BOOK REVIEW | Historical novels are devilishly difficult to write - when does fiction take over and fact recede? How do you seamlessly juxtapose the two as you move from one realm to the other? How do you make the whole palpable, accessible and, most of all, enjoyable?
Thus, it must have been for Murale (pronounced Muralee) Pillai who launched his debut novel ‘Once Upon a Time in Malaysia’ (346 pages, RM42, Gerakbudaya Enterprise). He triumphed with a brilliant story about Malacca at its zenith as an Asian bazaar and its nadir as it succumbed to the Portuguese conquest of 1511 in the wake of corruption and greed.
Not only that, it is a witty, humorous satire on Malacca’s demise as a major trading port in Asia with the fall from grace having remarkable resemblance to the current state of affairs in Malaysia. Hence the cryptic title, leaving the reader to make his conclusions, except for the epilogue. But let’s keep that for later.
The primary setting for the novel is Malacca and it is true there was a sultan at the time in Malacca named Mahmud Shah who had a ‘bendahara’ (in old Malaya, akin to a chief minister, not a treasurer, second in rank to only the sultan) named, incredibly, Tun Mutahir.
The novel, however, starts in Lisbon, Portugal and King Manuel 1 and his longing to break the Dutch stranglehold on the trade of spices by launching a mission to Malacca, one of the pre-eminent ports of trade in Asia at the time.
The monarch’s choice to lead the mission was Admiral Diogo Lopes de Sequeira. Malayan/Malaysian history books tell us that he sailed into Malacca in 1509 but they don’t tell us some of the other things that happened when he was here.
Murale’s melding of historical events and personalities with detailed descriptions of people, places and events is masterful, at times looking into the minds of his characters which could have come only from his imagination and notes, now available, of what they had written down then. He used both to good effect.
The ships and crew were ready for the long voyage to Malacca by April 1508. The admiral’s diary sets the estimated time of arrival to Malacca in July 1509 - if all went well.
A nice touch is that each chapter begins with a proverb in Malay which reflects the spirit and the lesson, if any, from that chapter. The first chapter for example starts with the following proverb: “Sehari selambar benang, lama-lama menjadi kain.”
Roughly translated, a piece of thread every day becomes cloth over time, referring to the careful, long planning that Lisbon was making to establish a trading foothold many, many thousands of leagues away in the far distance - elusive, exotic, exciting Malacca. The first step to dominate the spice trade of the far east.
Cosmopolitan port
The next chapter moves several thousand miles to Malacca, painting the picture of a truly bustling port with all manner of people from all over the world coming there basically to trade their goods.
The sultan benefited from this trade by applying a levy on the value of the goods traded. Everyone prospered and everyone was happy but the seeds of change were taking root and slowly but surely, things were morphing - for the worse.
Even in those days, religion was creeping into daily life in a cosmopolitan city populated by traders from scores of places, who spoke dozens of languages and practised many faiths or blends of them.
An immigrant from China married a beautiful Malay woman who tragically died in childbirth. Bendahara Tun Mutahir suggested that the woman be buried in a Muslim graveyard so as to avoid problems.
Other matters which hinder the progress of a community began to creep in as well, starting with the “loose cannon affair”. I shall leave the reader to find out more in his own time. Historical note: According to one account, Malacca was known for its cannons (meriam) then which it used to good effect, eventually futile, to ward off the Portuguese conquerors.
Yes, as history would have it, Admiral de Sequeira eventually reached Malacca. Murale has a detailed and interesting narrative in his book. But the sultan, after initial long negotiations, made a mistake which eventually turned fatal for Malacca.
The Portuguese were attacked, 18 killed and 20 taken hostage. de Sequiera retreated, burning two ships damaged beyond repair after they were emptied, the other three left and entered the Indian Ocean after inflicting heavy damage on Malacca’s port infrastructure. The sultan and bendahara hailed it a victory for Malacca.
But vengeance was on hand. In May 1511, an expeditionary force was being prepared in Cochin, India led by the ruthless Grand Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque. In three weeks, they were in Malacca, the hostages were released upon demand but the Portuguese wanted more, Malacca, no less.
Malacca was overpowered and subdued with far superior gun and cannon power. The sultan fled into the jungles, defeated, dejected, and despondent, dreaming of the past that had vanished.
Lessons for all
Murale, who grew up on the outskirts of Malacca, has a degree in science from Universiti Malaya and a law degree from the University of London. A former planter, he runs a logistics firm. He is a great history buff.
His tale is a fascinating account of the downfall of Malacca, mixing history with fiction so well that you do not know which starts and which ends sometimes. The point of it was that there were lessons for all of us, for Malaysia, in history.
And this appears in the epilogue where he launches into subsequent events and excerpts from unvarnished, unembellished history. The last few paragraphs of the epilogue are worth repeating here:
“Then in 1955, four hundred and forty-four years after its (Malacca's) fall and abandonment, the founding father of the nation, Tunku Abdul Rahman, addressed an enthusiastic, cheering Malayan crowd in Malacca. Returning from London after a series of peaceful and cordial discussions, he announced in triumph that a negotiated freedom would come to all, regardless of creed and colour, within two years.
“In return, Tunku had pledged to the English tuan that we would remain united. Thousands of voices affirmed the pledge with shouts of Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! But the promise of merdeka only lasted until May 1969. Then the people were colonised once more. Not by a conqueror from without, but by a coterie from within. Ketuanan Inggeris had morphed into ketuanan Melayu.
“Now we are dictated to, imprisoned without trial, denied our fundamental rights, discriminated against, tortured, insulted, stripped of dignity, barred from fully and freely taking part in the life of the nation.
“But we can hear the wind blowing. We can hear the sound of a thousand leaves rustling in unison. Surely it will rain soon. A hard rain. A new flood will sweep away all that is unjust, all that is wrong.
“Liberated, we will at last become a free people in a free land.’
For all the bitter lessons we need to learn and obstacles to overcome, I like it that the book ends with a glimmer of hope, a clear contrast against the gloom-and-doom scenario many incessantly and tirelessly, or should I say tiresomely, preach and propagate.
Go out and get a copy of the book. How often do you get a sharp, sagacious satire on Malaysia and Malacca, past and present and future, old and new and the unchanging well told and entertainingly so? To answer my question, never so far, until this book.
And, I am not saying this because Murale is a friend of mine.
P GUNASEGARAM, a former editor at online and print news publications, and head of equity research, believes in the old axiom that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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