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

Peace-seeking OIC can play bigger world role

RECENTLY in Kuala Lumpur to receive an award from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu talks to SITI NURBAIYAH NADZMI on the organisation's agenda for positive change.

  PEACE sits high on the priority list of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and Kuala Lumpur is expected to play a pivotal role in pushing that agenda.
  Last month, at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Damascus, council members proposed that the OIC should be given more power to resolve conflicts in Muslim countries.
  OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu notes that such a proposal is being outlined for the first time in the history of the OIC, which commemorates its 40th anniversary this year, and it is a significant move to heighten the role of the OIC in conflict resolution and peacekeeping.
  Ihsanoglu says the proposals and suggestions from all 57 OIC member countries will be compiled and tabled in May next year. "We want Malaysia to give us more political, financial and professional support," he said after being conferred the Panglima Setia Mahkota, which carries the title "Tan Sri", on Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin's birthday last Saturday.
  Ihsanoglu is the first foreign secretary-general to receive such an award from Malaysian royalty.
  Being the second-largest organisation after the United Nations, the OIC has tabled peace as its main objective, and has been engaged for the last few years in seeking solutions conducive to the establishment of peace in Muslim countries.
  The ceasefire in Lebanon in 2006 was one example of Malaysia's important role in the OIC, says Ihsanoglu.
  The OIC had held an emergency meeting, chaired by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to condemn the Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon and urge a ceasefire, which was followed by the deployment of UN-led peacekeeping troops there.
  "Malaysia was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the new charter of the OIC at the Putrajaya 2003 OIC summit, and they were very determined to see the reform take place," Ihsanoglu recalls.
  Peacekeeping and conflict resolution may have taken another step forward with United States President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo last week, which raised prospects of issue resolution in Iraq, Iran and Palestine.
  Ihsanoglu says the two critical issues needing immediate attention are Palestine and Afghanistan. "We hope also the US will be actively involved in political matters, particularly in the acute Palestinian dilemma and the plight of the Palestinian people."
  Resolving the Palestine issue, he believes, will require the return of the rights of Palestinian refugees and a reversion to the territories' 1967 borders.
  The increasingly critical situation in Afghanistan, meanwhile, requires a new policy to deal with problems, "in particular the killing of civilians, a disturbing element we really don't want to see".
  Ihsanoglu, who was present at Cairo University for Obama's address to the Muslim world, said the "well-written and well-delivered" speech was an initiative in bridging the gap between Muslim nations and the US.
  The speech, he says, touches on some of the points he had raised in an
open letter to Obama, published in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune on Jan 20.
  "I had said we wanted to have a new partnership with the US, built on two principles. First, mutual respect; second, mutual interest. If we build the partnership on these two bases, I think the relationship will be balanced and serve the interests of both sides.
  "And it will, of course, improve the image that was damaged in the last decade. The new element (Obama) is looking for is partnership, and we are ready to cooperate on this basis."
  Ihsanoglu says Obama's speech was a round-up of what he had pledged in his presidential campaign, on inauguration day and in his speeches in Ankara and Istanbul.
  "These ideas were already known but he has put them all in an excellent framework, to a good impression. It was well received by the audience at Cairo University.
  "But what matters is that we want these ideas to be materialised. He referred to the cooperation of the US administration and the OIC, and he has announced a programme of fighting polio. That shows the intention of solving problems in health, science and technology and other related issues."
  On human rights, Ihsanoglu says, the OIC has established an Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission to promote human rights in member countries.
  Its first meeting was held last month at OIC headquarters in Jeddah, outlining among others the objectives, recommendations and responsibilities entrusted to the commission.
  "Often we are criticised that we do not respect the universal understanding of human rights and have lagged behind the countries that observe and respect it. We don't want people to suffer from the lack of human rights."
  The commission should pave the way to intellectual and political reforms across the OIC member countries, deepening values of tolerance, fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, accountability and openness, while shunning bigotry and extremism as contrary to Islamic values.
  The OIC has also included scientific and technological advancement as a priority of its agenda. One of the immediate efforts is to rank the best 20 universities in the OIC member countries and promote them to the rest of the world.

New Straits Times, June 8, 2009

Harumanis to tantalise Japan

THE Harumanis mango may not be easy on the eyes but it has won the taste buds of the Japanese and the fruit is expected to be exported in large quantities to the country, writes SITI NURBAIYAH NADZMI.


  The Harumanis mango does not have the tantalising looks of its peers. Thailand's prized export Nam Dok Mai or waterlily has translucent golden skin and the elegant shape of a lotus petal; India's Alphonso has a plump top and curved nose with a blush of pink over yellow; Mexico's Tommy Atkin ripens to nectar red.
  At the fruit stalls, other local mango varieties, such as the common Sala with its deep green skin and long tapered shape, overshadow the pale green kidney-shaped Harumanis, often blemished with latex burns and dark spots due to poor handling during harvesting and fruit-wrapping.
  But the Harumanis' unrivalled flavour and aroma are wooing Japanese fresh fruit importers.
  Last week, representatives of the importers sampled Harumanis at Ladang Bukit Bintang at Sungai Batu Pahat in Perlis, and the mango connoisseurs gave the thumbs-up for aroma, flavour, texture and sweetness, which recorded a higher reading than other mango cultivars.
  Their verdict is significant: Harumanis will open the gates to the marketing of Malaysian fresh fruits in Japan next year.
  Japan's ambassador to Malaysia, Masahiko Horie, was besotted after his first taste of Harumanis and proposed a gourmet sushi of Perlis' creamy glutinous rice wrapped with thinly sliced Harumanis to be sold in Tokyo.
  Horie says the Harumanis has many plus points for the tropical fruit market in Japan, largely due to its superior aroma and flavour, succulent and non-fibrous flesh and sweetness. But consumers will have to be educated on the mature green fruit. "The general perception over there is that a ripe mango has to have yellow skin. Green means unripe and therefore not sweet."
  Horie stresses that the market is particular on the physical presentation of the fruit. "The skin must not be flawed by spots or latex burn. While it may be natural, the general perception is that the fruit has gone bad."
  Tropical fruit is a growing market in Japan. Total mango imports to Japan last year were 11,000 tonnes, with the largest exporter being Mexico, followed by Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan.
  Before Malaysia can join these players, Harumanis must first pass the stringent import protocols set by Japan; among other things eliminating fruit fly larvae by standard vapour heat treatment (VHT).
  "We are going for the premium quality," says Abdul Razak Shafiai, director of the
Perlis Agriculture Department. Otherwise it will not be cost-efficient. The entire production process has to be improved."
  Compared with other mango varieties, Harumanis is a temperamental fruit. It can only be cultivated in Perlis and Kubang Pasu, a northern district in Kedah, because it needs a four-month-long dry season of at least 40 degrees Celsius to flower and fruit. Rain, even drizzles, during this crucial period will spoil the yield.
  After the fruit is set, it needs to be wrapped in waterproof paper.
"The skin can't withstand rain, but if we use perforated plastic bags, the fruit will sweat and rot," says Razak.
  Precisely eight weeks after wrapping, the fruits must be manually harvested, washed to rinse off residues, treated in hot water for five minutes to eliminate fruit fly and seed weevil larvae, and then individually wrapped again before being placed in a ripening chamber for three days.
  It is a labour-intensive process and there are no shortcuts.
  With Japan showing strong interest in Harumanis, Perlis is hoping to increase its annual yield, which currently stands at 350 tonnes for local consumption.
  The bigger challenge, however, lies in persuading local farmers to apply good agricultural practices. "It is not easy to change the traditional ways," Razak says.
  Harumanis was introduced in 1985, with about 1,300ha cultivated under a special scheme. But after some years, many farmers switched to other commercial crops such as oil palm, rubber and padi.
  The Harumanis acreage dwindled to just 65ha tended by 69 farmers, while the State Agriculture Department has 45ha.
  One of the pioneers, Shahimi Shaari, 40, says his 22-year investment in Harumanis has been profitable even during the worst seasons. His 0.4ha orchard in Kampung Gial has 80 trees and should yield about 13 tonnes of mangoes this year.
  Shahimi admits that Harumanis is more demanding than other crops, but the returns are rewarding. "It does not need replanting and the yield improves with the trees' age," he says.
  "Because of its terminal fruiting nature (where the fruit forms at the ends of branches), we only have to prune the branches."
  During good seasons, one tree can bear up to 300 fruits. With the high demand for Harumanis, Shahimi says, there is never an oversupply.
  The prospect of producing premium quality mangoes for the export market is enticing, and Shahimi is ready to do the necessary for higher volume and value, with guidance from the State Agriculture Department.
  "I am proud that it is a fruit from Perlis that will be the first from this country to break into Japan," he says, "so I will do what it takes to produce export quality Harumanis."

New Straits Times, May 19, 2009