Excerpt from Usman Awang speech

Excerpt from Usman Awang’s acceptance speech for the Anugerah Sastera Negara (National Literary Award), A Writer’s Voice of Humanity (1983):

“Now when we talk about Bahasa Malaysia, I am really sad and disappointed to see how this beautiful and sensitive language can be so parleyed, due to the interests of party politics. For as long as Bahasa Malaysia does not become the common language of all Malaysians, used, loved and respected by all races, it can never then become a tool of unity, and without unity, our country wil indeed be weak and poor.

One common language and culture will emanate from the usage, hope and dreams shared by all races of this nation. Such a possibility will not come true if it is totally dependent on political agitation or bureaucratic decrees.

No one can claim that it has a monopoly over the culture of Malaysia. Our shared, common culture can only emerge from a mutual acceptance by all the rakyat, not only from some arrogant examples of the privileged few.

I am not an expert who is fit to give advice on how to overcome these problems. I am but a humble being, ever grateful to Allah Almighty who has blessed my talent in using this Malay language which I consider to be the most beautiful in the world. And I have used it to try and voice my innermost feelings which I believe is the innermost feelings of society. Thus in my voices, I have not demarcated race, nationality, beliefs or the colour of the skin. I have repeated time and time again that the clamourings of the Chinese noodle-seller in Petaling Street is no different from that of the Malay nasi lemak seller in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, or that of the Indian tose-seller in Jalan Brickfields, as they all go about peddling their foodstuffs.

The same goes for the misery of Pak Ngah Ali and Pok Nik, symbolizing the Malay farmers and fishermen of the east coast, the anguish of Ah Kau and Ah Lim representing the Chinese miners in the Kinta Valley or the construction workers in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Their agony is no different from the despair of Ramasamy or Kandaya, the Indian roadbuilders and estate rubber tappers.

I believe this is the voice and meaning of humanity which has more or less formed the basis of Malaysian literature. For this, writers of all races in Malaysia must first and foremost destroy whatever racial barriers that now exist. Only then can a new wind blow forth and the bloom of Malaysian literature flower with all its colourful and fragranced splendour.

From Malaysian Literary Laureates – Selected Works, translated by Solehah Ishak et. al. Published by DBP, 1998

Never Say Die

My nephew, who is now 2 ½ years old, started crawling at around 8 months old. Starting out was difficult, he had difficulty balancing himself on his hands and knees, and it seemed that the lower half of his body, especially his behind, seemed to weigh him down. He also did not know how to move his body forward, and ended up crawling backwards most of the time. At times, after much difficulty, he would successfully move forward a little. Plus, he didn’t have much stamina, and would collapse after a while. I have a video of him trying to crawl, and it’s one of my favourite things to watch.

When he falls down, he just gets up and tries again. Over and over again. He doesn’t complain, he just gets up and do it. Once when he fell, he sprained his wrist and was in pain for a few days and couldn’t crawl as usual. But after the pain was gone, he was up and at it like it never happened.

Children have such amazing powers of resilience. Nothing gets them down. If they fall, they just get up over and over again. They do not let the memory of falling before scare them. They never give up. Adults would do well to have their never say die spirit, especially in trying times like these.

Courage of a child

Last week, I saw a TV programme, Unexpected Access on Singapore TV where a four year child named Ivan who was being treated for burns. An old air-conditioning unit in Ivan’s house fell off and landed on Ivan. In the ensuing confusion, Ivan was also electrocuted. He suffered burns on 50% of his body.

Three times a week, he has to have his bandages changed. Each bandage change is a tortuous experience for Ivan. Ivan cries and struggles to cope with pain that adults would find painful to endure. In some of the spots, we can see raw flesh that have not healed. All of the fingers on Ivan’s right hand had to be amputated due to extensive damage. You cannot help but feel your heart break as you witness the bandage changing. The host, Wong Li-lin shed tears openly.
Nevertheless, after a while, Ivan stops crying and becomes a regular four-year old. He can even tell the nurses from where they should start removing the bandages. His sudden transformation from a child crying in pain to a boy brimming with life is heartwarming.

Children have infinite life-force within them to overcome all of life’s difficulties. Yes, they feel pain, and cry (don’t we all), but they just take everything on the chin and move on. Their courage inspires everyone.

Apologies

Sorry for the delay in posting. Currently, I do not have regular, uninterrupted access to the Internet, so my postings have been spotty. I will blog more regularly in the future.

Deaf man's music

During the Chinese New Year Holidays, I purchased a copy of Beethoven’s music through a friendly neighbourhood pirated CD vendor (what would we do without them?). On that one disc, you can find ALL nine of Beethoven’s symphonies, and some other works (in mp3 format)

Like many classical music maestros, Beethoven excelled at various forms of music. But he is most well-known for his symphonies, among which includes the Fifth Symphony and the Ninth Symphony (where Ode To Joy is found).

It was my first time listening to Beethoven’s complete symphonies. After listening to them (again and again), I often wandered how could a person who is completely deaf compose AND conduct music like that? Music that is powerful and uplifting. Music that is like a powerful storm wind, uprooting a tree which has deep roots. Music that shakes your very being to the core. Music like I have never heard before and will never be made again.

When he first found out he was going deaf, Beethoven contemplated suicide. But he was determined not to be defeated. “I shall seize Fate by the throat”, he declared. When describing the opening four notes of the Fifth, he said, “This is how Fate knocks at the door.”

He did not surrender to Fate. He chose not to be defeated. He chose to win.

You Shall Not See Me

A poem from Rumi : A Bridge To The Soul – Journeys Into The Music and Silence of The Heart

You are rest for my soul,
a surprising joy for my bitterness.

Imagination has never imagined
what you give to me.

The sound of someone whistling in the street,
or asking questions. If that person
is bringing word from you,
those sounds are worth more
than all the world’s poetry.

There is nothing I want but your presence.
In friendship, time dissolves.

Life is a cup. This connection
is pure wine. What else are cups for?

I used to have twenty thousand
different desires.

The unseen king once said on Sinai
You shall not see me.

But even though he said that he was not,
I have filled the essence
of that he with my soul.

The Christian trinity, the Zoroastrian
light-dark, I absorb them all.

Though my body has not noticed,
union has begun to see a new way to be.

Grown old with grief and longing,
when someone says Tabriz,
I am young again.

Ah - what longing! Especially the parts where I have give emphasis. This new anthology of new Rumi poetry was published in 2007, in commemoration with Rumi’s 800th birthday. 2007 was also celebrated as the International Year of Rumi. This anthology was reviewed by Yasmin Ahmad in The Star some time back.

No one expresses the longing and yearning of the heart like Rumi does. Reading it again and again simply makes you love it more.

Being an extremist

Normal definition of extremist:

Extremist – 1. A person who goes to extremes, especially in political matters
2. A supporter or advocate of extreme doctrines or practices
(from Dictionary.com)

Here’s an alternative look at the meaning of the word “extremist”. Emphasis all mine.

‘But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: : “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” so the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice.’

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail