Now I Blog About INTERLOK Too

Since the announcement about the retrieval of the 'cursed' book Interlok on 15th December, I didn't expect it to end there. Today, the 24th of January 2010, the issue about the book is literally getting 'hotter'. Angry citizens are burning the book all over this country, people are getting arrested for voicing out their opinions (via action, by burning book that is). The book was written by Abdullah Hussain, which I'm sure is really devastated at the moment.

To me personally, Abdullah Hussain is a good writer. When I was still a naive and overly-positive young lad, I had read his one of his books entitled 'Masuk Ke Dalam Cahaya'. The book is about the spiritual journey of a man, whose life is falling apart and deviated from the teachings of Islam. As far as I remember, it was inspirational, it is a good mix of reality, religious issues and some mystical elements. 'Real' in the sense that Abdullah Hussain is not afraid to show the ugly side in the life of Muslims, bashing those with 'holier-than-thou' mentality. Being a Muslim is not a free pass for you to justify your wrongdoings and shove your beliefs to other people's throat.

Here's a link to Malaysiakini article which will give you brief understanding about INTERLOK along with some quotations from the book. CLICK HERE

Now, the way I see it, the cause of all these argument and chaos is primarily due to the use of this particular word, pariah and how the author depicted how the Indians first came to Malaya. First, I'd like to apologize to any Indian if that word did offend you, in case you're reading this. Based on my understanding of what's happening in Malaysia's blogsphere and in the news;

1. Some believe there shouldn't too much fuss about the book because it is historical and the book tells about the truth.
2. Some believe the book is demeaning to their race because it used the word pariah, as if trying to depict that all the Indians are pariah a.k.a. outcast.
3. Some say the book is okay because it did mention the Malays are stupid and lazy, the Chinese are swindlers and materialistic, and the Indians are pariah.
4. Some say what really matters is the ultimate purpose of the book, after all the book's ending promotes unity and 1Malaysia.

Actually I believe if you are not an Indian, you don't have the right to 'perceive their perception' about the use of the word pariah. You are not in their shoes therefore you don't have the right to perceive what they feel. Remember, remember, how did the Malays react during the controversy about the use of the word 'Allah' whether it should be used by the Christians? It's just the same song with different chorus. A Muslim might say it matters because it's his religion and insist he's right since he believes other religions are wrong.

It's the same case to the Indians because when the word 'pariah' is used, it is beyond racial slur. Being a pariah means being an outcast. When you are a pariah or the untouchable, your equal right is denied, you are untouchable, you are the lowest of everything from the gutter. In fact, being a pariah is so infectious that anyone from the higher hierarchy will be an outcast too if he/she hangs out too much with them. Being a pariah means you are from the lower caste, you are avoided and despised just because you exist. If you're interested to know more about this word, please click this LINK. The word pariah is really that demeaning.

Then how is it fair that pariah is equal with bodoh, malas, penipu, kencing, busuk and other stereotypes? Why is the Indians getting the worst label? Imagine if some narrow-minded Meleis school kids begin to ridicule their friends with that word?

Then is the book really that bad and written with hidden agenda? I believe it doesn't. The best form of art or a lifetime reminder is to destroy, bash, something to smithereens and then build it back from the ground up. Psychologically it means, before you could learn a lesson of a lifetime, you must fail, you must do mistake, you must suffer, something must go wrong. Only then you will learn, only then you will forever remember your mistake. And I believe that was what Abdullah Hussain's intention, his method is a bit radical, but his intention was good. He wanted to show that concept of unity from different sides.

However, no matter how good the book is for some people (I believe it's good), is it appropriate for Form Five students? How sure are we that a large population of these students are mature enough to handle the book? That is if if they actually read the book lah. Maybe they're more busy to be Mat Rempit and beromen instead. Hahahah! To ridicule their friends with that insulting word is not far from possible you see and some states in this country is known for their intense racial prejudice. Isn't that sad, a book once good is now criticized, burned, stomped on like a cursed book?

Surprisingly Digital Extremes did release a game for XBox, which is kind of related to this issue;

No this is not Photoshopped.

I have no race prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse.

Mark Twain.