It is only natural...

The Immigrant (2013)

There is nothing refreshing about this film. The story of a poor Polish immigrant migrating to the land of possibilities, the trials and tribulations that she goes through and fighting the vultures of flesh in the newfound land. Then the love triangle and the guilt to stay true to heart and her religious belief.

The redeeming feature is the visually pleasing sepia hued recreation of 1920s New York City. The ambience created by the backdrop and props draws the audience back to the 20s as if they were actually there. The immigrant melodrama spells deja vu all around, too many stories with the same.

What struck me was the way we as a nation are treating our immigrants just like how they were treated in the 20s in the US during the Prohibition Era.

With development and affluence, works considered menial did not excite the locals. That drew a wave of immigration, escaping the tortures of tyranny and poverty. The leaders need the comfort for the people to win votes and the people were too  living in almost perfect bliss, pampered after being mollycoddled for years. Industrialisation and robotics were too capital intensive, the profit minded capitalists friendly to leaders did say. We still need to create jobs for the people, they say, forgetting that as the country progresses and the level of education improves, citizens want more challenging vocations. They are no longer contented working at spinal level and burn their wages over a weekend high and the stupor that follows.

The immigrants, being as human as anyone, also want to progress in life. They too would start thinking in the long term, thinking of their offspring. After being fed the good life, the last place that they would want to be is the dungeon that they came from. It is only natural that they set root in their newly discovered land of plenty.

As you noticed, this post has nothing to do with the movie.....

Interlok controversy

Tuesday January 25, 2011

ARTICLES OF LAW

By BHAG SINGH

When a word used is found to be offensive, the circumstances surrounding its usage and the community involved need to be considered.

ONCE again a controversy has erupted arising out of a word in a book that some see as offensive and unacceptable, while others see it as harmless. Those who complain and object to the use of the word in the book are concerned about the negative implications and effect of the word. After all the Oxford Dictionary gives its meaning as a person who is not acceptable to society and is avoided by everyone.

However, the use of the word deserves a more detailed consideration. As was said by Raja Azlan Shah many years ago as the judge in the case of Public Prosecutor v Ooi Kee Siak & Ors: “A meaningful understanding of the right of freedom of speech under the Constitution must be based on the realities of the Malaysian society”. Of course, his lordship was concerned about a case relating to sedition as was Ong CJ in the case of Melan Bin Abdullah who pointed out that our concept of sedition went beyond the common law concept and our law gives a new and perhaps highly artificial meaning to what used to be considered as a seditious tendency.

And some 40 years ago, when speaking of the broader aspects of the Constitutional Amendment Bill relating to Sedition, the then Prime Minister was concerned with this aspect and had said that “the amendments are intended to remove certain sensitive issues”. The now 91-year-old novelist Datuk Abdullah Hussain, who has more than once been declared Sasterawan Negara, in an exclusive interview with Mingguan MStar said he wrote the novel some 40 years ago and explained his reasons and intentions as well as sincerity in writing the book, including the context in which it was done. He explains that the word pariah is not used to belittle or insult the Indian community. His statement that the book was written with care and sincerity and in the hope that the novel would become a point of reference for society, is not doubted.

Good intention

I do not think that anyone would take the view that he meant to belittle or insult the Indian community. It needs to be accepted that what was written was with good intention, and in honesty and sincerity, with malice to none. The book has obviously been around for some 40 years with no one having complained about it. However, 40 years later at a point in time when the book is made a text to be read by all Form 5 students, it has given rise to con­­tro­­­­­versy. So what is the problem?

It is here that the matter takes a different complexion involving different considerations. The generation to which the novelist belongs and the time and circumstances in which it was written were different. There was then real interaction between the different races which had mutual respect for one another. Despite the serious and valiant efforts of our leaders to promote racial harmony and good relations, the population has, due to a variety of factors and policies adopted, whatever the wisdom or otherwise, become racially more polarised.

There is a bigger pool among the young and not-so-young population who have not been adequately exposed to individuals of different races or religions. There are many young people who for much of their lives have not even set down to have a cup of tea or coffee with a person of a different race or religion. Therefore, what is at issue here is a generation that does not have the same understanding or attitude towards each other, when they are of a different race and religion. Hence the ability to appreciate or understand the spirit in which the novel seeks to convey the messages, is somehow missing.

While the subject at hand arising out of the use of the word “pariah” needs to be carefully dealt with, it is also naive, on the part of those justifying its use, to merely rely on the dictionary meaning of the word. Dictionaries are after all meant to give the basic and possible different meanings that a word can convey. However, when the word is used in a particular context, its importance is not only in the dictionary meaning which one chooses but the message that is conveyed in the context of its use. The same applies to phrases.

One simple example is the word “village”. Would it be offensive or acceptable to say to someone: “Go back to your village!”? In some countries, a village is a backward, unhealthy and un­­­­­­­­­­pleasant place to stay in because of the poor quality of life. On the other hand, in certain countries, a village is a pleasant, healthy and prestigious place to stay in. Thus the same statement used in one country or in one society could be a source of insult or embarrassment, and in another a reason to feel pleased and proud on hearing of it. The same is true of the word “prostitute”. As a noun, it is used to mean a person who has sex for money. On the other hand, as a verb, it refers to a person who uses his skills and abilities to do things that help in earning money but other people do not respect the person because such a person is capable of doing something better.

Conclusion

Therefore, the controversy that has arisen is something that our leaders need to address in the context of the circumstances of our own society. Its use may not necessarily be technically seditious but there are numerous legal provisions in codes, laws and regulations which seek to prevent use of words that are otherwise offensive. It is hoped that our leaders in their wisdom will be able to have this grievance addressed in a satisfactory manner. After all, the complaint is not about the existence of the book but its use as a text for a generation whose mindset is different from that which existed at the time the book was written.

In doing so, it would be good to bear in mind the words of Tan Sri Ghazali Jawi during a debate in Parliament some 40 years ago: He said: “What needs to be discussed are the opinions and ideas which can create a just society in our beloved country. We need to bring forth ideas to overcome this problem in the interest of our future generation. We do not want the future generation to jeer at the present one because we have failed to provide a firm footing for them.”

Interlocking horns over 'Intelok'

So, the curious cat in me, even though by the Chinese zodiac I am a tame rabbit, took the better of me to indulge in a little of culture. Anyway, myriad of folks of different walk of life have had their 2sens' worth of input of this topic. Ministers are having emergency sittings to discuss it, attention seekers are burning the book (like the Chinese did in the Cultural Revolution), aspiring politicians rather spend a night in jail than hanging around Batu Caves fulfilling their religious vows and so on and so forth.
I am talking about the introduction of the book 'Intelok' for the Form 5 Malay Literature. This book was actually written way back in 1971 by a Malaysian laureate, Abdullah Hussain. Nobody had heard (at least I have not) of him since this brouhaha. Most Malaysians know A. Samad Said and Shanon Ahmad, but Abdullah who?
Literature has never been my forte since school. 'The 20,000 leagues under the sea' and 'King Solomon's mines' that I studied  in school did and still appear Greek to me even though it was meant to be for English Literature! Tamil proverbs say, 'Appreciation of arts and culture comes only after a full stomach'.Hence, with a background like Rifle Range Boy's, one should not expect him to appreciate the finer things in life! With affluence comes appreciation of arts, culture and couture!
Right.
So , I finally laid hands on the said book to have first hand experience to understand the ruckus that it had created. It is actually an average book with no so high in the scale of literary value. I tend to compare it the last Malaysian laureate's  penning that I read in 1998, 'Shit...' by Shanon Ahmad, a political satire on the then Prime Minister's cabinet. Imagine, reading an author's artistic skillful rendition and personification of the human excretion and its passage via the alimentary canal over and over again in a 100 over paged little book!

[Warning: Spoiler alert]

The book is basically made up of 4 chapters.

The  first chapter introduces Seman. At death bed, he hears his dying father’s dark secret. His father mentions that their seemingly well to do family is actually in tatters, financially speaking. (This gives a new meaning to the phrase ‘mention in the passing’!) Seman is well versed in reciting the Koran but actually an illiterate to Roman scripts. He soon discovers that his house, farm together with its animals and produce belong to a shrewd Chinese shopkeeper (Cina Panjang) in a nearby town who shows him some documents that his father had borrowed large amounts of money. Cing Huat, who appeared warm and cordial when his family used to take groceries from the shop earlier, now demands for the land to be leased to others to make more money. Seman, infuriated, almost goes amok and leaves the village with his mother mysteriously. 

The second chapter dwells on Cing Huat (a 10 year old lad) and his father who had to escape the clutches of poverty in Southern China. After repeated failure of crops, the latest being locusts’ attack on the padi fields, they migrate leaving the mother and sister behind after seeing a fellow villager becomes successful in the land down south. The story narrates their escapade of venturing new towns, the high seas, motion sickness and finally their final destination, Singapore. Description of the journey details their peculiar eating habits of the Chinese like eating locusts, liberal vivid description of hanging pork meat in the port town of Amoy, their liberal consumption of cheap alcoholic brew, cheating and gambling. The zest for better life sees Cing Huat and his father perform many menial jobs like trishaw pulling, night soil attending, working day and night in a restaurant and any other way just to earn money to send back home. After many ups and downs, they managed to buy over a sundry shop. Their business prospers with their dedication. His father has a mistress, indulges in opium and subsequently succumbs to his addiction. Cing Huat inherits the shop and becomes a nasty businessman due to the bitter experiences he endured in his life. Cing Huat is actually the Cina Panjang mentioned in Chapter 1. By this time, you get the feeling that the book is becoming very racial in outlook. Unnecessary detailing of pork in its text is evident. During the wedding dinner, for no obvious reason, the author writes about pork filled dumplings. Throughout Chapter 2, Caucasians are only referred to as ‘Syaitan Putih’ (White Devil), from the ship captain to Cing Huat’s father’s customers in Singapore. Everybody (other than Malays) is referred as kuai (ghost) – Malai kuai and Indo kuai.  A lot of racial stereotyping and profiling is clear. Chinese appear suspicious about everybody, including their own flesh and blood. They are made uncomfortable with Chinese of different dialects (Hakka, Kwangtung, and etcetera). They glorify the Chinese education system and their motherland repeatedly. Cing Huat’s second son, Yew Seng,  (many years later) is reprimanded by Cing Huat for not following his family traits but rather found solace in mixing with his Malay neighbours, fearing that their laziness will inflict him as well! Chapter 2 ends with a family feud where Yew Seng accuses the father of being inhumane for depriving Seman of a roof over his head. Yew Seng then runs away from home.

Chapter 3 is the chapter that has got a lot of people excited, creating a mountain out of a molehill. The excerpt of the infamous verse goes like this…                                 

SS Rajula

 “……..Di dalam kapal ini dia tidak susah. Sebahagian besar daripada penumpang dek yang bersama-sama itu dapat bercakap dalam satu bahasa sahaja, bahasa Tamil. Mereka yang dari arah ke utara sedikit bercakap dalam bahasa Malayalam atau Telugu, tetapi hampir semuanya tahu bahasa Tamil. Malayalam dan Telugu pun berasal dari satu rumpun bahasa Dravida. Satu perkara besar yang membuatkan mereka senang bergaul kerana mereka tergolong dalam satu kasta Pariah. Mereka tidak perlu takut akan mengotori sesiapa kalau bersentuhan. Mereka juga bebas bergaul. Tempat di dalam kapal itu tidak teratur. Mereka terasak-asak seperti kambing……”

The third installment is the story of Maniam. After facing financial difficulties in Kerala, India, he heads to Malaya leaving his young wife back home. He lands in Penang and works hard as a coolie in the harbor, diligently sending money back home. He later hears from a new arrival that his money never reached his wife and due to poverty, his wife remarried a rich man who in fact was supposed to hand the money to his wife! Hey, this sounds like the story line of the Tamil movie, ‘Koondu Kili’ – the only movie where Tamil movie legends MGR and Sivaji acted together. If fact, many of the scenes narrated in ‘Intelok’ seem to have Indian movie flavor in it. Feeling distraught and embarrassed by the devastating news,  he moves down from Penang to the Peninsular and gains employment in a coconut plantation and marries the daughter of his foreman, without revealing too much about his marital history. Things were going fine till one of his former acquaintances lands up in the same plantation. (Coincidences, Tamil movie or what?).  He spilled the beans on his previous marriage and added more masala to it that Maniam had willing absconded from his ailing wife. A quarrel ensues and the plantation community decides that Maniam should leave.  (More melodrama…) So Maniam leaves his gravid wife (he had sow his oats earlier!) in the care of his father in law.  As Maniam leaves the estate,  he is assaulted by his enemies but is rescued by Seman’s father. A special bond starts. They become good friends, work together for some time before parting ways. Three years on, Maniam’s wife, now with a son (Ramakrisynan) discovers his innocence and there is a possibility that she could have committed suicide!

Merdeka!

The final chapter is basically the story of how these 3 characters becomes intertwined -  20 years on, Maniam helps Seman and his mother to get a job in a plantation; Yew Seng (Cing Huat’s second son) gain employment in a tin mine and joins Anti Japanese resistance force to free his mother land from foreign invaders. He later joins the Communist to rid of British off Malaya; Seman marries a rich bride and his reputation in society is restored; Ramakrisyna (Maniam’s son) becomes a police officer to restore peace and order in the country. The Japanese occupation of Malaya in World War II unites the various races in the country and after their departure; the call for Independence grows louder with various inputs from various communities.  Just like a melodramatic Indian movie of the 70s (e.g. Sholay, Yaadon Ki Baraat, Haathi Mere Saathi), a lot things happen in the last chapter. The characters in the story resigned to the idea of Malaya as their Motherland. They take pride in running the country and integrating with other races. Yew Seng, realizing his wayward ways, turns into a turncoat, double-crosses the Communists who are later apprehended by Ramakrisyna and his team. The book ends with Seman, Yew Seng (who had an above-knee amputation in his endeavour to expose the enemy) and Ramakrisyna planning a trip to the capital city to usher the Independence of their young nation. This chapter alone nullifies all the negative connotations that the author had earlier publicized.

 One has look at the bigger picture, rather than looking with rather jaundiced eyes at the small trivial issues. There are more negative things written about the Chinese but we do not see them raising an issue –does this denote maturity?  The feel good feeling that seeps into the story may act as lubricant for its readers to appreciate the sacrifices that our forefathers had done for our present prosperity.

Joint effort 1949 Thomas Cup

My final verdict for the uproar on this book is there is nothing to get upset about. Of course, he could have omitted a few unnecessary parts. Of course, the Ministry could have chosen other books of Malay language with literary value. You can also say that the 17 years olds may not be mature enough to look at the bigger, but that is precisely the reason in learning Literature – to mature one’s mind. This book brings forth to our minds our prejudiced past with its discriminative policies with no feelings towards peoples’ feelings!

Multi-ethnic 70s Malaysian team

We sneered when the ulamaks in Iran passed a decree on Salman Rushdie’s head when he published the ‘Satanic Verses’ and when some crackpots demonstrated after the Norwegian caricature of Prophet Mohammad. It would not take long for the same ridicule by others for our recent actions.