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Munshi
Abdullah's Malay Dilemma
Born Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir in Melaka
in 1796, Munshi Abdullah is hailed by many as one of the Malay world's
great men of letters. He led Malay literature from the world of heroic
myth, fantasy and feudal exploits into what R O Winstedt described as
"a realism that ... is in accord with the genius of a race of
extroverts." Abdullah became the first modern Malay journalist, his
autobiography Hikayat Abdullah featuring detailed, vivid
descriptions of the ordinary lives of the people of the Malay peninsula
and a native's eyewitness accounts of British administration and rule
in the turbulent first half of nineteenth century.
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Of Arab and Tamil descent, contemporary
British government surveyor J T Thomson described Abdullah as having
'the vigour and pride of the Arab, the perseverance and subtlety of the
Hindoo - in language and national sympathy only was he a Malay." His
detractors criticize him as being an insufferable Anglophile, enamoured
of the 'modern' ways of the English, while deriding the lifestyle of
his fellow Malays, in particular the tyranny of their feudal rulers,
their superstitions and their lack of interest in education. These
themes are indeed evident in the passage below, which is described as
'Volume II' of the Hikayat and was printed as a short epilogue to the
main work.
When I had finished the first volume of this book, for
some little time I gave myself up to thought because I felt that the
period of my lifetime had witnessed so many wonderful changes and new
things which our grand-parents had never seen. Such events provided me
with much food for meditation. I viewed with particular disfavour the
lives led by the Malays and the circumstances of those with whom I had
been acquainted. I had observed their conduct, behaviour and habits
from my youth up to, the present time and had found that, as time went
on, so far from becoming more intelligent they became more and more
stupid. I considered the matter carefully in my mind and came to the
conclusion that there were several reasons for this state of affairs,
but that the main one was the inhumanity and the repressive tyranny of
the Malay rulers, especially towards their own subjects. The point had
been reached at which their hearts had become like soil which no longer
receives its nourishment, and wherein therefore nothing at all can
grow. Industry, intelligence and learning cannot flourish among them
and they are simply like trees in the jungle falling which ever way the
wind blows. I noticed that they were always railed by men of other
races, small fry whose only value is to provide food for the big fry.
I
have mentioned the injustices of the rajas because it is always the
custom of the Malay ruler to despise his subjects, as. though he
thought of them as animals. Whenever a common man meets his ruler he is
obliged to squat on the ground in the mud and filth. If the ruler
desires the daughters or chattels of ordinary folk he just seizes them,
with no sort of fear of Allah and without sparing a thought for the
poor people. The laws and punishments which lie imposes on his subjects
depend solely on his own private whim. Those who find favour with him
he treats kindly, and the wicked behaviour of his own kith and kin at
the expense of the common people he condones and hides. He keeps
hundreds of debt slaves, men who have brought ruin to the common folk,
murdering people with no more compunction than killing an ant. The
rulers make no attempt to protect their subjects, only themselves.
All this has happened because the people have been lacking in
education. They may wish to acquire knowledge but they do not possess
the right tools, so that the results look clumsy in the eyes of men.
And any efforts they make serves only to compromise their reputation
because it invites the spiteful attentions, of other people.
Another factor is the inability of the Malay rulers to look after their
children when young. They allow them to do anything they like, give in
to their every wish, and pay no attention to instructing them in the
humanities, in modesty or a sense of shame, or in the elements of
culture and courteous behaviour. All they do is to find small girls as
playmates for their children when they are young and as their
mistresses when they are older. They give then a keris, and the people
of the country stand wholesome respect and awe of the rulers' children,
not daring to refuse them anything. Fathers compete with their children
in gambling and cock-fighting, giving them money if they require it. If
the father smokes opium so does his child, and the older the child
grows the more scandalous does his behaviour become. Then only does the
father wish to stop him because of the hateful things which people are
saying about him. But so far from his own father being able to stop him
not even ten of his elders and betters can make any impression on the
child. Then at last is the country with its people consumed in the fire
of such wickedness. As the Malay proverb says: "If the bamboo shoot be
not cut when it is young, what is the good of it when it is large and
tough?" and also "A small fire is-our friend, a large one our foe."
Many
are the places and lands which have been destroyed by the depredations
of the young scions of the ruling house, whose rapacious hands can no
longer be tolerated by the people. Other races, the English, the
Indians, the Arabs or the Chinese, do not conduct themselves or behave
in the manner I have described. Only the Malays. Among all these other
races the ruler's children are expected to be well educated and very
intelligent. Their parents compel them to study under threat of
punishment, and to avoid contamination with evil things n any form, so
that their good example may be emulated by their subjects who look to
them for guidance. I am indeed amazed. If our rulers themselves are
ignorant and uneducated how can they rule their people and administer
their countries? And if they are wicked how can they expect to make
their people good? If the Malay rulers do not keep their own children
under control but allow them to prey upon the common people, how can
they themselves exercise their authority over the people? The wicked
children of the rulers are like wild tigers who after the death of
their fathers will despoil the servants of Allah. As I understand it
the object of a fence is to prevent animals from entering and
destroying the garden. But if the fence itself proceeds to destroy the
garden what will be its final state? Allah has created rulers that they
may cherish mankind. He has ordered them to do good and forbidden them
to do evil. If they or their children oppress and harm the people what
will become of them in the end? Will not they, their countries and
their peoples alike, face ruin and disaster?
As it is, under Malay rule ordinary folk cannot lift up their heads and
enjoy themselves, and dare not show any originality for it is forbidden
by the ruler. Wishing possibly to build themselves finely decorated
houses of stone, they are afraid to do so. They are afraid to wear fine
clothing, shoes and umbrellas in case these are taboo. They are afraid
even to keep fine clothing in their houses because it is said that such
things are the perquisites only of royalty. Rich men especially live in
perpetual fear and are fortunate if their only losses are their
belongings. For indeed their very lives are in danger. Means are found
whereby such men may be penalised and mulcted of their belongings. If a
man is reluctant to lend any of his most cherished possessions, it is
accounted a serious offence. And once he has given them up they are
lost forever. He will never see them again. A beautiful young girl in
his house is like a raging poison, for it is quite certain that the
ruler will take her as one of his wives with or without her guardian's
permission. This practice more than any other arouses the hatred of the
servants of Allah. I heard of one courageous man who refused to part
with his daughter. The ruler ordered him to be murdered on some
pretext, and then took the child away. All such acts as these are
forbidden by Allah and His Prophet and incur the censure of mankind
throughout the world. There is only one being who looks with favour
upon them; the Devil, the enemy of Allah, who, in company with all his
followers will be consumed in the eternal flames of hell.
Another
failing commonly found among the Malays is their inability to change or
modernise their ideas or to produce anything new. They utterly refuse
to abandon superstitions of the past. It is not their religion which
compels them to stick to valueless customs, which make them more and
more stupid and ridiculous in the eyes of other races. It would be no
crime to give up these ignorant practices which bring them no gain, and
which only their innate conservatism compels them to retain on the
grounds that they have inherited them from their forefathers. If it is
our duty to follow the customs of our ancestors, then will it not
equally be the duty of our descendants to follow ours? And would you
yourself claim to be perfect; just in all your actions and an expert in
all branches of knowledge and learning? I cannot believe for a moment
that You would dare to claim this. And if you say to me "Let me always
remain in my present way of life" I would reply "Have you ever heard
about the ancient history of the English, about a time when they were
ten times more ignorant than you are at this moment. They wore animal
skins, lived in mud huts, daubed their arms and legs with blue paint,
walked about with dishevelled hair, made human offices to their heathen
gods, and indulged in all sorts of other barbarous practices. But as
time went on their children substituted new customs for these
superstitions, until they progressed to the state in which you find
them today, I know not whether by accident or design. See for yourself
the civilisation of the English to-day. Are they clever or ignorant? If
you say that your present customs are good ones and do not need to be
changed, then the English should return to painting their limbs blue
and to discarding their present forms of clothing in favour of animal
skins. They should smash up their houses and live again in mud huts.
They should abolish steam-power and return to dugouts and canoes, throw
away their compasses and limit their journeys by water to the shallows
and rivers. Do you really wish to retain your ignorant practices as a
heritage for your descendants until the end of time? Do you really
believe that conditions in which you live at present are a fitting
inheritance for your children, a way of life worth their while to
follow? I do not for a moment believe that you really maintain this,
for you yourself realise your own shortcomings. But what are you going
to do? For you persist in following the customs, however bad, of your
ancestors. It is your fond hope, I know, that come what may your
children will be wise and rich and good. But if now you sow in them the
seeds of ignorance and sloth, how can they become wise and industrious?
For as a man sows so shall he reap. If the seed is good the plant will
be good; but if bad, bad.
Man has been created by Allah as a sentient being, capable of thinking,
of using his intelligence and moral judgement. Is it not fitting that
we should make use of these faculties? We should exercise our powers of
discrimination, holding on to the things which profit us and shunning
those which bring evil. But such ideas are sadly lacking in the
mentality of the Malays, who do not use their minds but are content to
pursue the pleasures of the moment and to copy forever the customs of
their ancestors, If we ask them "Why is it that you live in such
dreadful ignorance, and why do you refuse to learn wisdom and how to
use your intelligence?", they will reply "What can we do? We are poor
people and this is how we have to live." But their poverty of mind is
the result of their lack of education, which is itself due to their
unwillingness to learn. There are many factors which prevent them from
studying and working hard. First, their elders never did so in the past
and they themselves are therefore reluctant to start. Second, their
rulers and officials and other people of high rank never do so, so
neither do they,. Third, they are ashamed to be the first among many to
start a new fashion. That is why everyone persists in doing what his
neighbour does, without using his own common sense. The longer they do
this the worse their position becomes. So far from advancing they slip
backwards, and their minds, instead of becoming keener, grow duller and
duller. Their wits, having no whetstone on which to be sharpened, are
devoured by rust until they are quite useless for any purpose whatever.
Finally they become like a piece of land trodden under foot by mankind
in its march along the path of progress.
Great
is my astonishment to see the conditions under which the Malay people
live. They do things which no other race in the world would ever do.
Has any other race in the world so far forgotten its own language as to
have no place at all where that language is taught? Only the Malays, I
notice, take no interest in their own language. Because their
forefathers did not study Malay, they dare not start now. Amazing
indeed! For every day they speak Malay in all their dealings with each
other they use Malay, letters sent from one country to another are
written in Malay. But they do not wish to learn the language itself. I
doubt whether one man in a hundred understands the language, and even
if there are as many it is not by dint of diligent study but by
slavishly copying other people's ways. If anyone questions them about
the use of a certain word, its origin, or why it is employed in a
particular place, they are speechless with surprise for they have never
had a teacher, being content merely to imitate others. Is it right that
hundreds, nay thousands of men should grow up not knowing how to read
or write or do simple sums? It makes them look ridiculous in the eyes
of other races who cheat them over measurements and weights and
computations, and in general wherever writing is involved.
Other races of this world have become civilised and powerful because of
their ability, to read and write and understand their own language,
which they value highly; for instance the Arabs, the English, the
Chinese and the Indians. All these people pay close attention to their
own language, whose vocabulary and richness of expression is thereby
increased as time goes on. Truly it is language which civilises man and
improves his knowledge and understanding, directing all his energies
and raising the level of his own culture besides importing it to
others. By means of language alone can the secrets of the human mind be
revealed. A great nation necessarily has a fine language, in which all
matters pertaining to this world and the next can be given expression.
Such a nation has words to describe activities and to evoke any kind of
concept, It can regulate its life through the medium of language,
affording an opportunity for men to gain untold wealth, honour and
power. And such a language is of the greatest benefit to them in this
world and the next. Is it not worth your while to pay some attention to
it? If you could have asked the Malays of old times, "Are you
sufficiently educated now, and would you be glad to see your children
grow up in the way I have described", they would, I feel sure reply
"No." And they would be very sorry that they had taken no interest in
matters of such importance and benefit to them.
Is
it wrong for children of the present generation to study branches of
knowledge which were quite unknown to their forefathers? On the
contrary, the sudden lapse of the descendants of wise and learned
people, of good character, into ignorance and sin - that, I consider,
is what is really wrong and discreditable. A young tiger that turns
into a kitten deserves our scorn, but the kitten which becomes a tiger
is admired and receives the acclamation of all, and lucky indeed are
those who enjoy, such good fortune. But I find everyone behaving as if
he were entirely contented with his lot in life and disinclined to
improve it by any kind of education. His attitude of mind is that of
the frog beneath the coconut shell who thinks that the shell is the
sky. It is a most serious misapprehension, for the Malays themselves do
realise their own shortcomings and ignorance. But because they are
afraid to tamper with the customs of their fathers they continue to
waste their time in idleness. With their own eyes they have seen many
new and wonderful ideas, the works of man which are a source of
amazement as well as of profit and advantage to us all, and yet they
are unwilling to benefit by them.
If indeed they are aware how dull-witted and lacking in education they
are, what should be the most suitable time for them to make a change
for the better? Surely while they are still young? For this is the time
when their minds can be trained and developed. A tree whose branches
grow and multiply when it is young, spreading out far from the trunk,
will likely bear much fruit when it is fully grown. Human beings are
like that tree. People who receive any kind of education when they are
young will assuredly reap the benefit when they are older. Yet I notice
that the people I have mentioned display not the slightest anxiety for
their children, letting them do exactly as they fancy. They indulge in
petty mischief and cover themselves with mud playing up and down the
lanes. In my opinion the children cannot be blamed, for they see and
copy the example set by their parents. The parents know how to bear
children but not how to educate them, and their final state is like the
tree with poisoned branches, anyone partaking of its fruit becoming ill
and afterwards regretting his action. I have given only a brief account
of these matters. But it is my greatest hope that these people will
take to heart the advice I have offered them.
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