Khamis, 28 November 2024

The Images of “Keling” in Sulalat al-Salatin

 Oleh Nik Abdul Rakib Bin Nik Hassan

Kali ini kita bincang tentang gambaran Keling dalam Kitab Sulalat al-Salatin. Dengan kemukakan sebuah makaklah bertajuk “The Images of “Keling” in Sulalat al-Salatin” tulisan Sdr. Abdur-Rahman Mohamed Amin, pensyarah di Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, dn Prof Dato’ Dr. pensyarah dan felo di beberapa universiti di Malaysia. Makalah ini diterbit di International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 4, No. 3, May 2014. Isi kandungan makalah tersebut adala berikut:-


The Images of “Keling” in Sulalat al-Salatin


Abstract—The word “keling” in Malaysia has become a socially undesirable term and it has a derogatory connotation for Malaysians of Indian origin. Though the word existed in the Malay vocabulary since 15th century, there was an attempt to remove it from the Malay dictionary due to its negative connotations. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the images of “keling” amongst the Malays circa 14th to 15th centuries. The analysis on the discourse is to discover the semantics of the word “keling” in the 17th century Malay epic Sulalat al-Salatin. From this study, it was found that the historical relationship between Malacca and “keling” started early than 15th century. “Keling” played a very important role to help the administration of the Malacca Malay Empire. Generally, the word “keling” has been used mostly with a positive connotation in Sulalat al-Salatin.


Index Terms—Keling, Malacca, Malay Annals, Sulalat al-Salatin.


I. INTRODUCTION

Malaysia is a multiracial country comprising three major identities and ethnicities, namely Malay, Chinese and Indian. The dominant race is the Malay. The existence and interaction between all of these races can be seen clearly during the existence of the Malacca Empire in 15th century. Since that time, the Malay used the term “keling” to describe people coming from the Indian subcontinent. It has been used widely in many classical Malay books such as Sulalat al-Salatin, Hikayat Hang Tuah and Hikayat Raja Pasai.


Nowadays, the term “keling” has been received in derogatory manner in Malaysia especially among Malaysians of Indian origin. Though the word existed in Malay vocabulary since the 15th century, many attempts have been made over the years to erase it from the Malay vocabulary. One was by a group of Indian Muslim community in Malaysia to remove the word “keling” from the third edition of Kamus Dewan, a Malay dictionary which was published by the Malaysian government agency, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP). It happened in July 30th 2003 when the chairman of Angkatan Pelopor India Muslim Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan (APIM), filed the summons in High Court against Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and five others


Manuscript received May 29, 2013; revised September 1, 2013. This work was supported with the fund from Ministry of Higher Education in Malaysia under the Exploratory Research Grant Scheme (ERGS) with a study entitled “The Keling in Malay Discourses: The Study of Narratives in Selected Classical Malay Prose Epics” (Project Code: 15-8200-317.) In addition, the authors would like to thank Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS for providing support for this research.


Abdur-Rahman Mohamed Amin and Ahmad Murad Merican are with the Department of Management and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750, Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia (e-mail: urrahman_amin@petronas.com.my, amurad_noormerican@petronas.com.my).


over the use of the term “keling” which, according to them, was offensive and humiliating to Malaysians Indians. He said that the word was in conflict to the Federal Constitution, National Principles (Rukun Negara) and the Publication and Printing Presses Act 1984 (Amended 1987) [1]. This phenomenon is not only happened in Malaysia, but also happened in Singapore. On 1st August 1921, The Straits Times, one of the newspapers in Singapore carried out a notice from Municipal Office entitled “Kling Street-Change of Name”. In the advertisement, it was announced that the name of the Kling Street will be changed to Chulia Street starting from 1st January 1922 [2].


It was believed that the name had been changed due to the suggestion by the Indian Association of Singapore [3].

In the modern Malay dictionary, the word “keling” is used to describe merchants coming from the South Indian subcontinent including Kalinga and Telingana to the Malay Peninsula as early as 3rd century [4]. In Northern Malay Peninsula, it also has been used to refer to the Indian people in Malaysia who are Muslims. Shellabear, in the early 20th century, refers the word “keling” in his dictionary as “the native of the eastern coast of British India, especially the Telugus and Tamils” [5]. Winstedt added that this word has been taken from the old kingdom of Kalinga in India [6]. Though both of the dictionaries agreed that “keling” refers to the people coming from Indian subcontinent, Shellabear does not specify the religion for this people, which, before the 7th century, were Hindus. The Malay dictionary mentioned that this word, especially in the Northern area of Malay Peninsula, refers to the Indians who are Muslims. Therefore, in Shellabears dictionary, he used the term “Kling Islam” specifically to describe the Tamil who is a Muslim [7].


The existence of Indians in Malaysia can be traced back to the ancient times when Hinduism and Buddhism were religions of the ruling elites and the population. The discovery of Bujang Valley with the temples, which is situated near to the Muda River in Kedah, showed that the area was the earliest Malay kingdom and it had been greatly influenced by the Hindu-Buddhist religion. Inscriptions found at the area was in Pallawa script, dated around 5th century AD. Thousands of ceramic pieces from many places including India, Middle East, China and Europe were also discovered, showing that from the ancient time, the Malay Peninsula was one of the strategic locations for maritime trading route between China, India, Middle East and Europe [8].

Later, when the Malacca Empire was established in early 15th century and gradually developed into the greatest emporium in the known world, traders from all over the world were attracted to come to Malacca. This cosmopolitan society was a polyglot of languages - more than 80 - comprising Achinese, Burmese, Javanese, Minangkabaus, Bugis, Arabic, Persian, Gujerati, Chinese, Siamese, and  Tamil. Traders as far as the Ryukyus in the proximity of Okinawa and Southern Japan also called upon Malacca. They were populated in Malacca especially in Upih, Bandar Hilir and Tanjung Pasir [9].


The migration of Indians to the Malay Peninsular was very active during the time of British colonization in Malaya. According to Kernial, the total number of Indian immigration into Malaya under the British rule between 1786 and 1957 was 4 245 990 people [10]. The existence of the Indian migrants in the country was very important. During the time of British rule in early 20th century, the Indian community helped in the plantation, agricultural as well as in the transportation sectors.


Many studies had been conducted to study the history of Indian community in Malaysia. It also includes their sub-community like “Jawi Peranakan” and “Indian Muslims”. The “Jawi peranakan” refers to the family where the father was a migrant from South Indian – mainly from the Coromandel Coast, and also the Malabar, and the mother was Malay. The intermarriage between these two races created another type of community which is famous in Penang. The study about this community and how they assimilated into Malay society has been done by Helen Fujimoto, and Halimah Mohd Said and Zainab Abdul Majid [11], [12].


The existence of the community mostly in Penang was expected because of the location of Penang as an important entreport during the British rule where all of the immigrants from India will first arrive there before they moved to the other states. A study by Ahmad Murad Merican about “keling” focused on the Malay consciousness of the Indian and “jawi pekan” in socio-historical and journalistic narratives. This study was based on Malay journalistic and socio-historical narratives. It also made reference to the Malay Annals – the Sulalat al-Salatin [13].


This study picks up and presents a more focused investigation of the used of “keling” in one of the classical Malay epics, Sulalat al-Salatin. In the previous study about this Malay epics, many scholars have discussed about its genesis and originality [14]-[17], but most of the studies focused more toward the literature and linguistics point of view [18]-[21], and some of the other studies discussed about it from the context of socio-cultural, politics and historical perspectives [22]-[25]. Therefore, this study has been conducted to analyze the context of using the word “keling” among Malay in Sulalat al-Salatin.


II. METHODOLOGY

The study examines the Malay discourses on the word “keling” as used in Sulalat al-Salatin or also known as Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals. Originally, this manuscript was written using classical Malay language in Jawi script. The main theme of this manuscript relates to the genealogy and the history of Malacca Kingdom that began in early fifteenth century until it was conquered by the Portuguese in 1511. Since there are many versions of Sulalat al-Salatin, the version which has been transcribed by Samad Ahmad is used in this study. The word count of “keling” has been done and the context of using it is analyzed in details. Consequently,


after the results have been systematically analyzed, it leads to the discussion on the Malay discourses and consciousness towards the word “keling” during the Malacca Empire in 15th century.


III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In Sulalat al-Salatin, the word “keling” was used 66 times in different contexts [26]. Based on the story in Sulalat al-Salatin, there were many episodes where the encounter between Malay and “keling” has been narrated. The word has been combined together with the other word as a phrase and the phrase which has been used most frequently was “benua keling”. Literally, the phrase refers to the continent of the “keling” or the country where the “keling” comes from. Nowadays, it is well known as India. It also has been used as “hulubalang keling” which means warrior of Kalinga, the Indian Empire, “rakyat keling” which means citizens of Kalinga, “raja keling” which means King of Kalinga, “kain keling” and “belanga keling” where both phrases refers to the specific textile and pot which originated from the Indian Empire.


A. “Keling” Before the Empire of Malacca

Initially, the story about “keling” appeared before the existence of Malacca Empire. It was about Raja Suran, who was the King from India, came to the Malay Peninsula in his military expedition with his soldiers. His army, together with large numbers of elephants and horses, fought hard with the military from Siam and finally, the King succeeded to kill Raja Chulan, who was the King for Siam. Later, Raja Suran married with Prince Onang Kiu, the daughter of Raja Chulan, and the army marched towards Temasik, or well-known today as Singapore.


The journey of his military expedition stopped at Temasik. But Raja Suran has the ambition to continue his journey until they reach China. When the news arrived at the Kingdom of China, in order to avoid the war and to protect his country, the Emperor of China sent a ship filled with rusty and small needles with old sailormen to Temasik. When the ship arrived at Temasik, Raja Suran ordered his men to get the information from the Chinese ship on the distance between Temasik and China. The old sailors explained that the distance was very long due to the fact that when they started the journey, they were at the young age. In addition, the big steel in their ship had changed to a small one due to the long journey. When Raja Chulan heard about this information, he thought that China was still very far away from Temasik and he suggested that they should end their military expedition and return back to their homeland in India [27].


From the story above, the term “keling” has been used since long time ago to refer to the people coming from the Indian subcontinent. It has been described that they were skillful fighters from the great Kingdom in India and were involved in the process of colonization and expansion of Indian Empire until it reached Southeast Asia. The armed forces were formidable in both land and sea warfare and won against the Kingdom of Gangga Nagara in Perak, Langgiu in Johore and Temasik in Singapore. In addition, the author mentioned that Raja Suran built a kingdom at “benua keling”


or at the Indian subcontinent namely Bijaya Negara. According to the translation of Sulalat al-Salatin by Brown, the word “keling” in Malay was translated as “Kalinga men.” Keling King has been referred to as the King of Kalinga. Thus, from Browns translation, he believes that the word “keling” specifically refers to the “Kalinga” empire in India [28].


B. The Intercultural Marriage of “Keling”

According to Sulalat al-Salatin, Tajitram Shah, the King for “benua keling” or Indian sub-continent, was a descendent from the King of Alexander Zulqarnain. At one time, his ship was stranded at Belambang Majut or known today as Bangkahulu in Sumatera, Indonesia. Later, whenever the King at Belambang Majut knew that Tajitram Shah was a prince from India, he offered his daughter, Raden Sendari, to marry Tajitram Shah. They were blessed with four children namely Ratna Dewi, Seri Dewi, Maniaka and Nila Karna. He stayed in Belambang Majut until his people came from Canda Kani to save him and bring him back to India. He brought back with him both of his sons. Before that, after the Emperor of China heard about the famous King from “benua keling” who was at Belambang Majut, the Emperor wanted to have a relationship with him through marriage. He sent his envoy from China to propose to marry his daughter. Tajitram Shah agreed and he sent his eldest daughter, Seri Dewi to China. The other daughter, Ratna Dewi, was proposed by Majapahit in Java [27].


In this story, the word “benua keling” has been clearly used as a reference to the sub-continent of India. It is believed that there was a great Kingdom in India and it was so famous until the Emperor of China also wanted to have the inter-monarch relationship with this Kingdom through marriage. The “keling” rulers also sent envoys with tribute to the other rulers with special gifts. As a result, the image of the “keling” becomes better due to the diplomatic relationship with the other great kingdoms. In fact, the diplomatic relationship at this time between the kingdoms is full with prestige and status and it only belongs to the elite class in that society.


C. “Keling” in the Kingdom of Singapore

The relationship between the Kingdom of India and Singapore started when the ruler of Singapore, Seri Teri Buana wanted his son, Raja Kecil Besar to marry Princess Nila Pancadi, the daughter of Jambuga Rama Mudaliar, the ruler of “benua keling”. When Seri Teri Buana sent his envoy to “benua keling”, headed by Aria Bupala and Maha Indera Bijaya, the proposal had been accepted and they went back to Singapore to inform the good news to their ruler. The King of “benua keling”, Jambuga Rama Mudaliar, told the envoy that he will go and send his daughter to Singapore for the marriage. Later, Jambuga Rama Mudaliar together with his family and forty warriors headed by Andul Nina Mara Kulina, board on the ship to send the princess for the marriage in Singapore. There were around 500 hand-maiden accompanying the princess. The marriage between Raja Kecil Besar and Princess Nila Pancadi was successfully completed. In the other episode, the King of “benua keling” sent his warrior, Nadi Bija Niakra to Singapore to challenge


the famous warrior, Badang. They sailed from India with seven ships and if their warrior lost in the challenge, all of the ships will become the property of Singapore kingdom [27].

Based on the story, the great kingdom of India was clearly referred to as “benua keling” or the continent of “keling.” The relationship was so close with the other kingdoms in Southeast Asia especially through intercultural marriage. The “keling” Empire has their own language which is totally different with the language of people from Singapore. Therefore, these two Kingdoms needed a translator to translate the letter from each other when it was read in the court. In addition, it showed how international relations between the “keling” Empire and Singapore develop in the past. The exchanges of envoys, gifts and letters were normal to establish an international network between the regions. In short, the image of “keling” was portrayed positively based on the good relationship they have with the other kingdom like Singapore.


D. “Keling” in the Malacca Empire

During the reign of Sultan Muhammad Shah, an Indian prince, who was a Muslim came from the Indian subcontinent to Malacca together with his soldiers in his fleet of seven ships. His name was Mani Purindan and his father was the ruler for a kingdom where they call it as Pahili, located in the Indian subcontinent. Sultan Muhammad Shah was very impressed with him and appointed him as one of his ministers. Later on, he married with the daughter of Seri Nara Diraja and was blessed with two children, namely Tun Ali and Tun Ratna Wati. It was believed that Mani Purindan was the first “keling” or Tamil-Muslim to be appointed as one of the ministers in the Malacca court. In the story, it was also mentioned that Sultan Muhammad Shah was married to Tun Ratna Wati, the daughter of Mani Purindan, and they were blessed with a son named Raja Kassim. After Sultan Muhammad died, Raja Ibrahim was appointed as the Sultan, but later on he was replaced with Raja Kassim who was supported by Seri Nara Diraja Tun Ali and Bendahara. Raja Kassim used the title Sultan Muzaffar Shah after he became the Sultan. Therefore, Sultan Muzaffar Shah was the first Malay King where his mother was a daughter from Tamil-Malay mixed marriage [27].


From this important story, Mani Purindan was a prince coming from the “benua keling” or Indian continent and he was a Muslim. He had been given the opportunity to serve as one of the ministers in the court of Sultan Muhammad Shah, where Malacca at that time had adopted Islam as official religion. He got married to the daughter of Seri Nara Diraja, one of the ministers in the Malacca Court and his family had been accepted as part of the Malacca society at that time through the process of assimilation with local culture, which deprives the family of a separate Malay identity. As a result, the people of Malacca can accept Raja Kassim or also known as Sultan Muzaffar Shah as their King even though his mother was not from “pure” Malay family but from Keling-Malay mixed marriage.


This story was very important to prove that the prince from “benua keling” had been accepted as the minister in the court of Sultan Muhammad due to their ability and charisma as a leader. As a result of the appointment as the minister in


Malacca Empire, they were socially accepted and respected as the upper levels of the society and after the assimilation through marriage, they had been totally accepted as part of the elite people in Malacca.


E. “Keling” Before the Fall of Malacca Empire

During the reign of Sultan Mahmud, he sent one of his warriors, Hang Nadim, to sail to the “benua keling” to buy a special textile made in India. At the end of the story, Hang Nadim failed to bring all of it back to Malacca due to the shipwreck which happened near Ceylon. During this time, it can be understood that India was very famous with high quality textiles. The Indian people or “keling” have the creativity as textile designers to design cloth according to the request from the customer.

In addition, during the reign of Sultan Mahmud, there were two people who had been referred to as “keling”, namely Raja Mendaliar and Kitul. Raja Mendaliar was a Shahbandar or port administrator or harbor master in Malacca, one of the important ministers in the court of Sultan Mahmud and was very rich. The Shahbandar was the official in charge of the shipping systems and commercial transactions including the tax collection. He was also the chief of all the sea-captains [27]. Based on the story, Raja Mendaliar had been appointed as one of the officials in the court of Sultan Mahmud to represent traders from India. In fact, the Shahbandar was the representative of the foreign traders from the various communities in Malacca. Therefore, many Shahbandar were needed to represent different groups of traders including the traders from India. In addition, Malacca at that time was very busy with so many ships coming to the port. It was so prosperous until the Shahbandar, who is not among the highest rank officials in Malacca was declared as among the richest people in Malacca [27].


Kitul was another “keling” who was mentioned in Sulalat al-Salatin. He was from the family of Nina Sura Dewana. Kitul has a debt amounting 600 gram of gold with Raja Mendaliar. In the story, Kitul was a man who spread slander to Raja Mendaliar that Nina Sura Dewana together with the Bendahara, who was the chief executive for Malacca officials, wanted to kill Raja Mendaliar. As a compensation of this important information, Raja Mendaliar eliminated all of the debts from Kitul. To stop the conspiracy, he went to meet Khoja Hasan with his gold and jewels to bribe him. Khoja Hasan, the Laksamana who was responsible for the civil and military duties of Malacca, was bribed to spread the new slander to the Sultan that the Bendahara wanted to seize the power of the Sultan. As the result, after the Sultan knew about the news from Laksamana Khoja Hasan, he ordered Tun Sura Diraja and Tun Indera Segara to execute the Bendahara and his family members including Seri Nara Diraja, Tun Hasan Temenggung and Tun Ali due to the false information from Laksamana [27].


The story about Kitul was among the factors that lead to the downfall of Malacca Empire. Malacca lost its Bendahara, together with the other important great lords namely Seri Nara Diraja and Tun Hasan Temenggung. Raja Mendeliar and Kitul were also executed after the Sultan knew about the slander. The empire became unstable with so many slanders spread among the officials in the court of Sultan Mahmud and


at the end the Sultan had the difficulty to control and trust his officials.

Before the fall of Malacca Empire to the Portuguese in 1511, the internal problem of leadership in administration contributed greatly to its downfall. The images of “keling” represented by Bendahara Tun Mutahir, Raja Mendeliar and Kitul were negatively displayed in this story. We find the image of the “keling” has evolved. The “keling’s” later representation differed from the earlier ones.


IV. CONCLUSION

Based on the discussion above, the word “keling” has been used regularly in Sulalat al-Salatin mostly in a positive way. “Keling” has been portrayed as the people coming from Indian sub-continent who have a very great Kingdom. They existed before the empire of Malacca was founded in early 15th century. They have a very long relationship with the Malay Archipelago through commercial trading, migration and expansion of their Empire. The people who migrated from this Kingdom to Malacca in 15th century were mostly from the higher social status such as merchants, sailors, warriors and elites and they also became part of the administrators in Malacca Empire. Eventually, through inter-cultural marriage and assimilation, they became part of the Malay aristocracy especially in the office of the Bendahara and extremely influential in Malacca administration. Furthermore, the “keling” people have been reported as the largest immigrant communities in Malacca at that time. Unfortunately, at the end of the story, the characters of “keling” have been narrated negatively due to their political mischief of spreading slanders in the court of Sultan Mahmud. Their actions gave a very high impact to the stability of Malacca Empire and not long after that, the Malacca Empire was conquered by the Portuguese in 1511. That episode was to be clearly etched in the Malay consciousness throughout centuries to come.


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Selasa, 26 November 2024

Kedaulatan Manusia Berusaha

Oleh Nik Abdul Rakib Bin Mik Hassan

Kali ini saya kemukakan sebuah artikel bertajuk “Kedaulatan Manusia Berusaha” tulisan Dr. Azhar Ibrahim Alawee, pensyarah Jabatan Pengajian Melayu, Universiti Nasional Singapura (NUS). Isi kandungannya berkaitan dengan Tenaga buruh. Isi kandungannya seperti berikut:-


Ia adalah hari keramat dan semangat untuk setiap pekerja. Ia wajar disambut bukan semata-mata untuk beristirahat sehari cuti, tetapi ia adalah pengiktirafan sejagat bahawa manusia bekerja adalah penggerak keluarga, masyarakat, negara, dan seluruh sejagat.


Manusia itu fitrahnya ialah insan bekerja dan berusaha. Dalam negara yang sejahtera, kebajikan para pekerja akan terjaga. Namun ia bukan datang semena-mena. Ia hasil daripada kebijakan kepimpinan negara yang menggubal dasar untuk melindungi hak pekerja, dengan gaji dan lain-lain jaminan seperti cuti dan biaya sakit dan keperluan kebajikan keluarga.


Di pihak negara, penggubalan dasar dan perundangan terus dilakukan demi memastikan bahawa tiada siapa yang harus dirugikan dalam hubungan pekerja dan majikan. Keberuntungan syarikat harus diterjemah ke dalam bentuk bonus dan tambahan gaji dari semasa ke semasa. Di Singapura, pencaruman pekerja melalui CPF menjadi wajib dan ini adalah satu bentuk untuk melindungi simpanan pekerja untuk hari tua mereka.

         

Hari ini dengan struktur ekonomi bergeser ke sektor yang lebih canggih dalam penggunaan teknologi dan pengurusannya, para pekerja diberikan insenstif untuk meningkatkan kemahiran. Tanpa peningkatan kemahiran, kualiti penghasilan atau perkhidmatan tidak bisa berkembang.


Pekerjaan Memberi Makna Hidup


Kehidupan tanpa pekerjaan pastinya akan bererti keputusan mendapatkan sumber menyara hidup. Ia juga suatu pengangguran yang menyebabkan masa tidak berisi dan manusia hilang rutin hidup.


Tentu saja kita bermimpi bila satu hari kita tidak perlu bekerja. Namun bersediakah kita hidup tanpa aturan masa, sehingga kebosanan menerpa?


Pekerjaan dan manusia bekerja dipandang mulia. Dalam masyarakat kita, sering terungkap kerja yang halal dan kerja yang membawa berkat. Ia satu kefahaman sederhana tetapi intinya mulia. Malah dalam sapaan seharian, sering kita menyebut “Tak kerja ke hari ini?” Itulah yang ditanya sebab kerja dipandang antara yang terpenting dalam aturan hidup, hampir sama dengan sapaan bertanyakan “Dah makan ke belum?”


Malah umumnya semua pemikir besar dunia, meletakkan pekerjaan sebagai usaha mulia manusia. Begitu juga dengan agama-agama universal dunia. Dalam tradisi Islam, bekerja itu adalah amalan mulia, sampaikan usaha mencari rezeki itu adalah jalan mendapatkan keredaan Tuhan. Dalam Tajusalatin, teks etika keagamaan Melayu yang tersohor, mengandungi bab tentang kemuliaan kerja.

Disebut para nabi bekerja mencari saraan hidup masing-masing. Ini untuk membezakan nabi dengan kerahiban yang hanya beribadat meninggalkan dunia, jauh lagi seperti kaum feudal yang memerintah dan bermewah hasil daripada menguras tenaga dan sumber rakyat jelata.


Betapa lagi dalam pepatah petitih kita juga kaya menyeru dan memuliakan orang bekerja. Manusia yang bekerja dengan hati yang suka, disebut umpama “Bahu memikul hati menyokong.” Mereka yang kuat berusaha maka tiada putus rezekinya, laksana “Ringan tulang berat perut.”


Ikhtiar manusia bekerja mesti merancang, mempertimbangkan potensi dan risiko, sebagaimana diserukan: “Baik berjagung-jagung sementara padi masak.”

Cita Pekerja


Mendapatkan pekerjaan adalah sebahagian daripada hak asasi manusia. Na

mun itu belum tentu menjamin kesejahteraan dan kebajikan pekerja.


Hasrat, angan-angan dan harapan para pekerja bukanlah sesuatu yang asing, kerana kita adalah sebahagian daripadanya. Wajar dan berpatutan sekiranya kita menurunkan sepuluh cita pekerja, yang wajar dipenuhi, dilaksanakan dan diperakukan.


Sesungguhnya setiap satu pekerja itu:


1. Diiktiraf, diperkira dan dilayan sebagai manusia, bukan mesin, bukan angka tak bernama, bukan hamba yang ditebus dan dilupus


2. Dilayani dengan adil sama ada dalam bentuk gaji dan lain-lain hak dan kemudahan, dengan tiada diskriminasi jantina, kelas, kaum, bahasa, agama dan lain-lain


3. Suara mereka dirangkum sama, termasuk mempunyai hak untuk bergerak dan terwakil dalam kesatuan sekerja yang menjadi perantara antara pekerja dan majikan


4. Suasana dan masa bekerja yang fleksibel, mengambil kira durasi jam bekerja, dan suasana kerja yang selesa, tidak tertekan, dan saling akrab dan manusiawi sesama pekerja dan atasan


5. Adanya kemudahan untuk tingkatkan gaji, kesempatan latihan, cuti khas berbentuk peribadi dan ihsan, serta kemudahan penjagaan keluarga diperpanjangkan dalam bentuk subsidi atau insurans


6. Memberikan peluang latihan dan pendedahan terbuka kepada semua peringkat pekerja, dan kemudian diterjemah dalam bentuk kenaikan gaji dan elaun, sehingga ini memberi pekerja insentif untuk mempertingkatkan produktiviti


7. Pengalaman dan kemampuan bekerja sama diperkirakan dengan mereka yang memiliki kelayakan sijil, sehinggakan merit daya kerja hanya bukan dipertimbangkan semata-mata oleh kelayakan sijil pendidikan


8. Suasana, jangka waktu, dan aturan kerja menyebabkan pekerja menjadi puas, merasakan pekerjaan itu bermakna, bukan paksaan, tidak melihat tempat kerja sebagai penjara atau ruang merana


9. Majikan dan atasan menghargai sumbangan setiap peringkat pekerja, tanpa ada pilih kasih, membangunkan saluran komunikasi yang berkesan agar harapan dan jangkaan majikan dan pekerja dapat mengalir dan menyambung


10. Wujudnya keakraban semangat berkoperasi sesama pekerja, sehingga semangat kekeluargaan wujud; pekerja terasa ia dipandang dan bukan pula dikerdil mudah disepak terajang.

Buruh Mengeluh

Bayangkan mereka yang tidak mendapat kerja atau lama menganggur. Ia pasti memberi kesan psikologikal yang berat, selain kesempitan kewangan. Sama juga apabila dalam kalangan pekerja yang nasibnya terhempit oleh dasar dan praktis ekonomi yang tidak menyebelahi pekerja.


Sedari awal, kesempitan pekerja terakam dalam sastera kita. Bacalah saja dalam Syair Potong Gaji, di mana penulis Tuan Simi, merakam keluhan kuli/pekerja:


“Gaji pun dipotong kerja-kerja ditambah

Tempat pekerjaan ditukar dipindah

Di manakah hati sekalian tak gundah

Kerja yang bertiga seorang sudah”


Sampai pula tergugah maruah mereka:


“Perasaan hati sangatlah rendah

Kebajikan dibuat tidak berfaedah

Beberapa lamanya bekerja sudah

Harganya dinilai setimbang ludah.”


Itulah rakaman suara pekerja (lebih tepat kuli) pada awal abad ke-19 di Singapura. Dari semasa ke semasa, suara perit dan jerit para pekerja terakam dan berkumandang. Pernah dikuntumkan baris puisi oleh Usman Awang, bertajuk “Nasib Buruh.” Bunyinya begini:


Melarat di sepanjang jalan hidup

tidak kira, tubuh perit dipanggang suria

tidak hirau, dingin hujan menyiram muka

terus bekerja... terus pula menderita


Di rumah anak-anak dan isteri muram durja

apa untuk dimakan segala tiada

pakaian compang-camping

namun.... hidup diteruskan juga


Sumpah seranah majikan

segala diterima dengan senyum getir

patuh dalam kesabaran derita

untuk sesen wang yang diterima


Tapi semakin ditindas-tindas

jiwa buruh semakin bergelora

bersatu, bertenaga, bekerja dan berjuang

mencapai taraf hidup setara manusia


Sama terharu kalau kita membaca puisi pedas dan membebas dari Widji Thukul penyair asal Indonesia. Dengan judulnya “Buruh-buruh”, kita dibawa mengalami kehidupan sempit para pekerja yang terperas tenaga, masa, raga, suara dan jiwa.


“Di batas desa

pagi-pagi

dijemput truk

dihitung seperti pesakitan

diangkut ke pabrik

begitu seterusnya

Mesin terus berputar

pabrik harus berproduksi

pulang malam

badan loyo

nasi dingin

Bagaimana kalau anak sakit

bagaimana obat

bagaimana dokter

bagaimana rumah sakit

bagaimana uang bagaimana gaji

bagaimana pabrik? mogok?

pecat! mesin tak boleh berhenti

maka mengalirlah tenaga murah

mbak ayu kakang dari desa.”


Hak dan kebajikan pekerja harus terus mendapat perhatian dan keutamaan. Jangan sampai kita sibuk menyebut pembangunan dan kemajuan, tetapi kita mengabaikan tenaga dan sumber yang menggerakkan semua ini. Pengabaian dan perlekehan terhadap pekerja adalah kekejaman.


Betapa pekerjaan itu adalah sebahagian transaksi ekonomi, ia mesti adil dan seimbang. Transaksi ini mesti manusiawi, bukan untung rugi saja. Ini kerana pekerjaan itu bukan suatu perhambaan, bukan juga perdagangan semata. Pekerjaan adalah kontrak sesama manusia untuk menjadikan kehidupan sesama kita makmur, adil dan beradab. Pekerjaan harus menuju ke arah pemuliaan manusia.


Hanya manusia yang tahu, pernah dan sedar bekerja, menjadikan ia berprihatin, peka dan memberati hal ehwal para pekerja dan dunia pekerjaan. Sangat cantik apabila Pramoedya Ananta Toer, dalam novel Bumi Manusia, menyimpulkan dengan tegas tapi menyengat:


“Memerintah pekerja pun kau tidak bisa karena kau tak bisa memerintah dirimu sendiri, Memerintah diri sendiri kau tak bisa karena kau tak mau bekerja.”


Tabik kepada mereka yang berdiri untuk pekerja. Tabik penuh bagi setiap pekerja yang terus membangunkan manusia dan kemanusiaan.


Ahad, 24 November 2024

Suratman Markasan: Sang Pengayom dan Pengayam Kesusasteraan

Oleh Nik Abdul Rakib Bin Nik Hassan

Kali ini saya kemukakan seorang penulis dari Kota Singa, yang saya pernah bertemu dengan beliau 2203 kali di Malaysia. Beliau ialah Cikgu Suratman Markasan, dan saya kemukakan penulisan Dr. Azhar Ibrahim Alawee yang berkaitan dengan Cikgu Suratman Markasan. Dr Azhar Ibrahim Alwee adalah pensyarah Pengajian Melayu di Universiti Nasional Singapura (NUS). Selain kesusasteraan klasik dan moden Melayu, fokus penyelidikan beliau adalah wacana penulisan kritikal dan pembangunan intelektual Melayu-Indonesia. Beliau juga Naib Pengerusi Yayasan Warisan Melayu (MHF). Tajuknya “Suratman Markasan: Sang Pengayom dan Pengayam Kesusasteraan” di tersiar di berita.mediacorp.sg Inilah tulisan Dr Azhar Ibrahim Alawee:-


Suratman Markasan ialah Pengayom Kesusasteraan yang berhati dan berperi, memimpin dan berprihatin, tegak bertugas mendiri serta akur pentingnya bersikap mandiri.

Beliau pernah dan sering bersua dan duduk bersama kita di dewan yang mulia ini, tetapi kini beliau sudah berpergian meninggalkan kita semua.


Pak Suratman, terimakasih banyak kerana selama ini telah mendampingi dan berbahagi ilmu dan ilham sebagai sasterawan, sebagai guru, sebagai pemerhati mahupun sebagai peserta undangan.


Setiap kali Pak Suratman hadir dalam apa jua acara, itu adalah penghormatan besar, kerana beliau seorang tokoh yang hadirnya merahmat dan memberkat dan suara geraknya melekat dan memikat.


Kali ini kita meraikan beliau, betapa beliau tidak dapat bersama kita. Sempena di bulan Ramadan yang mulia ini, kita panjatkan doa dan Alfateha agar rohnya dicucuri Rahmat.


Kita yang telah dididiknya, sudah dibekali dengan ihsan mengenali dan menghargai, bahawa peduli berhati pada ehwal rakyat itu adalah keramat, dan kemanusiaan agama dan tradisi, adalah amanah yang semua kita harus pikul.


Kita menyapa beliau dengan sapaan Cikgu atau Pak Suratman, melekat sampai kini, kerana keserdehanaan peribadinya adalah ketokohan yang sukar ditandingi.


Di kesempatan yang berbahagia ini, izinkan saya menghurai dua sisi dari ketokohan yang bisa disimpulkan dari keperibadian guru kita ini:


Pertama, Suratman Markasan bisa dirakam baktinya sebagai Pengayam.


Kedua, Suratman Markasan bermakam sebagai sang Pengayom.


Dua sisi ini boleh kita sebutkan sebagai sebuah ketukangan. Malah dari ketukangan ini, nanti bisa saya usulkan gelar kalungan yang wajar beliau menyandangnya.

Pengayam Kesusasteraan

Mengayam itu adalah bertukang seni, yang kelihatan pada zahirnya, dan pada sisi batin mengetap, melurus dan membingkas ilmu dan pemikiran.


Pengayaman Pak Suratman terlihat dalam dua bidang utama.


Yang satu berona ilham kreatif yang membungakan fiksi prosa dan puisi.


Yang satu lagi berbentuk wacana yang mengupas idea, pemikiran, impian dan harapan.

 

Himpunan tulisannya menjadi kesaksian, yang merentasi puluhan dekad, melintasi zaman kolonial, zaman Jepun, zaman kemerdekaan Malaya, Malaysia dan Singapura sampai zaman Singapura baharu sebagai sebuah republik.

Dari genre yang beliau bertukang, ia merata dan membina. Dari novel, cerpen, puisi, esei, buku kajian dan rujukan, kritikan, ulasan, panduan, sorotan dan kata aluan-aluannya. Tercukup semuanya sehingga akan panjang berjela bila dicatat dalam senarai rujukan.


Beliau ialah pemikir dan ilmuan sekali gus, yang menulis dengan kajian, pemerhatian dan pengalaman kerana latihan pendidikan di perguruan tinggi menambah inti kecerdasan dan kedalaman ungkapan beliau.


Beliau sangat yakin pada hikmat yang digubahnya:


Sasterawan harus menjadi mata dan telinga untuk masyarakatnya.”


Itulah yang membuat beliau menjadi penulis yang cermat memerhati, bukan penulis yang berkhayal ilham sendiri-sendiri.


Beliau ialah ilmuan yang di dalam cakrawala pemikiran tiada tempat untuk berneutral atau konon berobjektif.

Beliau menilai dan menimbang berdasarkan ukuran penilaian yang bersandarkan nilai-nilai keagamaan dan kemanusiaan yang universal.


Keberpihakan adalah antara dasar pena Pak Suratman. Perhatikan dalam bait-bait dari beliau:


apabila kita makan dan minum

teringatkah kita kepada anak-anak malang

di empat penjuru jagat raya lalu bertanya:


apakah laparnya sudah kenyang

apakah dinginnya sudah hangat

apakah sakitnya sudah sembuh

apakah bodohnya sudah pandai?”


Beliau adalah anak negeri yang bangga akan sejarah dan harga diri bangsanya. Beliau berfikir dengan kemajmukan tapi ia juga harus berdiri dengan keadilan.


Bacalah lembaran karya beliau, bahawa kita akan diketemukan dengan manusia dan masyarakat yang tersungkur dan tergusur, yang tergelincir dan tercicir, yang terkepil dan dikerdil, yang suram dan dibungkam, yang tertinggal dan dimarginal, yang terlupa dan dilupakan. Suara Suratman adalah suara kemanusiaan.


Beliau adalah penulis yang terus mengayam antara tradisi dan moderniti. Tradisi sebagai dasar nilai dan iman, kerohanian dan amalan. Moderniti sebagai pemacu kemajuan dan kesejahteraan kehidupan masyarakat. Kedua-duanya harus dianyam dengan berimbang dan berpada.


Sang Pengayom


Suratman Markasan ialah sang Pengayom yakni berperanan sebagai pelindung, penjaga, pemelihara, pemayung bagi dunia kesusasteraan kita,


Sang Pengayom itu pasti memainkan peranan sebagai tukang saksi. Beliau penyaksi zaman dan perubahan. Beliau penyaksi penindasan kolonial dan kemerdekaan nasional, sampailah ke pembangunan pesat di era global.


Tercatat beliau banyak memimpin, baik sebagai guru, pensyarah, ahli persatuan dan jawatankuasa, di mana keahilan beliau dapat menggerakkan institusi dan pertubuhan. Sisi pengayoman ini sendiri adalah sumbangan yang penting untuk masyarakat dan negaranya.


Pak Suratman mula berkarya dengan kritikan sosial dalam novel Tak Ada Jalan Keluar (1962). Sebuah dilema keluarga miskin menyara anak-anaknya, sedang ibu terpaksa jatuh di lembah terhina. Anaknya sampai tidak mengaku ibu yang menderita itu. Cerita sebegini menggugat siapa yang ada mata dan hati.

Beliau ialah sasterawan terakhir dari zamannya. Kerana dianugerahkan umur yang panjang, beliau juga dianugerahkan Tuhan, kudrat untuk berkarya sampailah ke hari-hari akhir hayat beliau.


Sebagai sasterawan, sisi pencari dan mencari adalah suratan beliau. Tapi beliau bukan pencari yang berkelana untuk menyepi. Beliau ialah pencari yang sedia melaksana guna berbakti. Ini tersaksi dari deretan karya beliau, yang rata-rata berpesan dan menggambar dari pendirian yang berhati.


Sebagaimana penulis besar lainnya, beliau adalah anak atau insan zamannya, dengan pola pikir yang telah mewarnai cara beliau mengupas, mengungkap dan menyimpul.


Beliau tekun menulis dalam pelbagai bentuk. Cerpen beliau sering bercerita biasa namun diberi sentuhan intrik di kesudahannya. Puisi-puisi beliau sering panjang berprosaik, tapi inti teguran dan tepisannya sering menarik.


Esei dan kajian beliau bukan renungan semata, tapi banyak data ditarik diolah untuk membicarakan isu dengan lebih berkesan. Itulah kegigihan guru kita Pak Suratman Markasan.

Beliau adalah pembaca politik dunia. Kekacauan, kekerasan dan peperangan beliau kecam dan menolak. Puisi-puisi beliau tentang Iraq dan Palestin, teristimewa tentang Gaza, tajam menyinggung, masih berdentum dan menyambung.


Beliau adalah penyimpan memori yang tangkas, khasnya tentang ranah kesusasteraan kita, dan banyak karya penulis tanah air kita yang dicatat disinggung, tiada dari pemerhatiannya yang terlepas.


Izinkan saya menyaring 20 sifat atau pemerhatian yang saya lihat ada pada ketokohan Pak Suratman, yang kita sayangi ini:


(1) Beliau kadang berfikir gusar tetapi tidak pernah menyuara dengan kasar.


(2) Beliau manusia bertradisi tetapi tidak sampai taksub tegar atas pendirian sendiri.


(3) Beliau terkadang menulis menggetar sentap, tetapi tak sampai membuat kita jadi tak sedap.


(4) Beliau menyapa dengan sederhana, tetapi sentuhan menyentuh ke dada.


(5) Beliau sering menasihati menegur tetapi tak sampai membuat kita malu melebur.


(6) Beliau berhujah dengan fakta, walaupun terkadang negatif nadanya, tetapi tak sampai membuat kita gundah.


(7) Beliau menyentak banyak persoalan, sehingga kita insaf mengesan mana yang dah sopak dan yang dah melemak.


(8) Beliau guru yang bukan jenis berkobar-kobar, tetapi mendampingi kita dengan sabar.


(9) Beliau tampil sebagai pemimpin, tetapi bukan jenis yang sebarang bikin.


(10) Beliau bukan jenis bermadah seloka, namun apabila mendekati kita, cepat jadi mesra.


(11) Beliau manusia taat agamis, tetapi tidak pernah tampil bersangar bengis.


(12) Beliau tampil selalu sederhana dan bahagia, sehingga kita terasa ada berkat dan rahmat dari peribadinya.


(13) Beliau di hari-hari tuanya berhikmah tenang, sehingga kita yang muda-muda terasa ditatang.


(14) Beliau bercakap jarang barang yang berat-berat, tetapi kesederhanaannya itu meniup semangat .


(15) Beliau mengaju sering menggalak, tanpa perlu beretorika yang menggelegak-gelegak.


(16) Beliau peka akan tantangan masyarakat, tanpa perlu beliau mendabik menjadi jaguh rakyat.


(17) Beliau berbicara beralas ilmu, sehingga tak ada yang kosong atau gugat menganggu.


(18) Beliau guru budiman yang tekun, sehingga sampai hari tuanya, beliau bertambah anggun.


(19) Beliau murah berbahagi dan sanggup duduk bersama kita mendengar isi hati.


(20) Beliau sang penulis beramanah, sehingga kita dijadikan insaf bahawa ke depan yang maju dan selamat itu, kita harus berani untuk berubah.


Itulah sisi sang Pengayam dan Pengayom yang saya kenali pada sosok Pak Suratman dan saya pasti ramai teman bisa menambah lagi sisi-sisi yang lain.


Keahlian, kemahiran, kebagusan, kepandaian dalam masyarakat kita akan dipanggil si Tukang. Jadilah tukang rumah, tukang besi, tukang jahit, sampailah tukang masak dan tukang sapu.


Tukang itu adalah kepandaian kemahiran dan kewajipan yang dihormati. Dalam masyarakat lisan, ada tukang cerita. Di istana, ada tukang tulis. Sasterawan kita, dalam pelbagai segi adalah tukang cerita, dan yang jaguh di antara mereka, menjadi tukang surat.


Sesungguhnya dari pemerhatian semua ini, maka wajarlah kalau saya menyebut bahawa Pak Suratman Markasan itu sebagai Tukang Surat yang pernah wujud dan menyumbang dalam persada persuratan kita.


Pengayam dan pengayom yang kita sambuti dan ingati di hari yang berkat ini, adalah Tukang Surat yang waktu hayatnya berbakti tidak berhenti untuk dunia kesusasteraan dan persuratan kita, baik di sini mahupun serantau.


Cikgu Suratman, Cikgulah Tukang Surat dan kami tabik hormat.