The Malay Classics (sort of…)

This is a list of good books which I consider a personal reading guide. It is for those who want to understand why we are still here and why we believe there is still hope for change in Malaysia.

Of course some Bahasa Melayu purists would definitely get upset with my choices but these are my very personal choices. And they are listed in no particular order.

1. Salina by A. Samad Said – A novel by Pak Samad our national laureate, written when he was 23-years-old and published in 1961.

Set during the post-World War Two Singapore, the story revolves around the life of a waitress/sex worker named Salina in a Malay squatter community (I imagine it to be in a way portrayed by P. Ramlee in his movies such as Ibu Mertuaku, Penarik Beca, Seniman Bujang Lapok, etc).

This is a very good descriptive novel with a strong sense of realism. A modern classic. There is an English translation of this novel.

2. Islam dan Sosialisma (1976) by Syed Hussein Alatas – A brief book by the late scholar arguing for democratic socialism and social democracy, as well as proving that moderate socialism is not against Islam. I think this book is out of print.

There is another book with same title Islam dan Sosialisme (1988) which also includes the writings of Syed Hussein Alatas, among other writers such as Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy and Tjokroaminoto. It also argues that socialism is not against Islam.

3. Sejarah Melayu or Sulalatus Salatin by Tun Sri Lanang – A literary work, a combination of history and mythology, believed to be written in the 16th century and continued to be edited till the 19th century.

A depiction of the Malay minds – then and now – there is no real sense of time, place and space, something like magical realism. Yet there are some racialists who want to justify some stories as facts.

The book is about the creation of the Malay rulers, the tales of the Melaka Sultanate, the myth of Badang the strongman, as well as the strange tale of Puteri Gunung Ledang which involves the Melaka Sultan and Hang Tuah. Its English translation is known as The Malay Annals.

4. Hikayat Hang Tuah by Kassim Ahmad – This is the book famous for the story of Hang Tuah the royal warrior, a victim of courts politics that prompted the Sultan of Melaka to order for his execution.

But a Bendahara (prime minister) saves him by hiding him in a jungle (like Snow White). Tuah’s good friend Hang Jebat gets angry and goes on a rampage, killing everyone around Kota Melaka. Later the Sultan is told that Tuah is still alive. So Tuah is summoned to kill his best friend Jebat - which he does.

The book editor Kassim Ahmad, then a socialist scholar, applied Marxist literary critique to depict Jebat as the real hero, daring enough to stand up against the despotic ruler. It created some lively debates among the Malay literary circles of the 1960s.

Nowadays Hang Tuah is popular again as the hero. I wonder why? Anyway the story is only one of the many stories about Hang Tuah’s legends set during the 16th century. The English translation, the Epic of Hang Tuah is translated by national laureate Muhammad Haji Salleh.

5. Hujan Pagi by A. Samad Said - I have to admit that I both like and dislike this novel. I like it because it is a story of an old newspaper editor who is facing the changes of the times – media technology, newspaper as propaganda, etc.

Allegedly based on the life of the other Pak Samad – A. Samad Ismail who was the head of Berita Harian and the top journalist of the Straits Times as well as the architect who brought the other half of Straits Times (from Singapore) to Malaysia to become NST in 1972. Samad Ismail was detained under ISA during Hussein Onn’s era in 1976 (until 1981) for allegedly being a communist.

However I also dislike this novel because it uses the then popular style of the 1980s – magical realism a la Gabriel Garcia Marquez – which made me feel like I was  dreaming, sleeping and drifting when I was reading it back then.

By the way, Hujan Pagi is the name of a fictional newspaper in the novel.

6. Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan by Shahnon Ahmad - Yes this novel is written by the same person who wrote a book called Shit! But he is Shahnon Ahmad, the national laureate whose style is repetition of words and sentences. I think it’s called written in the form stream of consciousness.

But Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan was written in 1966 before Shahnon perfected his repetitive style - if you’ve read or attempted to read Shit, then you know what I mean.

The novel Ranjau is written in a gritty realism style, depicting the poor peasants’ life in Kedah. The English translation is titled No Harvests But Thorns by Adibah Amin.

7. Mitos Pribumi Malas: Citra Orang Jawa, Melayu dan Filipina dalam Kapitalisme Kolonial oleh Syed Hussein Alatas. - This is actually the Bahasa Melayu translation of the original is the Myth of the Lazy Native: A Study of the Image of the Malays, Filipinos and Javanese from the 16th to the 20th Century and Its Function in the Ideology of Colonial Capitalism, published in 1977.

8. Hikayat Abdullah by Abdullah Munshi – An autobiographical travelogue written by Abdullah Munshi in 1840s, depicting his travels and observations of societies in Malacca and Singapore. Despite being known as the Father of Modern Malay Literature, some Malay scholars of today dislike Abdullah because of an exaggerated claim that he translated the Bible into Bahasa Melayu and that he was a lackey for the British colonial masters because he was critical in his views about the “lazy” Malays.

Perhaps those Malay scholars didn’t realise that Abdullah had also translated the Quran into Malay. Hikayat Abdullah is also available in English.

9. Tikus Rahmat by Hassan Ibrahim - A satire similar to that of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. I read this novel many years ago, so I think I have to read it again to check whether the story is about the failure of class system or something else.

But I remember enjoying the book. Really. Imagine a country for mice/rats called Kampung Makmur led by leader Tikus Rahmat Bong Sutradara Al-Haj! Tikus putih is the ruling elite with brains leading tikus biasa, tikus lembah, tikus ladang…

Perhaps it has the same vein like Interlok by Abdullah Hussain. I don’t know, really. But I guess any satire about Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaya, Malaysia, Umno, MCA, MIC, the Chinese, the Malays and the Indians in the 1960s is something to read about.

10. Meniti Lautan Gelora: Sebuah Memoir Politik by Said Zahari – This is a political memoir of Utusan Melayu’s chief editor who fought against Tunku Abdul Rahman and Umno who wanted to control the paper in 1961.

Said lost the battle and went to Singapore to join Partai Rakyat but was detained without trial and spent a long time under Singapore’s ISA.

Ironically this book was published by Utusan in 2001. The English translation is called Dark Clouds at Dawn: A Political Memoir published by Insan.

11. Poems, dramas and books by Usman Awang - I believe Usman the national laureate is the most “Malaysian” Bahasa Melayu writer. He is truly a national poet. Any of his works is worth reading.

12. Books by Ishak Haji Muhammad or Pak Sako – Once a magistrate under the British rule, Pak Sako was also Chairman of the Socialist Front. Many Malay scholars believe his early novel Putra Gunung Tahan (1937) is a very good satire against penjajah British but I think the style of writing was a bit amateurish.

In fact I think Anak Mat Lela Gila, although in the same vein but written in 1960, is much better. This time instead of attacking the penjajah, he attacksthe new Malay ruling elite.

I remember there’s a scene where the main character wanted to create his own currency. Perhaps it was just my imagination. But I think it’s in there. His real strength is actually in his short stories as well as his memoirs.

13. Books by Ahmad Boestamam – The leader of the original Partai Rakyat Malaya (PRM) who was also founder of PKMM (Malay Nationalist Party) and API (Angkatan Pemuda Insaf) is worth reading.

Who is Boestamam? After Kassim Ahmad (the editor of Hikayat Hang Tuah) and his team pushed Boestamam out of PRM in 1968 - and they changed party name to PSRM – S here means Socialist - he left to join Pekemas with Dr Tan Chee Khoon.

Earlier, during the Konfrontasi with Indonesia, Boestamam became the first MP to be detained under the ISA, together with his good friend Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, the then PAS leader. At that time Boestamam was Setapak MP for PRM-Socialist Front won in 1959.

All these books were written in the 1970s after he retired from active politics, although he rejoined PSRM before he died in 1983.

i)  Merintis Jalan ke Puncak – His memoir of joining politics of the Malay Left, trials and tribulations in fighting for Independence.

ii) Tujuh Tahun Malam Memanjang – His seven-year detention under the British’s ISA. He was 27 when detained without trial in 1948.

After his release in 1955 (he was released because the Brits wanted to tell the world that they were nice colonialists because the pre-Merdeka elections were about to be held. Sounds familiar?) Boestamam was asked by some friends to become leader of newly formed Partai Rakyat while his progressive Muslim friend Dr Burhanuddin was asked to lead a “revamped” PAS, making the two parties “brothers” (not many “sisters” at the time).

iii) Dr Burhanuddin: Putera Setia Malaya – Boestamam’s memoir of his friend whom he described as a genius who led a great yet sad and tragic life of being hounded by Tunku’s government. - July 21, 2013

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.