For the seventh monthly online Wacana Warisan Series (WWS) organised by the Malay Heritage Foundation (MHF), Dr. Azhar conducted a 90-minute webinar on the topic of “Sastera Melayu: Kecendekiawan Berseni Kata” (Malay Literary Works: The Art of Our Wordsmiths and Intellectuals). He set the context of his lecture and shared with participants the importance of recognising these scholarly individuals and understanding their works and dedication towards promoting the Malay heritage, especially in the field of literature. The session was delivered in Malay.
Saturday, 31 July 2021 – WWS reached its seventh session in the last evening of July 2021. Dr. Azhar Ibrahim, is an academic from the Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Vice-Chairman of MHF’s Board. He started the webinar by sharing a quote from Usman Awang and A Samad Said. With reference to the quote, Dr. Azhar stressed that we should not treat literature as just literature alone, but rather as a tool to achieve a goal, which is to sharpen a man’s perspective of his life, elevate his consciousness and enrich the soul. This as a whole helps to elevate the level of human civilisation. Dr. Azhar explained that literature is a cultural document that expresses likings, kindness, the orientation of thoughts and religions, and many more. These are all delivered in writing, a culture that resonates well and most evident in Malay literature.
Next, Dr. Azhar touched on the definition of Malay literature, which comprised of three elements – author, critic, and publishing. Artistic meanings or words in literature refer to the ability to reveal its own eloquence, have a strong depth of content, and generate new imaginations, alternatives, and visions. This craft of writing in literature, which requires aesthetic craftsmanship and maturity, also functions more broadly in a society as a means of both criticising and affirming cultural values. He cited these examples were referenced from the book “Tradisi Pembentukan Sastera Melayu Moden” by A.Wahab Ali.
Drawing from another reference “Ghairah Dunia dari Empat Baris: Sihir Pantun dan Estetikanya” by well-known Malaysian writer, Muhammad Haji Salleh, Dr. Azhar quoted that the “aesthetics embodied in their traditional metaphors are inherited close to the nature and order of society that is still organic, especially the rural society. However, when the surrounding conditions changed, they entered the urban areas/settlements, the aesthetic style has not yet been able to articulate the new context.” This means that it can bring readers to a new gateway to see and understand reality and consider whether something better can be pursued compared to the existing one. In other words, “reading the real world to imagine a more useful world.” Dr. Azhar commented that it is extremely vital for the Malay language to keep pace with modern times to avoid being left way behind and play catch up.
Next, Dr. Azhar delved on the characteristics of these scholars and intellectuals in Malay literature. Among those traits are subtle expressions to refute, not hampered by depoliticisation, a moral-intellectual courage to stand up to the authority and ability to rebuke empty, cunning and evil rhetoric and clarity of focus – be it theme or target audience, just to name a few. He went on to share another notable quote from Keris Mas, a prominent Malaysian literary figure and was one of the founders of the Asas ’50 literary movement. His numerous contributions to Malay language literature (especially in the short story form) led him to become Malaysia’s first National Laureate in 1981. His works are distinguished by their themes of addressing social injustice and strong and lively characters that resonate with the reader. Based on Keris Mas’ quote – “…it means that the delivery of feelings and thoughts goes hand in hand. If there should be a beauty as a work of art and there should be a message, it means the delivery of ideas about man and humanity, about the pillars of life, about good and bad values, the sacred values of religion, about the system of society and so on. That I base on the artistic and intellectual expression of feelings and thoughts.”
The webinar continued to explore the purpose of literature since the 20th century. Dr. Azhar revealed there are 3 reasons namely as (1) a conduit for ideas in a bid for progress and change in society, (2) a cultural, debating, and artistic education, and (3) statements present in the context of a battle of ideas from within and externally. He also threw the question “why should scholars/intellectuals talk about literature?” to the audience before taking them through the historical timeline of Malay literature. Dr. Azhar mentioned that literary traditions go way back – started from poets, scribes, narrators, scholars and also folklorists in the early days. The birth of modern literature came from intellectuals who each contributes to writing and publishing books to put forth and mobilise messages, critiques and ideas. They are known as think in their respective eras.
Moving forward to the next slide, Dr. Azhar listed the notable individuals who had left a mark during the post-War literature period. The themes central during this period were development and reflection focusing on post-colonialism and post-modernism. Interestingly, he shared that literature actually stems from the community, exists within the community itself and usually tends to represent the people at heart – the voice of the voiceless as opposed to singing to the tune of the bourgeoisie and the privileged group, so to speak. This somewhat adds colours to the evolution of Malay literature. Despite being from the working class, these individuals stand out from the rest due to their intellect and critical thinking to move society forward. Dr. Azhar cited a handful of examples from the book “Tulang-Tulang Berserakan” by Usman Awang to illustrate his points.
According to Dr. Azhar, there are in total 4 aspects to assess the strength of a writer. They are imaginative (vision), narrative (the core of the story), expressive (language), and most importantly, discursive (discourse). All four aspects work synonymously and complement one another. The realm of literature is not singular. One fine example is major literature on the global front, led by great writers and their works are often used in law and legal matters, and even, to a certain extent, used in research and education. Dr. Azhar once again reiterated that the realm of literature can be considered as a battleground of ideas.
Dr. Azhar again asked another question on why is the literary path taken by scholars / intellectuals who used to work as journalists, religious reformists, educators and those alike. One of the main reasons is because political movements have many obstacles, competition and control. Hence, these individuals would rather have a more creative freedom in the literary world. Dr. Azhar also shared that in a similar vein, cultural, artistic, and literary movements are wider in scope, freer, and more resilient over a period of time. He mentioned that there are instances of individuals who were equally active in both the political and literary scenes. The world of publishing is becoming a platform and good for us to note that the number of educated readers is rising as well. In addition to this, the consciousness of religious reformism even took advantage of the literary platform. Finally, it is only through writing that one can enter through the realm of education, adolescence and adulthood.
Dr. Azhar shifted the focus of his presentation on the problems and challenges commonly faced by those who choose the literary path. They are confronted with obstacles when there exists a separation of the two worlds – thought and literature. There is a tendency to specialise in various domains. Another factor is the wave of depoliticisation of the world of art, literature, and culture. Consumption of art products is based on market demand and seasonal tastes/preferences, which according to Dr. Azhar is a sad fact of life. The world of literary and cultural discourse is often plagued by the passion of “theorising”. As a result, the involution of literary discourse occurs. He also gave another scenario where the literary world is separate from the intelligentsia – especially in the context of a society where the dominant language is, for instance, English, instead of the Malay language.
To sum up, Dr. Azhar concluded that the craftsmanship of the form and blending of content or essence of literature must be rock-solid. In other words, both the political and poetic facets are “well-embroidered”. He expressed concerns that unfortunately, it is very detrimental when some individuals moan and cast some doubts when confronted with literature and literary discourse, which are labelled as “too intellectual” or profound. In a closing note, these observations can be derived from the existence of an anti-intellectual side, limited literary exposure that it has been possible to appreciate the world great works that in general are produced by thinkers themselves, not just those who are only good at playing words and last but not least, those who have not been able to appreciate the local literary tradition, in which the literary movement has never escaped the development and struggle of ideas.
As usual, the WWS webinar had a closing Q&A section, where Dr. Azhar addressed several questions from the virtual audience who tuned in via Zoom and Facebook live. More than 50 participants tuned in to the video webinar.
WWS is a series of lectures that aim to encourage the development of new and alternative approaches to the understanding of Malay history, economy, politics, society, and culture. Beyond the clichés and convenient mainstream narratives, lie many lesser-known facts about the Malay community in Singapore. It is a year-long programme (each lecture runs on a monthly basis), comprising 12 sessions from January to December 2021. Participants who register and attend via Zoom for at least 10 sessions will be given a Certificate of Attendance. WWS lectures will mostly be delivered in Malay.
Useful Links