon

a

coveted

and

became

a

prize.

Moreover, presentation of the award became a national event, and with

the

Prime

Minister

and

high-ranking

politicians

and

dignitaries present, it was given wide media coverage, including a direct telecast of the occasion.

The prestige and the exposure

it offered the winners were tremendous.

In this sense, Hadiah

Sastera had a dominating impact on the literary climate of the day. Hadiah Sastera 's brief appearance on the literary scene was not without literature catch-cry

influence on the direction and development of the of of

the

day.

development,

In

line Hadi ah

with

the

Sastera

government's became

own

inevitably

involved in the overall concern with development, and terms such as pembangunan (development) and sastera (literature) soon became

Modern Malay Literary Culture bracketed together.

Indeed, in its first official report, which

was made readily available in print, the panel clear

that,

63

aside

from

literary

merit,

of judges made

its

criterion

for

assessing literary works was the extent of their preoccupation with development of society (Dewan Sastera, May 1972, p. 10). In the light of this explicit statement, and the prestige of winning Hadiah Sastera, buttressed by the overall socio-political atmosphere

which

predisposed

writers

towards

this

partiality,

sastera pembangunan

(literature of development)

the literary scene.

Literary works which won Hadiah Sastera were

emulated, and a trend soon became evident.

began to flood

So tremendous was the

response in this direction that the following year the panel of judges

cautioned

interpretation, misinterpretation

against this excess,

and more important, the

or

it

of

indeed, the

what

term

saw

"development".

as It

writers' noted

that

writers were apt to think that "development" meant portraying the plight

of the

called

for

unfortunate

exposing

the

farmers

while

grievances

of

defence the

of the

fishermen

poor (Dewan

Sastera, Apri 1 1973, pp. 6-7). The "obsession", as the report termed it, with the plight of the poor must be viewed within the larger context of a literary scenario which he 1d the masses to be centra 1 to the concerns of literature, as laid down by GAPENA. Hadi ah

Sastera

Thus, while the concerns of

and GAPENA might not

neces sa ril y be

they did serve to reinforce each other. solicitous about the masses, complement

this

concern.

i dent i ca 1 ,

This was a period openly

and the Hadi ah Sastera seemed to

Although

subsequent

years

did

not

witness the same avalanche of "literature of development", the preoccupation

did

not

lose

ground

altogether.

It

served

as

a distinct strain which helped to shape the literature of the day.

64

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

Equally important in giving a distinct character to the literary scene of the period was another element related to a phenomenon generally known as the gerakan dakwah (dakwah movement) (Lyon 1979; Siddique 1980; Nagata 1980, 1984). This movement, which is also referred to as Kebangkitam Islam (Islamic resurgence), started in the early 1970s within the Malay community, and attracted a large following, especially among the Malay student population. The term dakwah is derived from the Arabic da'wa which means "to call" or "invite", that is, to Islam. In the dakwah movement in Malaysia, the term came to be associated, among other things, with close adherence to the teachings of the Quran, and more importantly, with stressing Islam as ad-deen or a complete way of life. This was in sharp contrast to earlier tendencies towards perceiving Islam as a concern with religious belief, as distinct from other aspects of life. The emergence of the dakwah movement thus brought into prominence the crucial role of Islam within the context of modern Malay society, especially as a source of answers and solutions to questions of economic welfare and societal well being. The perception of this approach to Islam as both pragmatic and relevant was largely responsible for its mass appeal, and adherents to the movement soon became involved in activities such as religious classes, training courses, seminars and the like. They also adopted new dress conventions by way of distinguishing themselves. The dakwah movement also manifested itself in the literary world. There became evident the same awareness of the need to "return" to Islam, to re-evaluate and reassess modern Malay literature and to furnish it with the dignity of Islam. This task was felt to be especially timely in view of the proliferation of works deemed unsuitable and even inconsistent with Islam. Concomitant with this, the literary scene was soon

Modern Malay Literary Culture

65

enlivened with views, opinions and suggestions about how to tack 1e the question of Is 1am and literature. These debates led to ca l1 s to writers to produce what was generally referred to as sastera berunsur Islam or literature incorporating elements of Islam. To be sure, the position of Islam as an element of Malay literature was evident earlier, especially in the pre-war years. Its emergence in the 1970s, however, was enunciated in terms which were much more assertive. In 1975, for example, the Islamic Religious Affairs Section of the Prime Minister's Department {Sahagian Hal Ehwal Agama Islam, Jabatan Perdana Menteri) started a competition for short stories which incorporated Islamic values, while GAPIM (Gabungan Penulis Islam Malaysia -- Federation of Malaysian Islamic Writers) was founded on 30 May 1976. Efforts to promote sastera berunsur Islam were similarly undertaken by various magazines such as Dian, Qi b1at, Al-Islah and Dakwah, the latter making it a policy to publish only works recognized to be Islamic-oriented. This growing interest in Islam also influenced the on-going debate on Islam and literature. In the July 1977 issue of Dewan Bahasa, for example, there appeared an article by Shahnon Ahmad entitled "Sastera Islam",l8 Following this article, Dewan Sastera's August 1977 issue compiled several critics' opinions on the subject in its special feature, "Forum Sastera Islam" (Forum on Islamic Literature). The following year, GAPENA's Hari Sastera carried the theme, Islam Sebagai Sumber Sastera (Islam as a Source of Literature). Indeed, the literary scene at the end of the decade and the beginning of the 1980s was inundated with essays and writings on the subject, all of which served to chart a definite progression in the debate. The notion of sastera berunsur Islam of the early years crystallized in the concept of Sastera Is 1am, a process concretized in the book Kesusasteraan dan Etika Islam [Islamic ethics and literature] by Shahnon Ahmad

66

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

{1981) who was regarded as the pioneer of Sastera Islam.

This

book was a compilation of essays by the author, most of which had already

appeared

"Sastera

Islam"

they

in

Sastera

magazines

earlier referred to.

constituted

Sastera Islam.

literary

a

concrete

such

as

Published

attempt

to

the in

formulate

article

book form, a theory of

According to Shahnon, Sastera Islam is: di ci pta

kerana

A11 ah

untuk

manus i a.

Dua

ungkapan "kerana Allah" dan "untuk manusia" cukup erat kerana bi 1a bersastera kerana A11 ah dengan sendi ri nya kita

yakin

tanpa

berbelah

bagi

bahwa

setiap

yang

diperintah oleh Allah (melalui al-Quran dan al-Sunnah) adalah

untuk

manusia. sebagai

kesejahteraan

dan

kebahagian

hidup

Kerana itu sastera Islam dapat kita simpulkan sastera

kerana

Allah

berhikmah

untuk manusia

sejagat {Shahnon Ahmad 1981, p. 3). Literature mankind.

produced

in

the

name

of

Allah

and

for

The two expressions, "in the name of Allah"

and "for mankind", are closely interrelated, for when we produce literature in the name of Allah, we believe automatically without any doubt, that everything which Allah

commands

Traditions)

is

human beings.

of for

us the

(through

the

well-being

Quran

and

and

happiness

As such, we can cone 1 ude that

the of

Is 1 ami c

literature is literature in the name of Allah and for the good of all mankind.

[My translation.]

On this basis, Shahnon stresses that Sastera Is 1 am is an i badah (Shahnon Ahmad 1981~, p. 3), a form of worship, and it is thus incumbent upon writers to dedicate their art to truth as set down by Allah, and to guide their understanding

of

this

readers towards an awareness and

truth,

a

higher

mora 1 ity

and

the

Modern Ma 1ay Literary Culture achievement of Allah's grace.

67

The book was to occasion further

discussion on the subject of Sastera Islam, the most significant of which was the po 1emi c between Shahnon Ahmad and Kass i m Ahmad (Dewan Sastera, 1982, 1983 and 1984).

Whi 1 e the 1 atter accepts

some of the author's precepts, he nevertheless rejects Shahnon 's definition of Sastera Islam as too narrow,

and claims that in

many cases it amounts to vague generalities. Whilst literature on Sastera Islam was extensive, discussion on its application and expression in concrete literary terms was scarce.

However,

discerned.

a few key ideas about the subject could be

Concomitant

with

its

preoccupation

with

guiding

readers towards the path of God, Sastera Islam lays down that moral and

clarity is a crucial consideration. devices

employed

highlighting moral.

should

Narrative strategies

therefore

be

geared

towards

In short, within the tradition of Sastera

Islam morals are regarded as superior to aesthetics. The role of the dakwah movement or Islam in general in the literature

of

the

1970s

and

1980s

cannot

be

minimized.

In

conjunction with other formative forces which prevailed on the 1 iter a ry scene, it he 1ped to give the 1 iterature of the period its characteristic features. dakwah,

of

striving

It

towards

the

imbued it with the spirit of "return"

to

Islam

so

as

to

achieve God's grace in this world and the hereafter.

The 1970s: In

the

Litera~

literature

Conventions of

the

1970s,

there

emerged

in

general

a

further significant shift in focus from that of previous years. The preoccupation with Malay leaders and their pretensions which

68

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

dominated the literature of the 1960s, was no longer evident as a major theme. However, the perception of the upper class and figures of authority suggested in earlier literature persisted, although in less obvious terms.

Novels such as Perjudian [The

gamble] (1973), Izin dalam Paksa [Consent under duress] (1973), Lambak [Lambak] (1974), Krisis (Crisis) (1976), Noni [Noni] (1976), Belum Masanya [Before its time] (1977), Tiba Masanya [The time has come] (1977), Kemelut [Crisis] (1977) and Seluang Menodak Baung [A carp impaling a fish] (1978) are among some of the literary works which perpetuated the perception of the Western-educated officers, the DOs, the Wakil Rakyat(s) and government officials as essentially corrupt and hypocritical. The literary preoccupation of the 1970s, especially in the first half of the decade, revolved around the fishermen, farmers and the landless poor who faced the task of opening up new land to start a new life. A sympathy for their struggles, dedication arid commitmenti found expression in literary works. In his survey of the novels of the 1970s, Safian Hussain suggests that besides love stories literary works of the period may be roughly divided into two preoccupations, namely, life of the urban dwellers and the villagers. He further adds that on the one hand writers tend to dwell on the ills of urban society by highlighting the hypocrisy and moral decadence which plague it. On the other, their focus on village concerns tend to centre on peasants' sufferings and difficulties, along with their determination to meet the challenges of life (Safian Hussain 1981, p. 42). Alongside the preoccupation with the struggles of the rural poor, the period was also to show an interest in the literary conventions associated with the "absurd".

The early 1970s saw

liter a ry attempts by Malaysian writers along the lines set down by their Indonesian counterparts such as Iwan Simatupang, Putu Wi j aya and Ari fin C. Noer whose works were to a certain extent

Modern Malay Literary Culture familiar on the Malaysian literary scene.

69

Within the Malaysian

context, the "absurd" was defined in terms of certain stylistic characteristics rather than as adoption or even an adaptation of the approaches and ideas normally associated with the European dramatic movement of the same name.

In short, the influence of

the "absurd" was confined to experimentation with techniques and styles and that the Ma 1ays ian 1 i terature termed "absurd" rejects va 1 ues with

such as existent i a 1 ism and nihilism generally associ a ted absurdist

philosophy.

Although

its

appearance

on

the

1 iterary scene was brief and was confined 1 argely to drama, the "absurd" did help to colour the period with its characteristic emphasis

on

techniques

and

brought

to

the

fore

several

works

which demonstrated the influence of the absurdist convention such as Ali

Majod's collection of short stories, Dalam Diri

itself],

Dinsman's

plays,

Prates

[Protest],

Ana

[Within

[Ana],

Bukan

Bunuh Diri [Not a suicide] and Johan Jaafar's Angin Kering [Dry wind]. The period which saw the emergence and growth of the dakwah movement saw writers' attempts to explore the non-material aspect of

life

with

phenomena.

stories

However,

of

mystical

while

this

with those that deal with social works

recognized

concern

of

individual

as

Sastera

Sastera Islam

experiences

thematic

and

such-like

preoccupation,

along

issues are evident in literary

Islam,

tends

by

to

morality and salvation.

and

centre

large the on

the

literary

issues

of

Narratives highlight various

manifestations of moral degeneration such as gambling, womanizing and drinking as manifest signs of the divergence from the path of Allah.

Often

associated

with

the

"city"

and

the

"elite"

in

modern Malay literature in general, these stereotypes are again employed

to

symbolize

rejection.

In

certain

instances,

their

connotative values vis-a-vis the rural-urban dichotomy and class perceptions are retained.

70

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

The 1970s were characterized by a literary climate which was both active and varied. It encouraged greater participation in literary activity by individuals and organized groups, government and non-government bodies. It fostered an interest in stylistic conventions and techniques and opened up new areas of interest and enquiry. It also revived some of the old preoccupations. On the whole, it was a vibrant period with an undercurrent of new prospects and possibilities. At the same time, it also saw to the perpetuation of some of the characteristics which had persisted since the pre-war period and which had helped to shape Malay literature as a whole.

Conclusion A crucial fact to emerge from a survey of modern t~al ay 1iterature is the close link between literature and the social and political forces which surround it. From pre-war years until today, Malay writers, always sensitive to the shifts in mood in their environment, have absorbed and responded to the influences around them, and have registered in their works the imprint of these forces. Equally important in characterizing modern Malay 1iterature is the tendency among writers to see 1iterature as having a social purpose. Literature plays the role of exposing social ills and problems, articulating certain stances, reflecting what is perceived as the hopes and aspirations of the people or of seeking to guide society towards the path of Allah. This orientation is given some measure of sanction by literary bodies, the government and religious movement and proponents, all of which made use of literature, albeit for different purposes. While the

literary

culture

is

rich

with variations and

Modern Malay Literary Culture

7l

modifications to suit changing times, one nevertheless observes particular perceptions which continually inform literary works. A definition perception

of

of

identifying

social

Malay

their

a

from

expression

these

of

that

prevail

the

the

urban

perceptions,

in

they

writers'

reinforce

respective

rural

the

of

to

view which with

values

image

differentiated to

appears

society,

different

Similarly,

class

world

writers

classes.

is

centres.

clearly In

adopt

by

giving

an

Islamic

perspective as the only valid point of reference in their value systems. An

interesting

point

to

note

is

that

these

perceptions

persist despite glaring contrasts in the writers' circumstances. For example, while in many cases the link between contemporary writers

and

the

rural

world

is

not

altogether

village no l anger serves as the only conceptual today's

writers,

withstanding

as

this

it

did

their

difference,

the

earlier

implicit

or

less

obvious

pervasive

continuity

is

superior

socio-economic

than

in

evident. positions

the

framework for Not

dichotomy

which

Its presence may be

pre-war

Similarly, and

the

counterparts.

rural-urban

dominated pre-war literature does persist.

severed,

period,

but

a

inspite of their

better

qualifications,

writers nevertheless tend to identify with the masses, a class which feature

some

which

literature masses.

of is In

them

do

provides

not a

themselves continuing

the

consistent

the

light

of

belong thread

expression

of

contemporary

to. in

Indeed,

modern

concern writers'

a

Malay

for

the

changed

circumstances, it would appear that the perpetuation in present day works of those perceptions which informed earlier literature is a conscious act of choice.

These are perceptions which are

inherited, modified where necessary and perpetuated, to become part of modern Malay literary culture.

72

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir

The British did not support Chinese and Tamil

vernacular education as they

regarded these two ethnic groups as non-indigenous to the country, this policy of non-support was

later changed,

However,

Chinese vernacular education

thus far was handled by the Chinese themselves, with little support from or supervision by the colonial administrators, However, after the 1911 Revolution

In China, Chinese vernacular schools, which were largely staffed

by teachers trained in China and managed by the Board of Education in China, were

looked

upon

activities, States

In

as

dangerous

1920,

entitled

the

the

breeding grounds

government

Registration

passed of

ostensibly

applicable to all

schools,

government

to

on

keep

an

eye

the

say

in

their

running,

With

for law

Schools

undesirable

pol itlcal

in the Federated Malay

Enactment

which,

though

was designed to enable the colonial Chinese

government aid to these schoo Is made some

a

vernacular

schools,

Later,

it poss I b I e for the BrItish to have

regard

to

Tamil

vernacular

education,

government policy was one of non-support, and Tami I schools were lett to the Hindu missions and plantation managers and proprietors, However, In the face of growing Tami I immigrants, schools In 1906, See Loh (1975), 2

the colonial

government

introduced Tamil

Ma I ay parents were reI uctant to send their daughters to schoo I tor various reasons, not the girls to write

least of which was the tear that

love

letters,

As such,

I iteracy would encourage

the first tully-funded state school

tor g IrIs was not opened unt i I sever a I years after the t I rst boys See Ali

Ahmad

(1975), p, 33,

1

schoo I,

tor Malay parents' attitude towards education

tor girls, 3

Malay vernacular education provided no marketable skills, a tact aggravated by an educatIon system whIch terminated Ma I ay education at the e I ementary level, It was not unti I after World War II that Malay secondary education was

introduced,

That

being

the

case,

the

educated youth was to become a Malay school poorly,

Caught In this vicious circle,

pre-war

rubber

boom,

tor

instance,

best

opportunity

for

a

Malay

teacher, a position which paid

It was

both Malay

little wonder that during the school

teachers

and

pupils

found It more rewarding to tap rubber than to stay in schools, 4

By

1914,

however,

all

these

states

came

under

the

British

protectorate

system, 5

Appointments at MAS Included posts in the Education offices, the Secretaries or the districts, and ental led routine clerical work, Further up the scale where appointments Included those of Settlement Officers, Forest Rangers and the

like, the nature of the work differed little,

On the whole, conditions

at MAS were not satisfactory tor its officers, The salary was small and promotion was contingent upon the avai labi I ity of a vacancy, which in turn depended

on

the

responsibility. unchanged,

wi I llngness After seven

various

of

the

years,

Improvements

Malayan

Civi I

during which

were

introduced,

Service

to

delegate

time the scheme remained such

as

the

policy

of

Modern Malay Literary Culture

73

sending Malay officers abroad to read law at the Inns of Court, and the creation of the Special Class which signalled entry into the Malay Civi I Service,

albeit at

A I though

there were

its very

lowest

improvements,

rank and subordinate to the Europeans. the

nature of MAS appointments remained

essentially non-administrative. 6

Indeed, the continuing discussion on the replacing of English with Malay as an elite medium testifies to the legacy of the dichotomy in post-independence Malaya/Malays Ia. 1982, pp. 8-9; Abdul Wahab Maadah pub I ished

as

recently

as

(See Asraf 1960, p. 153; lsmai I Hussein 1983). Adibah Amin's newspaper article,

18 December

1982,

sums

up

the

issue

with

its

telling title, "Making Malay an Elite Medium" (Adibah Amin 1982). 7

Abdullah bin Abdul Kadlr (1797-1856), or better known as Munshi Abdullah, generally

regarded

autobiographical

as

the Father of

writings,

Hlkayat

Modern Malay

Abdullah

!The

Literature. story

of

His

is

famous

Abdullah]

and

I The story of Abdullah 1 s voyage I, whIch were rooted

K i sah Pe layaran Abdullah

in the everyday world of human beings marked a distinct departure from the earlier

association

of

I iterature

and

the

world

of

mythology.

This

was

especially enhanced by an approach and style of writing which Skinner refers to as bel ng "characterized by an unusua I emphasis on the true and the rea I for its own sake" (Skinner 1978, p. 470). 1920s, sixty years after Abdullah's death, showed While

any

renewed

activity

acknowledging

literature,

of

the

Abdullah's

role

type as

However, it was not unti I the that the Malay literary world Abdullah's

the

work

forerunner

had

of

suggested.

modern

Malay

"begInnIngs" shou I d be understood here as referring to a

I ater

and more widespread process of change. 8

Better known as Hlkayat Farldah Hanum !The story of Farldah Hanuml, an

adaptatIon

society.

of

The

an

first

Egypt I an Malay

nove I

nove I

and

to

portrayed

portray

Ma I ay

Egypt ian

it was

characters

characters

and

to

and use

"local colour" was Kawan Benar by Ahmad Rashid Talu, pub I ished in 1927. 9

Za 1aba's ( 1974) article, "Kemiskinan Orang Melayu", is often regarded as one of the exce I I ent examp I es of the expression of concern by Ma I ay writers about the Malay situation in general, and Malay povery In particular.

10

See

also

Yahaya

especially

lsmal I

Hlkayat

Salmah?

lis

however,

Is based

it

( 1973)

Farldah

Salmah?J,

for

Hanum, as

an

Kawan

analysis Benar

"proto-novels"

(p.

of

lA

early

true

152>.

Malay

novels,

friend(

and Takah

Yahaya's

analysis,

largely on the use In these novels of motifs reminiscent

of oral narratives. II

General Orders of the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States: Ru I e

16/ I:

No officer may

ca II

a pub I i c meeting to consider

any action of government, or take part in the proceedings of a meeting cal led for such purpose.

74

Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir Ru I e

16/2:

publications

No oft i cer may act as a d i str i but or of or

sign

or

procure

signatures

to

poI it i ca I

any

public

petitions addressed to Governor or to the Legis I at i ve Counc i I regardIng the actions or propos a Is of in Ali Ahmad 1975, p. 77, fn. 11.) 12

See Kerls Mas (1979), with PKMM.

pp.

the Government.

(Cited

59-60, on being interviewed about his involvement

The interview, according to Keris Mas, was to elicit information

about PKMM 1 s involvement with the communists. 13

14

The MCS is now called Perkihidmatan Tadbir dan Diplomatik Malaysia the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service.) Waki I Rakyat (literally, People's Representatives)

(PTD --

is the term used to refer

to both parliamentarians and state councillors, the latter being elected members of the Majlis Mesyuarat Negeri (State Legislative Council>. Both Par I i ament

and

the Maj I is

Mesyuarat

Neger i

serve as po II cy-mak i ng

bodies.

The term Waki I Rakyat is retained throughout the study. 15

A journalist, writer and nationalist who was openly anti-British, Samad was imprisoned

in the early 1950s together with others regarded as left-leaning.

Indeed, Samad 1s unflagging interest in politics earned him the labels 11 rad i ca I 11 and 11 controvers I a I 11 and a I so resu I ted in his imprisonment under the Internal Security Act from 1976 to 1981. 16

Following disagreement

In respect to the organization of the GAPENA-Yayasan

Sa bah nove I writing competitIon, 1975, resignation as the First Chairman, but I eadersh i p.

During his temporary

wi thdrawa I

I sma i I Hussein tendered was persuaded to resume

his his

from GAPENA, Mohd. Noor Azam,

then the Second Chairman, headed the organization. 17

Despite its populist ideology, GAPENA exerts its Influence through its official status among the political and cultural elite, as epitomized in the figure of Ismail Hussein himself.

18

For more information, see Ungku Maimunah Mohd. Tahir, 111 Sastera Islam' Malaysia's Literary Phenomenon of the 1970s and l980s 11 (forthcoming>.

Modern Malay Literary Culture

75

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Dewan

, ed. Diskusi Sastera, Jalid Dua, Kesusasteraan Moden. Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1975.

----,K~u~ala

Abdul

Wahab Maadah. "Rasa Cinta Pada Bahasa Tertanam ••• ". Berita Harian, 17 February 1983.

Adibah Amin. "Making Malay an Elite Medium". 18 December 1982.

Masih

Belum

New Straits Times,

Ali Ahmad. "Maj a l ah Guru: The Magazine of the Malay Teachers (With particular reference to the 1924-1932 period and the role played by Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad)". Ph.D. thesis, Monash University, 1975. · Andaya, B. and W. Andaya. Macmillan, 1982.

A History

of

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London:

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Bryson, H. "The Education of Girls in the Nineteenth Century". Malaysia (November 1970). Chai

Hon Chai. The Development of British Malaya 1896-1909. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford Un1vers1ty Press, 1964.

Foulcher, K.R. "Puisi Baru: The Emergence of a Non-Traditional Malay Poetry in Pre-War Indonesia 1920-1942". Ph.D. thesis, University of Sydney, 1974. Hashim Awang. Cerpen-Cer~en Melayu Sebelum Perang Dunia Kedua. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan ahasa dan Pustaka, 1975. Ismail Hussein. "Pengarang-Pengarang Melayu di Singapura Selepas Perang Dunia Kedua (1945-1953)". Academic Exercise, University of Malaya (Singapore), 1959.

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of

Malaya

A.D.

Di

Kuala

(1974~).

1400-1959.

Memoir Keris Mas: 30 Tahun Sekitar Sastera. Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1979.

Lumpur London: Kuala

"The Malay College, Kuala Kangsar, 1905-1941: Khasnor Johan. British Policy of Education for Employment in the Federated Malay States". M.A. thesis, University of Malaya, 1969. Loh Fook Sen g , Phi 1 i p •