Interlock is a Novel by Abdullah Husain which was translated from the Malay version titled Interlok. I bought this novel couple of months back and kept it among my Historical Novel Collection at MyHome in the Kampung. I thought of reading the book a bit later, but since last couple of weeks there seem to be a controversial wrt making such book a Reading Text among our secondary school kids, thus despite heavy coughing and flu, last night I forced myself to read the book till dawn and continue after lunch before heading back to Kuching.
(2) The Novel in fact lingured among three families, a Malay, a Chinese and an Indian. The writer, I believe since he was born in 1920 in Yan, a poor district in the interior to a poor State of Kedah, what ever he wrote, I would say mostly of his true personal observations and experiences. One must remember, one can't write a good Novel, without one true experiences and observations.
(3) There was nothing that we could classified as damaging that he wrote. His writing was balanced. Both the bad and good characters were being equitably displayed. He even displayed the weaknesses of his own race, the Malay especially being easily used by others for their own immediate benefit,but in fact just by making a small gain, though later after they realised how ungainfull they were, yet they have no courage to stand for their right. His main critique was about how a Malay family being used by a Chinese to own local land, though not allowed by the law, through an 'indebt strategy', but the Malays continue to be coward to fight back despite there were some educated one among them.
(4) This same phenomena is still ramphant to this day. In my own place in Asajaya-Pendam, especially now with the craziness on Burung Walit Industry and Oil Palm farming, rental of land without proper Fair Legal Documents is mushrooming. The Iban in my Kampung, especially in the 1960-80s, lost lots of their land through this same 'in debt trick'.
(5) As for the Indian episode, and if one knows, Yan is a rubber growing areas. Definitely, in those colonial days, the people that being used (slaved) by the White Plantation Owners were the Indians, cheap Indian labors mostly from Karala, South of India where even our Dr. Mahathir may have his blood trail there. In fact what Abdullah Husain had described in his Novel about the characters of the Indian were just as what I observed when I studied in Jitra Kedah in 1976-79 especially in those Estates surrounding my School SMSAH in Jenan. Even when I studied in Kuala Krai, Kelantan in 1973-75, my School, which was also surrounded by Plantation owned by the White and I have close Indian friends whom were kids of those Plantation workers, whom sometimes relayed same stories to me. Those characters described by Abdullah Husain werw real and we must look at those as those that made us being 'slaved' and 'played' around by those opportunist doesn't matter who they were (are)! It is a lessan to be learnt!
(6) May be some felt ashame of such exposure, but I couldn't see the difference of such say getting drunk of samsu in the Esate and the current youngstres culture drinking all night long at Bangsar, Uptown or even in the Pub, Bars and all those exclusive Clubs! I believe what tried to be said by the writer was all those characters that made us being enslaves by others either it among the Indians and Malays, it must not be repeated doesn't matter how we termed them to make it look good. Samsu, Todi....are just another varieties of VSOP, Red Wine...or whatever!
(7) Abbdullah Husain potrayal of the Chinese family characters in fact exist till today if one care to travel to remote areas where similar business arrangement still exist. In Hulu Simunjan, the same system exist for such long time until the Government managed to bring the road there in early 1990s. Even in my own Kampung, to the day I graduated in 1984 and begin to organised our own people to 'self-economic-govern', it was not until 1990 did I managed to 'tell off' one Chinese Rural Trader whom had anchored in my Kampung since before my mum was born, to get out of our Kampung if he don't want to be part and parcel of our Kampung Development Effort!
(8) Abdullah Husain critique about the Chinese Family in his Novel was just exactly as my personal experience with 'a Chines Rural Trader' in my Kampung. This family, don't bother to be with the Kampung folks to make the Kampung better which I began to organize once I was back from my Study. Thus, I worked my own people to 'stand' on their own feet in term of 'trading and retail' activities, but, just like being said in the Novel, to this day, even though I have succeeded far than my thought of my struggle, there still remain those who can't and refused to see or admit! Some are highly educated one! Still they are some 'still want to be used"!
(9) As an overall, Interlock is a very good reading material for our kids to discuss openly without they being force to make a judgement. Accordingly, the teachers must not also make their judgement and force onto the kids. Let the teachers be just moderators to encourage the discussion and to stop where sensitivity occur. With such, I believe, our society would be more intellectual and highly respectfull.
(10) Just make such a material for an intellectual discourse and see how facts could be discussed openly and rationally as a way to pave for a Great Nation Building process.
(11) To me, as long as we continue to behave as we had longing been behaving, ie keeping ourselves to oursleves, then never will this country be a True Malaysia! Even there come 1,001 Najibs, there will never be 1Malaysia, definitely we will have Macam-macam Malaysia! Macam-macam Ada!
(12) Today, certain quarters of the Indian are saying those writing in the books are a bad potrayal of the Indian characters, surely one day even the breed of the Mat Salleh, Arab, and even Orang Asli will also raised the same, if we heed to such argument. At the end, what can we write? Fact is fact!
(13) To Abdullah Husain and the Ministry of Education, I have this simple proposition. Let me put it this way. Dung, is dirty. Whatever source be it human, bird or even snail. Dung is dirty, unhyegenic. But we have to study to know the extend of how bad and how good we could make use even the dung!
(14)If we are too sensitive to too many things, then I wonder, one day even the Al Quran also had to be written to potray just what we like to hear and read. The same goes to the Bible, and the Taurah (Old Testament). The Malays, the Muslim, you watch up!
(15) Interlok, is a Historical-based Novel. It is a Novel. It is relevant as a step to revisit our way of co-existence in this Country. We can't be reading and intellectually discussing book on Mahabrata and Ramayana or Romeo and Juliet as a media to unite our Malaysian!
(16)I believe, Abdullah Husain is one of our wise intellectual who is sending a clear message how we could solidify if we want to propsper and be great. Pak Abdullah, I'm always be with you as long as I see you telling the fact for the good of our Nation Building process. May Allah grant you with the best wisdom and strenght.
Matang Jaya, Kuching, Sarawak
23 Jan., 2010
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3 comments:
It is not easy for most people to be taking facts, especially the not so great facts about their beings, race and cultural behaviour.Even professional technocrats take their work emotionally that they can't be critisized, what more when culture and way of life are being put to the limelight.
It is still a long way for our people at large to be able to talk about issues you touched on, i believe our teachers are also not up to the level yet, there might be some minority who are capable.To be a developed nation, there are yet plenty that needs to be done and improved, one of them being professional at work and seeing things with a different perspective.
I agree with most of what you have raised.all of us should look at this issue from a positive perspective. Every race should try to learn from their own weaknesses. Don't over-react unnecessarily.To the authorities, don't edit or correct the contents just to please some parties. This is a literary work - it's the author's trademark.
i myself had read the interlock book english version. i find out that certain things that mentioned on the book is baseless and written by writer's research not by experience. For example, if the the indians who came from kerala or south indians are pariah as mentioned on the book, how come pillay can be one of them? if u dont know, let me highlight to u all that pillay is a last name for high level of caste, maybe u have come across indian people name like saravana pillay, shanmugam pillay and etc. the pillay families are very well to do generally. And the writers also said the indians who came to malaya are dravidians. dravidian are pure tamilians and dont believe in the gods and their marriage is solomnised by elders by giving speech and addressing them as husband and wife at the end. they dont have nalangu, go around the fire and ties thalis. this a utter rubbish for a dravidians wedding in 1910s!!!! now we the modern tamilians wed according to iyers culture after civilisations. and i feel the way the writter descripts maniam's wedding with malika is based on his research or his knowledge on modern indians. not by his experience in back 1910s.
i just want to say, if u dont know dont write!! moreover u want to make the book as text book!!! it is utter rubbish and baseless!!!
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