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misspalah's review
4.0
"Perhaps, there are amongst our race, people with high ranks and who have big motorcars and who have visited you here and there. If so, vou must have welcomed them in a grand manner. I know people like that often come to give you advice on loyalty to the King, obedience to the laws of the white men, of sending your children to school even if they do not have trousers and shirts, to be hardworking farmers and rear buffaloes, goats, chickens and ducks. "That would probably be all that they would advise you, sirs. Other than that, I can think nothing else. They would be angry and scold you, sirs, for being lazy, dirty, for doing this or for doing that, and so on, whatever comes to their minds. "Don't be fooled, sirs; don't tolerate any more speeches claiming you are lazy and dirty. I know you are not lazy. The Malay people are extremely hardworking and loyal. You, sirs, are faithful in following advice and orders, not just now but for hundreds of years, from the days of our great grandfathers. "You, sirs, leave your homes before the sun rises, and return after the sun sets, with scores of tasks that you need to complete daily, from setting traps to tending buffalo. "I know that as strong and as hardworking as you are, you will only receive a thousand gantang of paddy a year, and that too only if elephants and wild boars do not destroy your crop. At least five hundred gantang is needed to sustain you and your family. What's left is five hundred gantang valued at five hundred ringgit; five hundred ringgit per year, or more or less forty ringgit per month. "How can the Malay people not be poor and constantly suffer?
- Merdeka Medicine seller : Blood and Tears by Keris Mas
.
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This would have been 5 stars read if Keris Mas let both men and women shines equally in his story. Majority of men in his stories get to be flawed, weak , cunning but at the end of the day , there will be character arc for him. But when women are flawed in his stories, it is the end of her characters and she is beyond redeemable. The inconsistency of how he write his female characters is unexpected. I know i am not qualified to criticize Malaysia’s First National Laureate specifically on writing but it will be a lie if i did not say I was a bit disappointed seeing how some women in his short stories either disappearing in the background or have no agency at all. This is because when i read ‘In the arms of liberated women’ and ‘Merdeka Medicine Seller’, both of these stories have courageous women that are not afraid to speak their minds. That’s why my expectation started to soar and hoping to see it in his other stories. We rarely get short stories written by male author that were published in 1947 has bold women telling men that they should be brave and join the fight againt their colonial masters. BUT this is still one of the best literary text that published pre-independence Malaya. So many quotes or phrases in the stories that are truly patriotic and ignited people’s spirit to fight for independence considering at that point of time, Malaya were still colonized. There are 20 stories in this book and each one of them is beautifully written despite my issue with female character. I wished i have read this in my mother tongue , Malay instead of english. Here’s are some of my favorite quotes from his stories that were featured in the book.
.
“That is the arrogance of the nobleman, Anar.
The arrogance is a legacy of the feudal era from several centuries back. And the legacy, although archaic and rustic, cannot be removed that easily. Every nobleman knows that life progresses, and in that progress there will be all kinds of changes in society. Life according to class based on bloodline distinguishes the rights and responsibilities amongst people. While the commoners play their part in fulfilling their obligations, the nobles enjoy the luxuries that are rightfully not theirs. For that reason, for centuries in this world - in the West and the East-social revolutions have taken place to bring down the authority of the noblemen, and it will keep on happening until mankind has achieved justice”.
- A nobleman’s will (Suluh Malaya, 1946)
.
In one month, all my friends signed a petition asking for a one hundred per cent increase in salary. If it was ignored, we refused to work. And we really did stop work because our request was ignored. Our protest lasted three days before we went back to work with a new salary of three ringgit and sixty cents a day. Not only were the capitalists afraid of a big loss in production, they feared that their exploitation of labourers, something that had been ongoing for a long time, would be made public. If the situation worsened, we would go on strike again, said my friends who were encouraged and happy with the first victory.
For the first time my name and my face appeared in the newspapers. There was a full news report of our action, with me, mentioned as the leader. I felt proud. I had become a fighter, fighting for life and to improve the welfare of a class of people who were being suppressed and were having their blood sucked.
- In The Arms of liberated women (Mastika, 1947)
.
And he was offended when his father said one's faith should not be judged by his robe or turban, his beard and sideburns, or by eating from one tray with many people. We are Malays, not Arabs. And good deeds are accepted by God. His sins and deeds will be evaluated one day. He felt bitter at the criticism because at the time he was already wearing the robe and turban, had grown the beard and sideburns. He argued with his father in a voice that was harsh and loud, accusing the old man of not paying attention to Islamic teachings until he was old.
- Grandmother (DBP, 1987)
.
"Don't pretend you don't know that what you are doing is not called leading, but wrecking. How many ovens are you willing to buy, how many kinds of flour and powder can you provide to women in poor homes like mine? Do you know my friends and I in this village, the young ones, have our own plan to improve our lives? Please try and think of ways to reduce our daily expenditure and for us to receive good nutrition and good health, cleanliness and balance in home management without telling us to buy things that are foreign to our community, foreign to our kitchen and foreign to the woman you lead."
- Wrong Guidelines (Utusan Pemuda, 1960)
.
“A trishaw man can live with four children. Why am I afraid to enter matrimonial life? Two hundred and sixty ringgit a month was far more than the trishaw man's income.
How calm the trishaw man was. It would be impossible for him to be happy and calm if his household was chaotic or short of money. His stepchild was also in school. If the daily income was insufficient, the trishaw man, who was certainly uneducated, would surely not be able to support his child, a girl at that, in school. Why am I still afraid to get married? But, if the trishaw man became very ill, and his wife too was not feeling well, and there was no income to meet the medical costs, how would he get the money for the schooling of his children? It was indeed impossible for Malays to progress, impossible for all Malay children to have sufficient schooling, if the family's income was small and have had many children. He decided he should earn more because he was still healthy and young”.
- Many Children (Mastika,1952)
.
Side Note : It was interesting to see how drinking, PDA despite not being married were mentioned casually in these stories. It was a reflection of how back then Malay soceity were more liberal and chill compared to how restrictive and conservative they are now.
- Merdeka Medicine seller : Blood and Tears by Keris Mas
.
.
This would have been 5 stars read if Keris Mas let both men and women shines equally in his story. Majority of men in his stories get to be flawed, weak , cunning but at the end of the day , there will be character arc for him. But when women are flawed in his stories, it is the end of her characters and she is beyond redeemable. The inconsistency of how he write his female characters is unexpected. I know i am not qualified to criticize Malaysia’s First National Laureate specifically on writing but it will be a lie if i did not say I was a bit disappointed seeing how some women in his short stories either disappearing in the background or have no agency at all. This is because when i read ‘In the arms of liberated women’ and ‘Merdeka Medicine Seller’, both of these stories have courageous women that are not afraid to speak their minds. That’s why my expectation started to soar and hoping to see it in his other stories. We rarely get short stories written by male author that were published in 1947 has bold women telling men that they should be brave and join the fight againt their colonial masters. BUT this is still one of the best literary text that published pre-independence Malaya. So many quotes or phrases in the stories that are truly patriotic and ignited people’s spirit to fight for independence considering at that point of time, Malaya were still colonized. There are 20 stories in this book and each one of them is beautifully written despite my issue with female character. I wished i have read this in my mother tongue , Malay instead of english. Here’s are some of my favorite quotes from his stories that were featured in the book.
.
“That is the arrogance of the nobleman, Anar.
The arrogance is a legacy of the feudal era from several centuries back. And the legacy, although archaic and rustic, cannot be removed that easily. Every nobleman knows that life progresses, and in that progress there will be all kinds of changes in society. Life according to class based on bloodline distinguishes the rights and responsibilities amongst people. While the commoners play their part in fulfilling their obligations, the nobles enjoy the luxuries that are rightfully not theirs. For that reason, for centuries in this world - in the West and the East-social revolutions have taken place to bring down the authority of the noblemen, and it will keep on happening until mankind has achieved justice”.
- A nobleman’s will (Suluh Malaya, 1946)
.
In one month, all my friends signed a petition asking for a one hundred per cent increase in salary. If it was ignored, we refused to work. And we really did stop work because our request was ignored. Our protest lasted three days before we went back to work with a new salary of three ringgit and sixty cents a day. Not only were the capitalists afraid of a big loss in production, they feared that their exploitation of labourers, something that had been ongoing for a long time, would be made public. If the situation worsened, we would go on strike again, said my friends who were encouraged and happy with the first victory.
For the first time my name and my face appeared in the newspapers. There was a full news report of our action, with me, mentioned as the leader. I felt proud. I had become a fighter, fighting for life and to improve the welfare of a class of people who were being suppressed and were having their blood sucked.
- In The Arms of liberated women (Mastika, 1947)
.
And he was offended when his father said one's faith should not be judged by his robe or turban, his beard and sideburns, or by eating from one tray with many people. We are Malays, not Arabs. And good deeds are accepted by God. His sins and deeds will be evaluated one day. He felt bitter at the criticism because at the time he was already wearing the robe and turban, had grown the beard and sideburns. He argued with his father in a voice that was harsh and loud, accusing the old man of not paying attention to Islamic teachings until he was old.
- Grandmother (DBP, 1987)
.
"Don't pretend you don't know that what you are doing is not called leading, but wrecking. How many ovens are you willing to buy, how many kinds of flour and powder can you provide to women in poor homes like mine? Do you know my friends and I in this village, the young ones, have our own plan to improve our lives? Please try and think of ways to reduce our daily expenditure and for us to receive good nutrition and good health, cleanliness and balance in home management without telling us to buy things that are foreign to our community, foreign to our kitchen and foreign to the woman you lead."
- Wrong Guidelines (Utusan Pemuda, 1960)
.
“A trishaw man can live with four children. Why am I afraid to enter matrimonial life? Two hundred and sixty ringgit a month was far more than the trishaw man's income.
How calm the trishaw man was. It would be impossible for him to be happy and calm if his household was chaotic or short of money. His stepchild was also in school. If the daily income was insufficient, the trishaw man, who was certainly uneducated, would surely not be able to support his child, a girl at that, in school. Why am I still afraid to get married? But, if the trishaw man became very ill, and his wife too was not feeling well, and there was no income to meet the medical costs, how would he get the money for the schooling of his children? It was indeed impossible for Malays to progress, impossible for all Malay children to have sufficient schooling, if the family's income was small and have had many children. He decided he should earn more because he was still healthy and young”.
- Many Children (Mastika,1952)
.
Side Note : It was interesting to see how drinking, PDA despite not being married were mentioned casually in these stories. It was a reflection of how back then Malay soceity were more liberal and chill compared to how restrictive and conservative they are now.
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