‘INTERLOK’: EVERYBODY SHOULD JUST READ THE DAMN BOOK!

By Sharifuddin A Latiff

News flash: ‘HRP leaders arrested at anti-Interlok forum‘. Among those arrested include HRP president W Sambulingam. There have been scores of arrests of Hindraf guys over the past week.

Why are the authorities clamping down so hard on a forum that merely informs the public about the contents of the highly offensive novel ‘Interlok’? Since when has attending an indoor forum become a crime?

Indeed, ‘Interlok’ is a book that should be read by all concerned Malaysians. Adults, that is.

Anyone claiming to support 1Malaysia or claiming to be Malaysian First should read this sick book written by a shallow mind.

You need to read for yourself to know the stereotypical prejudices of an ignorant Malay view of other races who share our living space. And this narrow, bogeyman worldview is being shoved down the throats of 16-year-old schoolboys and schoolgirls who are taking the Sastera subject.

If we want to promote inclusion — hidup rukun dan damai — this book is not the vehicle to foster semangat muhibbah.

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Below are some of the misrepresentations found in ‘Interlok’. We’ve excepted from an article in FMT titled ‘Fakta Interlok edisi murid banyak mengelirukan‘.

‘One factual error already known to the public is the mention of the Pariah and Brahma (sic) castes — which don’t exist.’

“Kamus Dewan (dictionary published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka) defines ‘caste’ as the classification of people according to categories, that is, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. According to [one of the speakers from Kumpulan Penulis Kavyan at a forum], the name ‘Brahma’ on the other hand refers to a god in the Hindu religion.

[Other errors in Interlok]

• Malabar and Kerala were referred to in the novel as two separate places whereas Malabar is actually the old name for Kerala state. The author Abdullah Hussain places Kerala geographically as a state “a little to the north of Tamil Nadu when the atlas shows that Kerala lies to the north of Andhra Pradesh. Kerala is also pictured as filled with paddy fields when it is better known for its coconut trees.

• Abdullah’s explanation of the Kathakali dance is also incorrect as he had said the dancers used masks when in fact they use ‘make-up’.

• The book also pictures the Indian community in Penang as being 50 percent Malayali and the remaining half Tamil and Telugu when in fact 80 percent of the Indians at that time were Tamils.

• The character of Malini calls her husband Maniam by his personal name whereas women of that period would never do that (as it’s not the culture to do so).

• Malini calls her father Perumal ‘papa’ and not ‘appa’ (the Indian term). Other misses on cultural nuances include when the character of Mariama is said to be ‘single’ (membujang) after the death of her husband when the more appropriate word is ‘widow‘ (balu).

• In the book Maniam is said to have come alone to Tanah Melayu in 1910 even though the Pengajian Malaysia (Malaysian Studies) states that the inflow of free [not indentured] labour was stymied in 1859 because the travel fare was too expensive.

• When the character Suppiah prostrated, it was misrepresented as kowtowing to the white man when the act is usually done only as a mark of respect to one’s parents to obtain their blessing.

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The above was pointed out in the FMT article. However, the Hartal team will be continuing with our own postings on the ‘Interlok’ topic and how the selection of novel as a national exam text is part of a hidden agenda to promote Biro Tata Negara-like (BTN) objectives.

courtesy of Hartal MSM