KUALA LUMPUR – The Hof, held together with the largest bookfair in the world, the Frankfurt Book Fair 2021, recently hosted National Book Council of Malaysia (MBKM) director Mohd Khair Ngadiron and poet/author Ninot Aziz in a one-hour online programme. It is arguably the most popular virtual gathering spot outside the Buchmesse fairgrounds of the book fair.
Host Felix Zeltner from New York, assisted by the Remote Daily and BFM crew in Frankfurt, spoke to Mohd Khair and Ninot in Kuala Lumpur on the topic “Stories of the Malay Archipelago".
It was an event that regaled the Hikayat, led by Mohd Khair who conceptualised the topic of the day to showcase the publishing industry of Malaysia to the world. He said, “Though we are struggling due to the pandemic, we must go on as our aim is for our works and our writers to be showcased to the world. We have many more talented writers like Ninot Aziz and illustrators, like Emila Yusuf.”
The event kicked off with an introduction by Ninot to the region. She shared how the Malay archipelago is very distinct from the rest of the world. The region is known as the Nusantara encompasses the islands and the seas in between.
Malaysia is at the heart of this archipelago. For thousands of years – since the time Ptolemy made his wonderful maps 2,000 years ago – people and their stories crossed over from mainland EuroAsia to the islands of the Southern seas through the Malay Peninsula.
She added, “To understand the people of the Malay Archipelago, it is best to get to know our stories. Herein lies the Hikayat, the Malay legends where our central thoughts, psyche and intrinsic values are embedded. Over time, our society became very cosmopolitan. Among many, the Chinese, the Indians, the Arabs, too, eventually found a home here that added to that milieu of stories.”
Ninot shared how in the past, French writer Henri Fauconnier came to Malaya to become rich as fast as possible so that he could write for the rest of his life. He wrote 'Malaisie', a story of Malaya, which won him the highest literary award in France, the Prix Goncourt in 1930. Joe Conrad, Rudyard Kipling as well as W Somerset Maugham were international writers fascinated by what Malaya represented.
In reflection, Ninot said, “Unfortunately, in the last several decades, we became too busy with globalisation, modernisation and in some ways, we could not shake off this colonialism – so much so that we forgot our stories.
"Luckily for us, our manuscripts in over 150 libraries and museums in more than 60 countries around the world kept our stories intact because our language has a rhythm – and it reflects the rhythm of our lives in the Malay Archipelago.”
Ninot recited a classic pantun in three languages to illustrate the point to the delight of the audience.
"Pulau Pandan jauh ke Tengah
Gunung Daik bercabang Tiga
Hancur badan dikandung tanah
Budi yang baik dikenang juga"
.
"L'île de Pandan au milieu de la mer
Le mont Daik a trois sommets
Tu es parti depuis longtemps
Mais on se souvient de la gentilesse."
.
"The Pandan Island far out at sea
Mountain Daik of three peaks
Long after this body may perish
We will still remember the good deeds."
.
“There is a movement in the country to appreciate the legends again. The youth is beginning to go where we seek these old stories of our Naga, Garuda, wondrous ships that dive to the depth of the sea. They are all making a comeback,” she continued.
“I, for one would like to invite the world to get to know Malaysian stories, mine and that of our fellow writers from Malaysia. Our stories need to be showcased on Netflix, on Disney, on all platforms local and international. There is a whole gamut of stories that are not out there. I love what Korea and China have done with their legends. They dominate Netflix. I also hope our books will be translated into Korean, Russian, French, Mandarin.
"The Hikayat may not be history as we know it, but it is a different kind of history. They shed light on topics ranging from how we regarded governance, protocol, how we were masters at diplomacy, our skills in architecture, shipbuilding, weaponry and textiles to medicinal practices, literature, entertainment, music, dance, wisdom and creative thinking. All this, including science-fiction, could be found in the Hikayat Melayu."
It was for the love of the Hikayat that Ninot wrote 11 books to date – four anthologies and seven novels and graphic novels inspired by the Hikayat.
Live entertainment for the day on The Hof featured vocalist Eleanor and Dario on the guitar performing Getaran Jiwa by the late Tan Sri P Ramlee, and was warmly welcomed by the Malaysian crowd ‘in the house’. – The Vibes, October 23, 2021
.jpg)
