The Malay Heritage Foundation‘s (MHF) Sembang Ilmu Series (SIS) returned in March 2022 for its sixth session. This time, the online forum, supported by Yayasan Mendaki, was organised in collaboration with the NUS Malay Studies Society (NUSMSS) and the Majlis Bahasa Melayu Singapura (MBMS). A panel of five young speakers gave a 10-minute presentation each on their topic of choice in this forum entitled: “Sahabat Sastera @ Sembang Ilmu – Nilawarisan: Budaya, Bahasa, Sastera & Seni Berlanggam”.
Saturday, 26 March 2022 — Assistant General Manager of the MHF, Fadli Idris, began the live stream by welcoming the virtual audience and speakers before inviting Shaik Azad, a representative from NUSMSS, to share a few opening words. Shaik gave a brief welcoming address before introducing the moderator for the forum, Dr. Azhar Ibrahim, Vice-Chairman of the MHF, to deliver his opening speech. Dr. Azhar thanked the participants who joined the live stream in his remarks. He introduced SIS and the background of all the speakers for the sixth session together with their respective topics. He then called on the first speaker, Muhammad Khairool Haque, to kickstart the forum discourse.
Khairool is a writer and educator. Before continuing his studies at the National Institute of Education, Singapore (NIE), he served as a Malay language teacher in a primary school. He has also received the Golden Pen Award in 2009 for poetry and the ASEAN Young Writer Award in 2014. His books include Iftitah (2019), Syair Asas Ugama (2019) and Anak Waktu Belajar Diam (2020). Khairool’s topic for the forum is, “Membunyikan Hamzah: Pemikiran Sufi dalam Puisi Noor Hidayat (Singapura), Shahidan Radiman (Malaysia) dan Kuswaidi Syafi’ie (Indonesia)”.
Khairool started by introducing the poets/writers from Southeast Asia he had chosen for this topic. He stressed that we need to highlight figures not often talked about, such as the 3 poets he will discuss in his presentation. Khairool analysed poem excerpts from Noor Hidayat’s “Tempoh Bercinta”, Shahidan Radiman’s “Tajalli Tuhan” and Kuswaidi Syafi’ie’s “Menuai Sisa Harap”.
To summarise, Khairool deduced that the author’s work is more ethereal and separate from the social phenomena in the real world. However, the real world is often seen as a revelation/Tajalli of God that introduces a man to God. He explained further that there is space that Sufi poets can fill in discussing this social phenomenon based on the perspective of Sufism. For example, the discourse brought by Maulana Jalaluddin al-Rumi, whose poetry has allegories related to politics and social criticism that has a Sufi view. To end his presentation, Khairool shared S.M. Zakir’s preface from Raden M Kamil’s “Cinta Telah Menjadikan Ku Asing” and a short poem.
Next, Dr. Azhar introduced Diyanah Dali for the second presentation of the forum. Diyanah is a trainee teacher of Malay language and literature at the NIE. Aspiring to become an educator and writer, she deepened her interest in language and literature through the Malay Language Elective Program (MLEP) while in junior college. Having been in the field of debating, Diyanah enjoys discussing current issues in society, including mental health and education. Her topic of discussion for the forum is “Unsur Sejarah dalam Puisi Melayu Penulis Wanita”.
Diyanah chose three female writers to focus on in her presentation. Before diving deeper into their work, Diyanah first explained the definition of ‘history’ by sharing a few quotes from Professor Dien Madjid and Professor Mestika Zed. She then analysed selected poems from Associate Professor Hadijah Rahmat‘s 1998 book titled “Di Tengah Alam,” Rasiah Halil’s 2013 book titled “Nyanyian Si Anak Dagang” and Hartinah Ahmad’s 2020 book titled “Gandoura“. To conclude her presentation, Diyanah pointed out that we should use poetry as historical documentation, showing diverse points of view. She added that society now is inseparable from the past, and the voices of female writers greet progress.
Dr. Azhar called upon the third speaker, Nurain Abdul Raheem, to present. Nurain is a Year 3 student from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (NTU-NIE), majoring in Bachelor of Education (Language and Literature Specialisation). She is also the Vice-Chairman of Kalimah Baiduri – a wing group language and literature for the Malay Language and Culture Association (Perbayu) at NTU. Nurain has chosen to focus on the topic, “Wanita dan Kemiskinan dalam Novel: Kota Airmata dan Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan” for the forum.
Nurain shared a quote from Usman Awang, and A. Samad Said on literature. In short, the purpose of literature is to sharpen the human perspective, raise awareness, and the work of the soul as a whole elevates the level of human civilization. Nurain shared excerpts from Mohamed Latiff Mohamed’s 1977 short novel titled “Kota Airmata” and Shahnon Ahmad’s novel titled “Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan“. Nuraini explained that the book highlights the need to understand the problems faced by urban and rural women. The characters Ani and Mak Munah in “Kota Airmata” were given a tragic ending, whereas Sanah in “Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan” was given an injection of hope. Nurain explained that every stage of women’s lives has stereotypes or societal expectations rooted in patriarchal thinking and the economic system of capitalism.
The fourth speaker to present is Nurhuda Ramli from Malaysia. Nurhuda Ramli is a Arabic language and linguistics graduate from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and works as a full-time activist in women’s human rights. Currently, she works as a program officer at ‘Sisters In Islam’. She is also the co-founder of Jurnal Sang Pemula, a collective of young Malaysians who mobilize the humanist discourse of the archipelago. Nurhuda is also a writer and researcher. She has chosen to present on the topic of “Yang Solehah atau Yang Tertindas?: Merungkai KeIslaman Perempuan dalam Hikayat Perempuan Bernama Latifah”.
Nurhuda explained that “Hikayat Perempuan Bernama Latifah” is a traditional literary work written in prose. It displays didactic and exemplary themes and elements of Islam without the aspects of animistic beliefs. The theme, in brief, provides a list of attributes on how to be a pious woman/wife and retribution for an ungodly wife. Nurhuda presented her text critique after giving a brief overview of the story. In a nutshell, Nurhuda shared that religious texts must be studied closely with proper tool knowledge. The lack of adequate tool knowledge causes criticism to be wrong; the text is accepted without any doubt that it is true. There is no other way of identifying all this except by one’s concentration which seeks to seek knowledge to master the understanding of religious texts. According to Nurhuda, mastery of Islamic texts is a powerful way for women’s freedom.
Dr. Azhar invited the final speaker for the forum, Muhammad Ilyia Kamsani, to present. Ilyia is a Malay Language & Literature graduate from the University of Social Sciences of Singapore (SUSS). As a cultural activist, he is interested in studying the world of intellectuals, including questions about heritage, language, literature, and social philosophy. Ilyia was appointed Sahabat Sastera by the Malay Language Council of Singapore (MBMS) in 2021. His topic of choice to present in SIS is “A. Samad Ismail: Sasterawan Watan Yang Terlupakan”.
Ilyia began his presentation by sharing a profile on A. Samad Ismail, highlighting his professional achievements, including his publishing works and awards received even though he was more well-known for being a news reporter. Ilyia looks into a few short stories from A. Samad Ismail’s short story compilation book titled “Ingin Jadi Pujangga“. Ilyia concluded his topic by sharing that his prominence and presence in journalism overshadowed A. Samad Ismail’s literary side. He was more focused on empowering others and changes in socio-political conditions.
The forum concluded with a Q&A segment where the speakers were invited to answer several questions from the virtual audience. The session was joined by Zoom registrants and viewers tuning in from MHF’s Facebook live.
“Sahabat Sastera @ Sembang Ilmu – Nilawarisan: Budaya, Bahasa, Sastera & Seni Berlanggam” marks the first event for the MHF in 2022. Previous SIS sessions were held in 2020 and 2021. SIS is a discursive platform for our youths and young professionals to deliberate and discuss issues relating to the socio-cultural development of the Malays in Singapore from a contemporary perspective. SIS supports and provides a platform for youths to discuss these issues and topics with MHF.
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Useful Links
- Full Video: |
- “Membunyikan Hamzah: Pemikiran Sufi dalam Puisi Noor Hidayat (Singapura), Shahidan Radiman (Malaysia) dan Kuswaidi Syafi’ie (Indonesia)” by Muhammad Khairool Haque
- “Unsur Sejarah dalam Puisi Melayu Penulis Wanita” by Diyanah Dali
- “Wanita dan Kemiskinan dalam Novel: Kota Airmata dan Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan” by Nurain Binte Abdul Raheem
- “Yang Solehah atau Yang Tertindas?: Merungkai KeIslaman Perempuan dalam Hikayat Perempuan Bernama Latifah” by Nurhuda Ramli
- “A Samad Ismail: Sasterawan Watan Yang Terlupakan” by Muhammad Ilyia Kamsani
- Dewan Sastera – “Khalayak Muda Singapura Pencorak Wacana Baharu Sastera” by Iqbal Hidayat Hamizul