Year: 2016

  • Some Thoughts on Reading Anthony Milner’s Kerajaan

    Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on the Eve of Colonial Rule Book Cover Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on the Eve of Colonial Rule
    Anthony Milner
    Strategic Information and Research Development Centre SIRD
    2016
    228

    This is a guest post written by one of my friend, Kaif who also attended the book launching at GerakBudaya with slight editing for reading purpose.

    The only force that brought me to the book launch for Prof. Milner’s second edition of Kerajaan nearly three weeks ago was sheer curiosity. And as always, it didn’t disappoint: the panel discussion which included the author himself was absolutely eye-opening, at least to a complete neophyte of Malaysian politics, history and anthropology.

    Two weeks and a little more later, I’ve finally finished it and cannot recommend it enough to anyone (Malay or otherwise) even remotely interested in the questions of nation-building and unity in Malaysia. Why? Because, to our advantage or not, we are not building a nation in vacuo, and thus to make headway sustainably beyond the superficial level of economy and government, we first need to really understand the cultural and psychological matrix in which we are all embedded. This then implies, at least to my mind, learning about the history of our worldviews and mentalities, and how they might have turned out as they are now.

    Anyway, reading it has been no less than a journey of self-discovery. I think I have understood myself a lot better both as a (half) Malay as well as a rakyat under a uniquely Malay royal umbrella. The following then is a short summary as well as a collection of some highlights of ideas, some the author’s and others my own, gleaned from this little journey, and I hope that they will be of some use to the reader, if only to whet his or her appetite to get hold of a copy (Christmas is around the corner?) and enjoy it as much as I have.

    Before going further, I’d just like to point out that it is quite dangerous to read too much into such works as history, which are themselves ultimately speculative, and that I’ve had my own share of qualms and apprehensions. Nevertheless, seeing that they are most probably either too naïve, too uninformed or just plain wrong, I won’t bore you with them here.

    First, a short summary to orientate those who have yet to read it. It has been noted before by scholars such as Clifford Geertz that the Malay political culture is disproportionately preoccupied with the formal and the ceremonial, hence his coining of the appellation ‘theatre state’. And even without such works, it is not difficult to observe this in today’s Malaysia where the king appears to be nothing more than a ceremonial puppet conferring too many titles that make our preprandial speeches too long.

    (more…)

  • Ulasan Tertangguh Sajak-Sajak Terlarang

    Sajak-Sajak Terlarang
    Dr. Muhaimin Sulam
    Karyawan Publishing House
    2015

    Eka Kurniawan, ketika ditanya oleh penyair sedang naik di seberang, Aan Mansyur, mengenai catatan jurnalnya sederhana menjawab: aku lebih ingin membesarkan diriku sebagai pembaca daripada penulis.

    Menjadi pembaca bagi mas Eka ialah satu eskapisme dan perkenalan. Mengenali dunia yang baharu kita masuki, kemudian masuk ke dunia asing yang lagi satu. Menjadi pembaca itu sendiri pun belum tentu menjadi satu hal yang menghiburkan, bergantung pada bahan yang kita baca dan apa yang dihasratkan oleh kita.

    Saya sendiri bukanlah pembaca sajak yang baik, jauh sekali untuk menukang satu sajak yang memuaskan. Malahan sering saja saya kecewa pada bacaan kali pertama.

    (more…)

  • Jejak-Jejak Tjokroaminoto






    Tjokroaminoto: Guru Para Pendiri Bangsa Book Cover




    Tjokroaminoto: Guru Para Pendiri Bangsa




    Seri Buku TEMPO: Bapak Bangsa





    Tim Wartawan Tempo




    Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia




    2011




    Paperback




    160

    Ada banyak cara kreatif bagi mengenang sumbangan sesuatu tokoh, menurut kebiasaan lapangan masing-masing. Misalnya, penghargaan kepada sosok ilmuwan dijelmakan menerusi penghasilan festschrift dalam bentuk kumpulan esei oleh rakan sejawat dan juga anak-anak murid tokoh terbabit.

    Dalam hal ini, kita wajib belajar daripada jiran kita Indonesia. Rancangan bual bicara mingguan membahaskan pelbagai sisi sesuatu tokoh, filem-filem mengenai riwayat hidup tokoh-tokoh bangsa makin banyak dihasilkan. Tidak ketinggalan, buku-buku baik yang berbentuk akademik mahupun naratif banyak ditulis.

    Buku Tjokroaminoto: Guru Para Pendiri Bangsa tidak lain adalah satu hasil daripada kewartawanan siasatan (investigative journalism) oleh tim wartawan Tempo terhadap beberapa tokoh nasional, lalu dijadikan beberapa siri buku. Tidak sedikit kritik atas usaha ini, antaranya daripada wartawan senior Tempo sendiri, Goenawan Mohamad. Usaha ini dilihat sebagai mengagungkan masa lalu ketimbang tokoh dan pencapaian yang lebih semasa.

    Insaf atas kekurangan itu, lalu buku-buku yang dihasilkan sememangnya bukanlah satu rakaman yang sempurna. Tim tersebut mengakui mereka bukan sejarawan, yang punya autoriti ke atas terhasilnya biografi ringkas Tjokroaminoto ini. Justeru kita dipersembahkan dengan sebuah ‘sketsa’ sejarah, daripada beberapa detik hidup seorang Tjokroaminoto.

    (more…)