Veggie Zen

JAPANESE horticulturists are raising perfectly delectable vegetables in a completely controlled environment. SITI NURBAIYAH NADZMI finds out how they do it.

IT is hard to believe that the crisp and flavoursome lettuce, arugula and herbs drizzled with vinaigrette dressing and served at a family restaurant in west Tokyo were grown without sun or soil but in a plant factory in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture.
  These leafy vegetables, grown in a completely controlled and "stress-free" environment, have created a steady demand among restaurateurs and consumers for the past five years. And the trend is likely to flourish, said horticulturist Shigeharu Shimamura, president and founder of Mirai Company Limited.
  These plants are essentially grown hydroponically. Instead of soil, water is used as the medium to provide nutrients to the plant.
  But unlike most hydroponic farms, Mirai has replaced the open air and sunlight with fluorescent-lit shelves in air-conditioned rooms.
  There are three types of hydroponic cultivation  -  using the sunlight and open air, a combination of sunlight and artificial lighting in the open air, and in a completely controlled environment with artificial lighting.
  "Our company uses the third method which eliminates all stress factors for the plants such as unpredictable weather, inconsistent amount of light, lack of nutrients, wind, fungus and pest infestation," he said.
  In a nutshell, the plant factory has industrialised agriculture.
  Mirai is also responsible for setting up a plant factory at Japan's Showa base in Antarctica.
  "The plant factory allows indoor cultivation in artificial weather by controlling the light, temperature, humidity and nutrients, making extreme climate areas arable enough to produce leafy vegetables and herbs."
  Shimamura said the stress factors are the culprits which hamper the growth rate of plants. In a stress-free environment, the plants have the potential to grow faster and with little variation in shapes and sizes.
  "Instead of three months, lettuce grown in plant factories can be harvested after only 30 days," he said.
  The trick is shortening "night time". Strange as it may sound, Shimamura said, plants recognise the natural day and night cycle.
  "It is important to switch off the lights for several hours after a `daylight' condition of about eight to 10 hours, just enough to create the illusion of night time for the plants."
  Come "night time", the lights are switched off so that the plants can rest and "wake up" the next day.
  The unique selling point for these factory vegetables is that they are so clean and untouched that they are ready to be served immediately after
harvest.
  "In such a controlled environment, we do not have to use pesticides. The vegetables are safe to eat without the need to rinse off any chemical residue, bugs or dirt," he said.
  Although priced slightly higher than conventionally-cultivated produce, the vegetables are perceived to be high value-added products which are pesticide and fungus free, clean and cost-efficient since they cut down the time and cost of processing. The flawless leaves and standard sizes ensure a tantalising visual presentation on the plate.
  "The iceberg round lettuce, for example, wastes about 30-40 per cent of its weight because the outer leaves and the core will be discarded by food operators," Shimamura pointed out. "But the ones that we grow have longer leaves (like the romaine) and the preparation is reduced to twisting the root off and keeping the waste to only three per cent."
  More than that, Shimamura said, the look and flavour of these vegetables can be engineered to the clients' specifications by adjusting the amount of nutrients and cultivation techniques.
  Shimamura, however, declined to elaborate, saying: "It is a trade secret."
  Plant factories allow the impossible such as cultivating seasonal vegetables and herbs throughout the year, tailor-made taste, stable production and land optimisation.
  Ozu Industry Corporation, a manufacturer of traditional washi paper since 1653, has turned its unused warehouse into a plant factory last year at Fuchu City, Tokyo, making it the only full-fledged plant factory in the prefecture.
  The plant has seven-tier shelves lit by fluorescent bulbs and grows eight types of leafy vegetables and herbs, lettuce, potherb mustard, Italian parsley, watercress, "Mizuna", sweet basil, rocket lettuce and garland chrysanthemum.
  After a year of production, the subsidiary company Ozu Corporation's Nihonbashi Yasai head of business development Yuichi Kaneko is confident that it will make a profit in the following year.
  "People are more discerning when it comes to food safety and this pushes the demand for pesticide-free vegetables, not just from the consumers, but supermarkets and restaurateurs," he said.

Going back to nature
  AT the other end of the spectrum, a young farmer, Yukio Ogawa, 35, is doing away with agrochemicals and getting help from bugs to cultivate healthy vegetables fit for his family.
  After graduating in agriculture management, Ogawa worked for two years with a company distributing agricultural machines.
  It struck him then that Japanese farmers had become too dependent on agrochemicals, from fertilisers to pesticides, and this practice had increased cost and reduced profitability. Going back to basics, Ogawa is determined to cultivate tasty vegetables as nature intended, leveraging on the concept of "good bugs eat bad bugs". And he created organic fertiliser by using slugs to break down compost for his plants.
  He has almost halved his costs while maintaining production at optimum level. The only downside to this farming concept is "imperfect" produce.
  Ogawa feels too many chemicals are used in producing perfect-looking carrots, eggplants and cabbages, raising the question of the safe level of chemicals in these vegetables.
  "It is true that these agro-chemicals are approved by the Ministry but how much of it is safe for our children? How do we know whether it will have adverse effects later in our lives? I want to be sure that my children are having tasty vegetables grown without the use of chemicals which may be harmful in the long run," he said.
  Getting the right bugs to control pest and fungus is downright tedious and takes a lot of patience. Part of Ogawa's daily routine is to run a medical check on the health of his crops by carefully inspecting the leaves, barks and trunk, looking for telltale signs of pest attack or fungus.
  Once spotted, he will place predator insects on the affected crops.
  The whole concept hinges on the delicate balance of the insect eco-system, where one insect cannot do without another  -  predator or prey alike.
  "At my farm I try to create a harmonious eco-system for the bugs and the plants, so it is essential to keep a variety of bugs and enough food for them, otherwise the bugs will die and the plants will suffer," said the farmer.
  Ogawa is confident of the shift in consumption trends as people are becoming more aware of food safety: "My customers don't mind the odd shapes and sizes of the vegetables because they know they are completely free from agro-chemicals."
  He sells direct to consumers and retailers from his farms. Local supermarkets carry his Ogawa farm brand, which ensures agro-chemical free cultivation.

New Straits Times, November 11, 2009

Pelbagai dugaan bawa pulang jenazah Mariam

PADA jam 11.30 malam, saya menelefon Anifah sekali lagi dan memberitahunya mengenai surat di pejabat kedutaan itu. Beliau berkata pegawainya, termasuk pejabat di Seoul sudah dimaklumkan mengenai urusan penghantaran jenazah Mariam dan meminta saya menunggu panggilan daripada pegawainya.
  Tepat jam 12 malam saya menelefon Anifah sekali lagi kerana pegawainya masih belum menghubungi saya.
  "Telefon saya esok pagi." Sekali lagi beliau memberi jaminan pegawainya sedang berusaha.
  Bagaimanapun, keesokan harinya, tiga jam sebelum upacara pembakaran mayat, Park menelefon saya, kali ini beliau tidak lagi berselindung mengenai tujuannya.
  "Siti, saya dalam perjalanan ke hospital untuk menguruskan pembakaran mayat Mariam."
  Katanya, tiada sesiapa dari pejabat Kedutaan Malaysia di Seoul menghubungi beliau untuk memberi jaminan Mariam akan dibawa pulang.
Kedutaan cuma menelefon Ji dan bertanya beberapa soalan saja mengenai upacara pembakaran pada hari itu.
  Giliran saya pula berasakan sudah berada di hujung usaha. Apa lagi yang boleh saya lakukan pada saat ini?
  Telefon saya berdering dan suara ustaz daripada Jakim itu kedengaran di hujung talian, kali ini saya turut mengetepikan profesion saya. Terus terang saya melahirkan kebimbangan, kerunsingan dan kebuntuan saya padanya. Tanpa segan silu, saya pula memintanya berusaha bersungguh-sungguh untuk melakukan yang terbaik. "Tolonglah Mariam."
  "Insya-Allah," katanya tenang.
  Saya menelefon satu-satunya orang yang saya fikir boleh melakukan sesuatu, Anifah.
  "Datuk, jenazah Mariam sedang dibawa ke krematorium (tempat pembakaran mayat)."
  Anifah terkejut.
  "Nurbaiyah, saya ada surat yang difakskan semalam menyatakan Mariam
sudah dibakar semalam."
  "Tidak, dia akan dibakar hari ini, jam 2 petang waktu Malaysia."
  "Boleh awak periksa sekali lagi?"
  "Saya baru saja selesai menelefon orang hubungan saya di Korea."
  "Saya akan telefon awak nanti."
  Sepuluh minit kemudian Anifah menelefon saya semula.
  "Awak betul Nurbaiyah. Jenazah Mariam akan dibakar hari ini jam 3 petang. Saya sudah arahkan pegawai saya halang pembakaran itu."
  "Adakah kita akan membawa jenazahnya pulang?"
  "Ya... kami sedang bekerjasama dengan Kedutaan Korea untuk menyediakan semua keperluan dokumen untuk membawanya pulang."
  Tetapi debaran saya masih belum berakhir. Park masih di hospital, apa saja mungkin boleh berlaku.
  Jam 1.05 tengah hari, saya menerima panggilan dari Park dan beliau menyatakan sudah dihubungi supaya menghantar semula jenazah Mariam ke hospital untuk persediaan menghantar pulang ke Malaysia.
  "Inilah keajaiban, Siti," katanya. Tentunya segala keajaiban yang berlaku di ambang solat Jumaat (11 September) itu rahmat Allah dan tanda kebesaran dan keagungannya. Tatkala itu terlerailah segala rasa. Nazura mengusap belakang saya sambil menghulurkan kotak tisu kepada saya yang kehilangan kata-kata.
  Pada Isnin (14 September), Park memberitahu maklumat penerbangan, tetapi anehnya menurut Ibrahim, teman sekerjanya mendapat maklumat yang sama sekali berbeza daripada pejabat kedutaan di Seoul.
  Rudy Fazrunisyam Samarudin, wartawan Harian Metro di Johor Bahru diberitahu sehingga jam 2 petang waktu tempatan, belum mendapat syarikat penerbangan untuk menghantar jenazah itu, sedangkan Park memaklumkan kepada saya dengan terperinci pada jam 11 pagi lagi.
  Kata Park, urusan pembayaran kos juga sudah dibuat oleh agensi kerajaan di Malaysia.
  Rupa-rupanya, MAIJ yang membiayai kos penerbangan.
  Jenazah Mariam diterbangkan dari Seoul pada Selasa dan tiba pada hari berikutnya di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA), semua agensi kerajaan memberikan kerjasama yang cukup baik sehinggakan urusan berjalan lancar sekali tidak sampai sejam jenazah Mariam sudah berada di lebuh raya dalam perjalanan ke Kota Tinggi.
  Saya sempat melihat jenazah selepas selesai dimandikan oleh petugas di rumah mayat Hospital Kota Tinggi, anak sulung Mariam, Ramlah Sonni 74, dan isteri jelani, Suriah Anwar, 54. Wajah Mariam jernih, dahinya dingin ketika dikucup, matanya terpejam rapat.
  Jenazah beliau diiringi polis, anggota Rela dan bomba, persis pengebumian orang kenamaan.
  Kata Kadi Daerah Kota Tinggi, Taufik Shamsuddin, Mariam dimandi, dikafan, disembahyang dan disemadikan oleh orang yang berpuasa.
  "Bukan calang-calang orang yang diberi rezeki seperti ini." Subhanallah.

Berita Minggu, Oktober 4, 2009

The finest days of an artist

WHAT'S our 10th National Laureate like? SITI NURBAIYAH NADZMI finds him humble, open-minded and forward-looking.

  DATUK Dr Mohd Anuar Rethwan is not easily ruffled.
  A few days after he was announced the 10th National Laureate, some quarters heavily criticised the award committee, chaired by deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. They claimed there were many other prolific writers more deserving of the coveted award.
  Calm and collected, Anuar, whose pen name is Anwar Ridhwan, was reported as saying, "I may not write as much as some, but perhaps the committee weighed the quality of my writings."
  The award, announced earlier this month, was a pleasant birthday surprise for Anwar who was born on Aug 5, 1949 in Sungai Besar, Selangor.
  For the past 40 years Anwar has slaved over his favourite genres - the short story and poetry. Hailed as one of the nation's master short story writers, he delves into the theme of modernity and has always been critical of changing lifestyles and values.
  His first writings, largely poetry and essays, were published in 1970 when he was a Malay Studies undergraduate at University Malaya.
Immediately after graduation he was hired as temporary staff at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) for three months, after which he was employed as a literature research officer.
  Anwar remained with the institution until he retired in 2005 as publishing director. He completed his doctorate in 1998 with University Malaya while at the same time serving as a resident professor of Foreign Languages at Tokyo University (1997 to 2000).
  Tokyo endowed him with time, space and a whole new perspective - all of which greatly influenced his style of writing.
  Malaysia's political and economic upheaval in 1998 drove him to handwrite Naratif Ogonshoto, a magical tale of a fictitious kingdom torn by economic and political greed.
  Each of the 10 chapters is intricately crafted as a separate short story but they are tied together, with a prologue and epilogue, as a novel. One of the chapters, Hering, was first published in Dewan Sastera August 2000 and the novel hit the shelves a year later.
  National Writers Association (Pena) secretary general Syed Mohd Zakir Syed Omar was reportedly not surprised by the award as Anwar had been on the committee's list of nominations for several years.
  Syed Mohd Zakir described Naratif Ogonshoto as a philosophical political critique in a highly refined style:
  "It is a significant departure compared to other national laureates such as Professor Shahnon Ahmad's direct critique or Datuk A. Samad Said's symbolism."
  Anwar's first novel, Hari Hari Terakhir Seorang Seniman (The Last Days of An Artist), depicted a storyteller's nomadic life of telling ancient tales, from one village to another, just before World War 2. His art was threatened by the war, the changing lifestyle and the introduction of radio.
  The novel won the Sabah Foundation - Gapena Award in 1979 and was translated into English, Japanese and French. It was adapted into a play by Datuk Johan Jaaffar and staged 14 times in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu and Singapore.
  Anwar's second novel, Arus (Current) focussed on a massive bank scandal and the issue of Malay Muslims calling each other infidels because they had different political ideals. That was the era of the RM2.5 billion BMF scandal and the Memali incident in Kedah.
  The novel jointly won the Malaysia Literary award 1984/85 with National Laureate Datuk A. Samad Said's Daerah Zeni.
  Anwar won the same award again in 1992/93 for his play Yang Menjelma dan Yang Menghilang.
  His magnum opus, Naratif Ogonshoto, won the Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2002, the Brunei Mastera Literary Award and the South East Asian Write Award, a prestigious literary honour presented annually to poets and writers in this region.
  Anwar, however, does not feel that the National Laureate title or the shower of attention will change his life much.
  "There's still much to be done," said the dean of the Writing Faculty at the National Arts Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara). For instance, preparing young writers for the future.
  Malay is the fourth largest language group in the world, but Anwar worries about whether Malay literature is prepared for that. Ideally, it should offer a bigger market share for Malay works, with more genres, and drive the publishing industry.
  "If we do not grab this opportunity now, to improve and expand the usage and literary work, we will kill the language," declared the National Laureate.
  Soft-spoken and deliberate, Anwar is critical on the issue of Mathematics and Science taught in English: "The reversal of the policy is a second chance for the language to survive and become an important academic medium. We should not fail this."
  The survival of the language rests on all of us, he says, and everyone should play their role: writers, editors, publishers, industry, policy makers and speakers of the Malay language.
  "It is a healthy trend to publish popular fiction," said Anwar when asked about the flood of romantic Malay novels in the bookstores.
  "Because down the road the writers will want to write something more
challenging, and the readers will develop their individual preferences."
  Popular fiction will move the market and generate reading habits. "Eventually the market will offer what the reader wants and more genres
will be available in the bookstores."
  Anwar lauded the marketing drive of new publishing houses compared to more established publishers, noting that they were more aggressive in their marketing and promotional strategies after research to understand the market.
  "They have come up with a wide range of topics, from cookbooks to motivational, and targeted age groups, like young children, teenagers and young adult and adults. Even the cover designs are tailored to appeal to the specified markets."
  As long as the reading habit is nurtured, there will always be a demand for books - cutting across ethnicity and geo-political borders.
  To be accepted at the international level, non-native speakers should also write in Bahasa Malaysia, Anwar stressed. He hopes writers from other nations will read and write about the language: "Their opinions and viewpoints are important to the growth and survival of the language. Malay literature does not belong to the Malays alone."
  Anwar may be stating the obvious but strangely the general perception, especially among book retailers, is that Malay books are only read and written by Malays.
  "It is a distorted perception," argued Anwar, noting that in the Eighties and Nineties, DBP had a dedicated committee to nurture and develop the writing talents of non-Malay writers.
  Today, with or without the help of that committee, the nation has many prolific non-Malay writers such as Lim Swee Tin and Jong Chian Lai who are SEA Write Award winners, Uthaya Sankar, Saroja Theavy Balakrishnan and Soo Cham, he pointed out:
  "I believe in 10 years' time, one of them will be named Sasterawan Negara."
 
* The National Laureate ceremony, with the award presented by the Agong, will be held on Oct 20.

New Straits Times,  September 30, 2009

Kedutaan kita di Seoul main tarik tali

PADA Selasa, jam 3.30 petang, Park menelefon saya, katanya upacara pembakaran mayat yang sepatutnya dijalankan jam 11 pagi tadi tergendala apabila pegawai pejabat Kedutaan Malaysia di Seoul memaklumkan jenazah Mariam akan dibawa pulang ke Malaysia.
  "Tetapi mereka tidak tetapkan masa dan kami tak tahu sama ada ia berjaya atau tidak dan mayat Mariam masih di gereja," kata Park mengenai kekaburan situasi keluarga yang tidak tahu kedudukan sebenar jenazah Mariam.
  Park mendraf surat yang menyatakan bahawa Ji membenarkan jenazah Mariam dibawa pulang ke Malaysia untuk dituntut Jelani. Surat itu ditandatangani Ji dan diserahkan dengan tangan ke pejabat kedutaan pada jam 1.30 tengah hari waktu tempatan.
  Park meminta saya bersimpati dengan kedua-dua keluarga Mariam di Seoul dan Kota Tinggi untuk mengesahkan apa yang telah berlaku.
  Saya mendapat tahu Kohilan (Timbalan Menteri Luar, Senator A Kohilan Pillay) memaklumkan bahawa Wisma Putra tiada kuasa untuk membawa pulang Mariam kerana arwah sudah melucutkan kewarganegaraannya pada akhir 2007 dan permohonannya diluluskan pada awal tahun lalu.
  Bingung saya dibuatnya. Bagaimana mungkin Mariam melepaskan pasportnya pada tahun sama beliau mendapatnya dan selepas menunggu selama 64 tahun? Siapakah yang meracuni fikiran nenek itu untuk melepaskan hak kerakyatannya? Jika benar, mengapakah beliau masih ingin pulang ke tanah ini tiga bulan lalu?
  Park menelefon saya lagi pada pagi Rabu, kali ini suaranya lebih ceria. Sister Seraphina, seorang biarawati yang bertanggungjawab memperkenalkan Park pada Mariam dan menjaga Mariam sebelum dia dipindahkan ke rumah warga tua, menghubungi seorang profesor di Suwon University yang pakar dalam menguruskan jenazah ke luar negara.
  Park meminta saya menghubungi Jelani sekiranya mereka bersedia menuntut jenazah Mariam.
  "Kami sedia membatalkan perkhidmatan pengebumian (bakar mayat) pada Jumaat, jam 3 petang," katanya berharap supaya upacara pembakaran mayat kali kedua itu tidak menjadi kenyataan.
  Petang itu harapan untuk Mariam kembali ke tanah air menjadi semakin cerah, tetapi sekali lagi Wisma Putra bermain tarik tali dengan keluarga Mariam.
  Pagi Khamis, 36 jam sebelum upacara pembakaran, saya menelefon Park untuk bertanyakan perkembangan dan terkejut apabila diberitahu pejabat kedutaan menolak mentah-mentah permintaan untuk menghantar Mariam pulang, walaupun kali ini Mariam akan pulang sebagai rakyat Korea, dibiayai oleh dermawan Korea dan diuruskan oleh Kerajaan Korea. Apa lagi yang tak kena? Fikir saya.
  Jelani yang semakin buntu tidak berdaya untuk berniaga hari itu kerana amat runsing.
  "Saya tak taulah Baiyah. Tak tau nak fikir apa lagi. Balik ke tidak mak saya ni?" katanya dengan suara perlahan dan tersekat-sekat. Saya tidak sampai hati untuk memberitahunya betapa genting keadaan ketika itu.
  Pada hari sama seorang teman sekerja menelefon saya dan menasihati supaya tidak berputus harap. Beliau berbisik "Telefon Maij."
  Belum sempat saya berbuat demikian, saya dihubungi seorang ustaz daripada Majlis Agama Islam Johor (Maij), yang bertanya dengan panjang lebar mengenai upacara pembakaran mayat Mariam. Akhir sekali beliau bertanya kepada saya status agama Mariam.
  "Bagi saya beliau seorang Islam," kata saya, lalu menerangkan saya pernah mendengar Mariam membaca Al-Fatihah dan mengucap, walaupun pelat, tetapi penuh yakin ketika menemuinya di Seoul dua tahun lalu.
  Memang benar Mariam bernikah dengan Cho See Won, lelaki yang membawanya ke Hampyoeung selepas Perang Dunia Kedua dan dibaptiskan dalam gereja Roman Katolik, tetapi itulah hakikat masyarakat Korea pada zaman 40-an.
Mariam tidak punya pilihan, dalam pada itu beliau menegaskan kepada saya tidak pernah makan daging anjing atau babi seperti diamalkan keluarga Cho dan masyarakat di situ.
  Sepanjang pertemuan saya dengan Mariam dua tahun lalu, beliau tidak pernah memakai salib atau mengaku menganut agama itu. Panjang lebar penjelasan saya dan ustaz berkenaan mendengar dengan teliti.
  "Kalau kita nak ikutkan amalan, berapa sangat yang layak dikebumikan cara Islam."
  Tidak lama kemudian saya dihubungi seorang pegawai Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) yang turut mahu mendengar penjelasan saya mengenai Mariam (beliau meminta saya tidak menyebut namanya). Selepas itu Kadi Kota Tinggi, Taufik Shamsuddin pula menelefon untuk mendapat penjelasan sama.
  Ketiga-tiga sumber saya ini tidak saya kenali sebelum ini dan daripada perbualan telefon dengan mereka petang Khamis itu, jelaslah Jakim dan Maij tidak meragui status agama Mariam dan secara senyap-senyap berusaha membawa pulang Mariam.
  Selepas berbuka puasa, saya menerima e-mel menyayat hati daripada Park. Katanya, dia sudah berada di hujung segala usaha kerana pejabat Kedutaan Malaysia enggan bekerjasama dan profesor itu tidak akan mengawet jenazah Mariam kerana bimbangkan implikasi negatif hubungan antara dua negara.
  Park berharap sepenuhnya pada saya untuk memujuk Kerajaan Malaysia untuk membawa Mariam pulang: "Tolonglah, tunjukkan saya keajaiban (boleh membawa mayat Mariam pulang. "
  Apakah Park sudah hilang akal? Saya bukan nabi yang dikurniakan mukjizat untuk mencipta keajaiban. Yang mampu saya lakukan ketika itu hanyalah menyebut nama Allah untuk memberi saya jalan dan ilham tindakan selanjutnya.
  Saya mendapatkan wartawan Berita Harian, Nazura Ngah untuk bertanya perkembangan pada hari itu. Katanya, Kohilan berkata, tiada masalah untuk Mariam pulang. Mengapa bercanggah sekali kenyataan ini? Tidak dapat tidak, saya nekad menelefon Menteri Luar, Datuk Anifah Aman pada jam sudah 10.30 malam, hanya tinggal 17 jam lagi sebelum mayat dibakar.
  Selama setengah jam Anifah menjelaskan kepada saya prosedur penghantaran yang rumit dengan urusan surat-menyurat dan dokumen. Saya mendengar dan sesekali bertanya balas, misi saya cuma satu untuk meminta Anifah berlembut hati supaya memudahkan urusan Mariam.
  "Bukan saya tidak berhati perut, saya juga orang Islam, tetapi surat-surat ini penting. Kita tidak boleh emosi. Tanpa surat pelepasan daripada keluarga di Seoul kita boleh dituduh menculik jenazah Mariam. Dah tentu ini akan memberi impak kepada hubungan Malaysia dan Korea Selatan."
  Tiba-tiba dia bertanya: "Apa kaitan awak dengan keluarga Mariam?"
  "Saya wartawan, ini tugasan saya."
  Anifah memberi jaminan untuk membantu membawa pulang Mariam dengan syarat saya perlu mendapatkan surat tuntutan daripada waris di Kota Tinggi dan surat pelepasan daripada waris Mariam di Seoul dan die-melkan kepada Timbalan Ketua Setiausaha, Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Rahman pada malam itu juga.
  Sambungan minggu lalu.

Berita Minggu, September 27, 2009

`Kepulangan' Mariam ke tanah air penuh rintangan

PADA petang 6 September 2009 yang gerimis, jam 5 petang, saya menerima panggilan telefon daripada Jamil Onn, Pasir Gudang Johor Baru yang tenang menyampaikan berita, neneknya Mariam Johari sudah menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya di Seoul.
  Saya lantas menghubungi Ibrahim Isa, wartawan Harian Metro yang turut sama menjejak Mariam dan keluarganya dua tahun lalu di Kota Tinggi dan Plentong. Beliau sudah maklum perkara itu dan kami berbincang tindakan selanjutnya.
  Saya juga menelefon wartawan kanan Berita Harian, Khirul Bahri Basaruddin, yang terbabit secara langsung ketika Ibrahim, saya dan Azida Shaharuddin (wartawan Berita Harian) membuat liputan Mariam hingga ke Seoul dua tahun lalu, dan seterusnya saya memaklumkan meja berita New Straits Times di Kuala Lumpur untuk tujuan liputan.
  Panggilan terakhir petang itu ialah kepada Sheridan Mahavera, bekas ketua biro Johor Bahru ketika saya membuat liputan Mariam dua tahun lalu sebelum kami bertukar ke ibu pejabat di Kuala Lumpur pada tahun lalu.
  Beliau mengetahui perbualan saya dengan Jelani Sonni, anak lelaki Mariam tiga bulan lalu mengenai niat ibunya yang ingin pulang ke Malaysia untuk selama-lamanya.
  Tiada sesiapapun yang dapat meneka apakah yang berlingkar di benak Mariam ketika kakinya melangkah keluar dari bendul tangga selepas mengucup anak bongsunya Jamnah Sonni sambil berulang kali menjanjikannya biskut enak dari Korea untuk anaknya itu. Janjinya pada anak montel itu pemergiannya hanya tiga bulan dan dia akan pulang semula ke Malaysia.
  Dia hanya pulang 64 tahun selepas itu bagi memenuhi janjinya pada Jamnah membawa biskut enak dari Korea ke Kampung Seluyut.
  Kepulangan Mariam, 86, menjenguk anaknya ke Kota Tinggi pada September 2007, hanya untuk 10 hari dan beliau kembali ke Seoul sehari sebelum Ramadan. Pemandu bas, Ji Yong Un walaupun anak tiri, tetapi itulah anak yang dibelanya sejak kecil, dan kini anak itu jugalah menanggung segala makan minumnya.
  Hujung Mei lalu, Mariam jatuh sakit lalu menelefon Jelani di Kota Tinggi dan mereka berbual melalui seorang jurubahasa. Mariam menyatakan permintaannya untuk pulang ke tanah kelahirannya untuk selama-lamanya.
Beliau ingin dikuburkan di kampung anaknya.
  Jelani terpempan, soalnya bagaimana? Beliau hanya penjaja kuih, tetapi ibunya mesti dibawa pulang. Biar apapun tohmahan bakal dilontar padanya beliau akan mencari jalan, maka beliau berjanji pada ibu untuk membawanya pulang.
  Pada jam 10.30 malam, 6 September, saya menerima panggilan daripada Seo Kyu Won, pegawai kedutaan Korea di Kuala Lumpur, orang pertama berhubungan dengan saya mengenai Mariam dua tahun lalu. Katanya, Mariam mati dalam keadaan tenang di hospital ditemani orang yang dikasihinya anak tirinya Ji Yong Un dan penerbit dokumentari Korean Broadcasting System, Park Keon Young selain Mariam meninggalkan wasiat mahu ditanam sebagai seorang Kristian.
  Saya hanya mendengar, menerima tidak, menolak pun tidak. Beliau meminta saya menelefon Park jika ingin mengetahui lebih mendalam perkara itu.
Saya menggagahkan diri untuk menelefon Park dan beliau menjawab panggilan saya walaupun pada ketika itu sudah jam 11 malam dan tengah malam waktu Seoul.
  Dalam pelat Korea dan bahasa pasar Inggerisnya, Park memberitahu mayat Mariam akan dibakar pada pagi Selasa (8 September), walaupun sebenarnya Mariam meminta untuk dikebumikan sama ada di Seoul atau di Malaysia.
  Perbualan kami ringkas dan melalui Park saya mendapati percanggahan maklumat iaitu pertama, Mariam mati bersendirian di sebuah rumah orang tua, kedua, Mariam yang buta huruf itu tidak meninggalkan apa-apa wasiat bertulis yang sah di sisi undang-undang.
  Menyirap darah saya membaca kepala tajuk muka depan Berita Harian keesokan harinya yang menyebut wasiat Mariam yang mahu ditanam sebagai Kristian dan disokong melalui kenyataan Timbalan Menteri Luar, Senator A Kohilan Pillay kewujudan wasiat itu.
  Bukan saya seorang saja yang berasa demikian, malah Ibrahim dan Azida yang menulis berita itu sendiri tidak puas hati. Walaupun kami bertiga berada di lokasi yang berbeza masing-masing berasakan ada sesuatu yang tidak kena dengan isu wasiat ini.
  Azida yang bertugas di biro Johor Bahru berasa ada masalah lain yang lebih utama untuk diselesaikan menemui Jelani di bazar Ramadan Taman Kota Jaya untuk bertanya apakah yang beliau inginkan pada saat itu.
  Jelani dengan suara yang tersekat-sekat memberitahu Azida meminta jenazah ibunya tidak dibakar dan dihantar pulang dengan segera dan di bazar Ramadan itu jugalah Azida menelefon Wisma Putra bertanya prosedur membawa pulang jenazah Mariam.
  Dua perkara diminta Wisma Putra ialah kos penghantaran yang harus dibiayai keluarga sebanyak RM11,000 dan surat rasmi berdaftar tuntutan waris. Umpama meminta bulan dan bintang, mustahil surat dan wang dapat dicari dalam masa sejam dua, sedangkan jenazah Mariam akan dibakar esok paginya.
  Azida merayu Wisma Putra untuk menerima surat yang difakskan. Dalam kesibukan di bazar, anak perempuan Jelani bergegas membeli kertas A4 dan Azida membantu Jelani menderaf surat rasmi, lalu ditandatangani Jelani dalam tulisan jawi. Azida bergegas menumpang sebuah pejabat berdekatan untuk menghantar surat itu melalui mesin faks.
  Pada masa sama, beliau menghubungi seorang selebriti yang berjanji untuk membantu keluarga Mariam dalam urusan membawa pulang jenazah, (atas permintaan selebriti yang tidak mahu dikenali, saya menggunakan nama samaran Kat).
  Ketika itu sudah jam 4 petang, Kat bergegas mengeluarkan wang dari ATM dan bergegas dari Shah Alam ke pejabat Wisma Putra di Putra Jaya.
Sesampainya di sana pegawai itu kurang pasti apa yang harus dilakukan dengan wang tunai RM11,000 itu. Penolong Setiausaha Bahagian Konsular, Nor Azwa Azreen Abdul Aziz kemudian menyuruh Kat supaya pulang saja dan datang lagi bila diminta.
  Kata Kat kepada saya, beliau terpinga-pinga dengan sikap selamba pegawai Wisma Putra.
  Pada Selasa, jam 3.30 petang Park menelefon saya, katanya upacara pembakaran mayat yang sepatutnya dijalankan jam 11 pagi tadi tergendala apabila pegawai pejabat Kedutaan Malaysia di Seoul memaklumkan jenazah Mariam akan dibawa pulang ke Malaysia.
  Bersambung minggu depan.

Berita Minggu, September 20, 2009

Redefining Merdeka

MERDEKA Awards short plays at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Stor Teater went outside the box, concludes SITI NURBAIYAH NADZMI - who watched all 16 of them.

THE Kamus Dewan Bahasa defines "Merdeka" as being free of foreign occupation, independent to be self-ruled or managed, free from being caged or imprisoned, and being able to do as one likes.
  That meaning has been challenged by the dictionary's very own publisher, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), an organisation revered as the authority and steward of Bahasa Malaysia - through its recent project, the Merdeka Award Short Plays 2009.
  Sixteen short plays were staged to explore the meaning of Merdeka and the result was nothing short of explosive.
  DBP and joint organiser Merdeka Award Secretariat had selected a delectable array of surrealism, realism and magical realism plays for the audience. With a venue like Stor Teater DBP, a "black box" with a capacity of only 100, an intimate and immediate stage-audience rapport was created, producing an exhilarating vibe.
  The 15-minute short plays, penned, directed and headlined by an impressive list of stalwarts and newcomers, undoubtedly redefined the conventional register of Merdeka.
  Over three nights, from Aug 17, the hall was packed with theatre buffs drawn together by word of mouth.
  Ladin Nuawi, as the exiled Sultan Mahmud Shah in his Selendang Tun Fatimah Sundang Melaka, shed tears of regret after the Portuguese took over his Malacca kingdom.
  While sharpening his keris in a vain effort to win Malacca back, the Sultan openly admitted that he had first "colonised" the rakyat through his corrupt court.
  His statement certainly reversed the concept of being colonised by foreign powers. A corrupt system is equally oppressive.
  In Reyok, Nafas Bangsaku, Rahimah Muda from Kesuma-i of Johor Baru, ingrained modernity within the ancient dance form of kuda kepang and barongan, exploring the concept of being free consciously or reined unconsciously by outside powers, just like a kuda kepang dancer going into a trance but held fast by the invisible rein of the bomoh's whip.
  In Maafkan Aku, by Iryanda Mulya of Stefani, five youths marched to Nordin Selat's song, Anak Kecil Main Api.
  It was disturbing to listen to the lyrics "bumi dipijak milik orang" (the land that I step on is owned by others), sung apologetically by youths who felt indifferent about Merdeka.
  The same sentiment was echoed in Sehelai Surat Berkisah: a youth received a letter but did not understand its content and therefore, refused to accept it.
  The play significantly contrasted the different viewpoints of two generations, those who had fought for Merdeka and those who lived it - the Merdeka generation.
  It questioned if the younger generation was receptive to the burden of Merdeka struggles.
  In Satu, Mazlan Tahir, Mardiana Ismail and Engku Nur Zalifah took a critical look at the Satu Malaysia concept. Between them, they dissected the fundamentals of 1Malaysia, including integrity, ethnicity and productivity. The segments were seamlessly put together as the characters wove in and out of various roles.
  The same technique was applied in Merdekakah Kita?, written and directed by Azrul Azizi Amirul of Abad, played by newcomers Mohd Rosland Radzi, Mohd Harfiqi Arshad and Khairol Azhar Abdul Jalil.
  The play explored the popular meaning of celebrating Merdeka, from attending rock concerts to taking part in illegal races, dangdut karaoke and clubbing with alcohol or Ecstasy pills, intermittently spoofing the by-election campaigns, the misplaced adulation of communism, and the Japanese capital punishment of "potong kapara" (decapitation) - all at blinding speed. Laugh too long and you'll miss the next punchline!
  Mat Arshad Mati Dibunuh was an interesting jab at intrigues. Although
set around the time of the killing of James W.W. Birch in 1875, it was not about the death of Perak's first British resident. Instead, it dwelled on the obscure character of Mat Arshad.
  Mat Arshad was a kain pelikat-clad man posting tax notices in the middle of the night. He was an odd-jobs man (maybe even foreign, judging from the heavy Indonesian accent) paid by the political parties to put up posters during the by-elections.
  He died too, but the audience doesn't know who the real Mat Arshad was.
Was he a spin doctor? Apparently, he lived through history, Merdeka and all.
  Award-winning film director Mamat Khalid, known for the zaniest features such as Zombi Kampung Pisang, Kala Bulan Mengambang and Rock, made an impressive debut in Merdeka Apa? (Free of What?)
  As the title bluntly asked, is the nation actually free, and if it is, free of what? It opened with Vanida Imran and Khir Abdul Rahman, a Malaccan warrior who is about to go to war for his kingdom and his wife who questions his purpose. Is he doing it for glory or patriotism? An actor seated in the audience, to everyone's surprise, rudely interrupted their dialogue.
  The man in the audience, played by first-time stage actor Pekin, criticised the warrior for being too melodramatic and overzealous in his quest for glory when there would be none.
  The contemporary man squashed the warrior's soaring spirit by pointing out that his primitive javelin is no match against De Sequeira's cannons and guns.
  "How do you know all this?" asked the warrior. The contemporary man's sullen reply was, "From the history textbook."
  The warrior frantically asked if his name or that of any other warrior who fought for Malacca was mentioned in the history books.
  The contemporary man shook his head. Obviously, Mamat took a stab at the poor representation of the nation's history in our school's syllabus.
  Ironies were abundant, but one lingered long after the curtain call for Lampu Suluh Jam Dinding, penned, directed and played by both Wan Azli Wan Jusoh and Hushairi Husain.
  It was too simple at first, but the subliminal irony bugged one's consciousness. It was about two brothers locked up as thieves who, while in jail on the eve of Aug 31, tried to peddle the two items they inherited from their father, a torchlight and a wall clock.
  One tells of existence; another marks the passing hours. "Would you buy existence and time, dear free citizens?" the two convicts asked. The audience had difficulty laughing at the act. Was it supposed to have been comical?
  The Merdeka Award Secretariat plans to develop the three most outstanding plays into longer plays. It would be interesting to see which will get the grant, considering that the plays were written for a specific stage such as the Stor Teater and a more elaborate play would be more suited for a different hall.
  The festival has significantly raised the standard of the short play as a mainstream genre in the performing arts. Perhaps next year, the organiser will consider introducing street theatre to the mix.

New Straits Time, August 26, 2009

When art mirrors reality's harsh truth

TO have two plays by the national laureate staged within a month, in these days of high-profile theatrical extravaganzas, is a rare treat.
  Intan Yang Tercanai, staged at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka recently, received the experimental-theatre approach, with minimal props in a multipurpose hall, while Mana Setangginya, with a budget of nearly a million ringgit, was staged at the proscenium theatre of Istana Budaya.
  It is almost impossible to translate these titles by national laureate Datuk Noordin Hassan, now 80. "Intan" means an uncut diamond, while "yang tercanai" means cut and polished. Yet, "diamond" in Malay is "berlian".
  "Setanggi", meanwhile, can refer to an aromatic wood or resin, but does the word "mana" preceding it translate the phrase to "where's the resin"? Not quite, I think.
  A more liberal translation might opt for "frankincense", but that would be "kemenyan" in Malay, which shares neither the connotation nor the sweet scent of setanggi.
  In both plays, Noordin departs from bangsawan elements and abandons subtlety when delivering his subtexts. He has instead reached for the brute rotan for his swashbuckling ideas on piety and deliverance. Would anyone else dare compare the haj pilgrimage with carrying a kavadi, or blatantly to ask of those performing the haj whether they're doing it for the promise of paradise in the afterlife?
  That was Intan, Noordin's latest play: only eight written pages, filled with poignant soliloquies about a girl gone missing in a haj stampede tragedy.
  The provocation is verisimilitude in the more folklorish Setanggi, a play commissioned to open Istana Budaya 10 years ago but retracted after Noordin refused to make changes to it in accordance with the political volatility of the time.
  Never before in Malay theatre has a prime minister been depicted marrying a catamite in leather pants, a "Minister of Reproduction" marrying three underage girls, and a chief priest marrying a belly dancer.  
  And Noordin goes even further by breaking more taboos, such as having a
roasted pig and drunken palace guards paraded on stage.
  Exhumed on the very stage where it had first been buried, Setanggi seeks to capture the political and economic climate in 1998-1999. 
  While both plays received rave reviews, some critics accused Noordin of deviating from his theory of "teater fitrah", a six-point list of fundamentals, which among others calls for all forms of theatre to revert to the origins of the Creator, i.e., fitrah.
  The two plays are uncannily sequential. Even though Intan was written 10 years after Setanggi and at least two other staged plays, they are linked by the Sodom-and-Gomorrah theme.
  Both plays draw deeply from the ancient tales of the two kingdoms mentioned in Torah: their greed, politics, prosperity and humanity.
  Of course, in the end, the protagonists of Intan (a man looking for his lost love) and Setanggi (a girl whose nation is devoured by a giant eel) return to their Creator.
  The plays may be in Bahasa Malaysia, but their themes are universal. Setanggi, for instance, is neither about the Malay community nor Islam as perceived by tradition.
  In Intan, Islam does not belong to the Malays - this may sound obvious but is sometimes not so in practice.
  Intan's director, A. Wahab Hamzah, said he had many visits from "religious officers" on various scenes of the play, especially the kavadi procession in which a non-Muslim character utters "astaghfirullah" and "subhanallah".
  "I can't and won't change the script," Wahab insists. "Intan Yang Tercanai was published a year ago. Why didn't anyone protest then?"
  While it is easy to be dazzled by the floating fairies sprinkling stardust in Setanggi, or get goosebumps as the red satin covers the bodies of pilgrims after the stampede in Intan, it is far more challenging to accept the harsher truth of societal decadence, here or anywhere else.
  How do we pray? To what rewards?
  How do we govern? To what appraisal?
  How do we forgive? Against whom have we sinned?
  Do we believe in God?
  According to Rukun Negara, yes, we must.

New Straits Times, July 21, 2009