Year: 2011

  • Letters of a Javanese Princess – Thoughts Before Reading

    Sejarah. While some students may view it as their favourite subject, others may loathe it to such an extent that they cower with fear when that name is mentioned, and openly express their distaste for the subject.

    I, for one, alternated between feelings love and hate while trying to cram the facts and dates into my over-saturated brain, and was somewhat glad to fling it aside once SPM was over.

    Yet, throughout the days that followed, some facts remained stuck in my head, including the names of several famous personnels. One such personnel was an Indonesian feminist, a daughter of Javanese nobility-Raden Adjeng Kartini. I don’t remember much about her, except for the fact that she was mentioned briefly, and her writings were collected and published under the title of ‘Letters of a Javanese Princess.’

    Somehow, ever since I learnt of its existence, I had been yearning to get my hands on that book. I asked for it whenever I visited any large bookshops, but without avail. Finally, I acquired it without paying a single cent from the website ‘Project Gutenberg’. I’m now reading it, bit by bit, through my handphone which has now become something of an e-book reader. I intend to go through it ever so slowly, to really delve into its contents, and read between the lines of her correspondences with her Dutch friends, and really get to know this remarkable woman, whom, at a century ago, had thoughts and views that was ahead of her time, and would put many a narrow-minded modern woman to shame.

    She has such high ambitions and a big heart, and it was such a pity that her life was cut short by her untimely death, shortly after the birth of her son. I often ponder silently–if she had lived, perhaps for many decades longer, how much more could she manage to achieve? I’m sure she would be one of the glorious names that would adorn the pages of many history books.

    I’m longing to get to know her better–not in person, for that is impossible, but through the lines of her writings. Her writings were originally in Dutch, but it has been translated to English–or I wouldn’t have been able to understand it. Once I’m done, I will blog more about this wonderful woman–who was indeed an outstanding character, one whom could never be forgotten, whose voice will never be drown out by the passing of time–as long as her volume of letters continue to live on.

  • Hati Seorang HAMKA

    Dari hati ke hati
    Hamka, Yousran Rusydi,
    Islam and politics
    2002
    322

    Sociopolitical and religious issues in Indonesia; collected articles.

    Siapa yang tak kenal buya HAMKA, ulama’ Minang dari tanah seberang. Namun, beliau tidak sunyi daripada dugaan yang merintangi perjalanan dakwahnya. Difitnah dan ditahan di bawah regim Orde Lama Soekarno, perselisihan beliau dengan Sahibus Samahah Mufti Johor Dato’ Syed Alwi Bin Tahir al-Haddad mewarnai sejarah hidupnya.

    Dari Hati Ke Hati merupakan koleksi kolum tulisannya dalam majalah Panji Masyarakat dari tahun 1967 hingga tahun 1981. Meletakkan Islam sebagai dasar dan maksud penulisannya, beliau berjaya mengupas pelbagai isu yang menyelubungi masyarakat Indonesia seawal zaman pra-kemerdekaan  Indonesia hingga tertubuhnya Orde Baru di tangan Jeneral Suharto.

    Sayangnya tiada catatan khusus mengenai tarikh rencana-rencana tersebut ditulis dan diterbitkan yang boleh memberi gambaran dan kemudahan buat pembaca yang berminat dengan sejarah negara serumpun tersebut.

    Tulisan HAMKA dibahagikan kepada empat bahagian yang mendukung tema seperti Agama, Angkatan Muda Islam, Kerukunan Umat Beragama dan Politik. Di balik kelembutan dan kehalusan bahasa, ia menyerlahkan ketajaman kritik dan keteguhan pendiriannya sebagai Muslim yang merasai zaman pertembungan ideologi (ghazwatul fikrah) antara Islam yang diperjuangkan gerakan Masyumi, Komunis dan Soekarno sebagai oportunis yang akhirnya menjadi boneka Partai Komunis Indonesia.

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  • My Review on ‘Jo’s Boys’

    Jo's Boys Book Cover Jo's Boys
    Louisa May Alcott
    2005

    Considering the fact that one of Fakhruddin’s previous post was about technology versus books, I guess I will start my post from that point.

    Well, I am technically more of a bookworm than a techno geek. But technology turned out to be a help rather than a hindrance in my hobby. Having acquired a new handphone I was eager to explore its functions, and by chance, stumbled upon an application which allowed me to download and read certain e-books. From then on, I was often seen with my handphone in hand, and my eyes glued tight to the screen, much to the bewilderment of my classmates, who thought that I was busy messaging some mysterious personnel.

    The books made available by the application are somewhat limited. Or, to be more exact, not all the books available were free; the most popular titles came with a fixed price. But the classics were free, and pretty soon my virtual bookshelf was filled with my favourite titles such as ‘Anne of Green Gables’, ‘Rilla of Ingleside’, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, even ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and most recently, the ‘Little Women’ series by Louisa May Alcott.

    Those who had read ‘Little Women’ would be familiar with the four March sisters– Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. The second book in the series, sometimes known as ‘Good Wives’, sometimes simply as ‘Part 2’ was a follow-up on their respective lives, whereby the four sisters blossomed into capable and graceful young women, eventually finding love and romance in their lives, and in one sad case, left her short yet meaningful life behind to descend to the ‘Valley of the Shadow’ as quoted from the book.

    The next book was entitled ‘Little Men’, and it was about Jo, whom, upon inheriting Plumfield, a stately estate from her deceased aunt, converted it into a school for boys. The third book, ‘Jo’s boys-and How They Turned Out’ was centered on the lives of the boys after they grew up. And that was the book that kept me company during the stressful and tiring exam week.

    I will not elaborate further on the prequels to this book, for after not reading them for quite some time I have forgotten some major plots and storylines, and do not wish to mar this post with incomplete or incorrect facts. But from here onwards I have to assume that those reading this have already read, or at least, heard of ‘Little Women’ and ‘Little Men’, or else it may be hard to get an inkling of the storyline I’m about to present.

    So, the boys at Plumfield have all grown up. Dan was exploring gold mines in San Francisco, Nat was aspiring to become a violinist, Demi had a temporary job as a reporter, and Tom was studying Medicine, not out of interest but merely for the sake of wooing his childhood sweetheart, Nan. Professor Bhaer’s nephews, Franz and Emil were well established in their respective careers, the former managing some business, the latter as a sailor who was promoted to become second mate of his ship. Jo’s sons were doing well too, Ted being labeled as ‘the lion’ due to his hyperactive and reckless nature, while his brother Rob was his exact opposite; thus known as ‘the lamb’.

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