My favourite national poet. Till today, some of the phrases that he had used in his writings flowered the language I am using today in my writings, be in English or Malay (he wrote in Malay, but I unconsciously translate the phrases into English whenever it seemed suitable). He channeled his hopes, disappointments and his understanding in his writing. As a former police officer in the frontline fighting against the communist scourge during the Emergency era, he was surprisingly able to understand and accept the fact that some of the communist insurgents were innocent victims of political persecution. Yet, he did not whitewash the sins of the insurgents, as shown in his book Tulang-Tulang Berserakan, or Scattered Bones. The depiction of the funeral of a young jungle squad man and the misery it brought to the people around him tells the bare truth of the difficulties, the tears and the blood shed by men and women of the police force. I had tried to find the book, together with his other writings (Ke Makam Bonda). But found that they were out of stocks. Thus, a couple more books into my wish list. Thank you, NST for bringing the man to the fore, to cleanse the National Laureate title that had been stained by two. nst.my/life-times/sunday-life-times/together-in-poetry-and-song-1.351250
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 07:39:59 +0000
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