by the destructive effects of the mining activities. This story represents the condition of society and region in Indonesia’s hinterland area and how children
spend their childhood in poverty trap and critical condition of education. Hence, Laskar Pelangi as a quartet is also based on the writer’s true story. Andrea Hirata
himself was born in Belitung and he portrayed his life journey through The Laskar Pelangi Quartet. In an interview,
28
Hirata explained that initially the novel Laskar Pelangi was not going to be published. He wrote the novel to express his gratitude
and appreciation to his teachers in the Elementary School, Ibu Muslimah and Bapak Harfan Effendi, and a couple of his best friends. By coincidence, his friend
found the draft of the novel in his boardinghouse room, and sent it to a publisher quietly. The three sequels were later published after the success of the first novel.
2. The English Translated Version
After the success of Laskar Pelangi 2006 in Indonesia, Hirata decided to translate it into English for overseas market. He asked Angie Kilbane, a student of
literature at Indonesia University, to work for the translation.
29
He mentioned their goals in translating Laskar Pelangi into English. Firstly, it is to share it with the
world, not only limited for the Southeast Asian Studies libraries and classes. Secondly, it is to provide Indonesian students of English with a reference written
by someone from their own country.
30
Therefore, the English version that has firstly been published under the same publisher of the Indonesian version,
Bentang Pustaka, is the major source for other translated versions. At present, it
28
Buku Laskar Pelangi LP pada awalnya bukan untuk diterbitkan. Niat saya untuk menulis buku ini sudah ada sejak saya kelas 3 SD, ketika saya demikian terkesan pada jerih payah kedua guru SD saya Ibu Muslimah dan Bapak Harfan Effendi,
serta 10 sahabat masa kecil saya, yang disebut Kelompok Laskar Pelangi. Buku Laskar Pelangi saya tulis sebagai ucapan terima kasih dan penghargaan kepada guru dan sahabat-sahabat saya itu. Seorang teman, tidak sengaja menemukan draf
buku itu di kamar kos saya, dan diam-diam mengirimkannya pada penerbit. Sampai hari ini saya masih heran ternyata buku LP masih merupakan buku laris. .Andrea Hirata Sastrawan dari Kampung Belitung. 8 March 2011. Posted by Puja,
Interviewed by StevyWidia [My translation here and thereafter] http:www.sastra-indonesia.com
29
Angie Kilbane in Andrea Hirata, The Rainbow Troops Yogyakarta: Bentang Pustaka, 2009 p. 466
30
Hirata, p.467
also has been translated into German, Korean, Chinese and Turkish language. However, both the English version for Indonesian and overseas market are not
exactly identical compared with the original version of Laskar Pelangi 2006 since there are some addition and reduction.
The English version The Rainbow Troops 2009 undergoes changes in some important parts. Firstly, the change is on one of the characters, Mr.
Samadikun as the School Superintendent who does not exist in the Indonesian version. He wants the Muhammadiyah School to be closed because of its lack of
the government’s standards. He appears to emphasize how the government oppresses the marginalized people through the state education policy. The
oppressed are students and teachers who live in the hinterland area. They should achieve the government’s standard to conduct formal education in their region.
The standards include the number of students, school’s facilities, and students’ achievements. The School Superintendent has a duty to check and evaluate those
standards. He is described as having arrogant manner to show his overbearing image:
The sight of his glasses made all the teachers in Belitung tremble. He was, none other than Mister Samadikun—the School Superintendent. TRT: 86
Because she was so nervous, Bu Mus made a fatal mistake before anything else even happened. “Please come in, Pak,” she said politely. Mister Samadikun
glared at her and snapped, “Call me Mister” It was common knowledge: He didn’t want to be called Pak Samadikun. Maybe it was influence from his Dutch
teachers, or perhaps it was to maintain his authoritative image, whatever the reason was, one thing was clear: he wanted to be called Mister.” TRT: 88-89
Mr. Samadikun represents the government’s policy and power towards education in Indonesia, especially formal education. His existence is to strengthen the
education issue which is popular as the central theme of the novel.
Secondly, the change is on the arrangement of chapters. The original version consists of 34 chapters and the English version consists of 48 chapters.
The titles of the chapters changes on certain numbers. It also shows different emphasize on the story in each chapter. For example in Indonesian version there is
chapter four with the title Perempuan-perempuan Perkasa. It tells about the woman teacher character, Bu Mus, who teaches in Muhammadiyah School. She
taught Ikal and became one of the inspirational teachers who influenced him. She is portrayed as a woman who has strong passion and loyalty on her duty as a
teacher. Whereas in the English version, the title of chapter four is Grizzly Bear which tells about Pak Harfan, the headmaster of Muhammadiyah School. His
characters are down to earth, charismatic and being described as a guru:
He was a guru in the true sense of the word, its Hindi meaning: a person who not only transfers knowledge but who also is a friend and spiritual guide for his
students. TRT: 26
The portrayal of Bu Mus in English version is told in chapter six under the title Those without the Right. Thus, the title does not highlight the tough woman’s
character as shown in the Indonesian version. Thirdly, the change is on the finding of the tin under the Muhammadiyah
School’s building. That occurs to support the conflict between the government’s company and educational institution. It also represents the oppression from those
who have authority, power and wealthy towards the oppressed, the people who are marginalized, powerless and poor. Because of the tin under the school’s building,
the threat to close the school strengthens the conflict that supports the education issue:
From the head of the team, we learned that the level of tin down there was 12; meaning that by their estimate, there was about 1,200 kilograms of tin per 1,000
cubic meters of land.
… We felt the sting of irony. Underneath our decrepit and collapsing school— the school where we fought in poverty every day to continue our lives—laid a
hidden treasure worth trillions of rupiah. TRT: 276
Fourthly, the change can be clearly noticed in the end of the story. Laskar Pelangi 2006 includes the fulfillment of the aspiration of each member of
Laskar Pelangi. It is considered more communal. It is not only the achievement of Ikal as the main character, but also all his friends’ are highlighted. This is
significant because it brings a big value that no matter where they come from, what sort of life they have achieved, they found happiness through the fulfilment
of their aspiration. Meanwhile, the ending of The Rainbow Troops 2009 is more individual; it focuses on the experience of Ikal as the main character that shows
his concern on education accessibility. In brief, the impressions shown by the original and the English versions
are different. Education issues in the original version are not emphasized previously. Joining formal school was told as part of childhood experiences which
were colored by happiness and sadness. When Laskar Pelangi 2006 later becomes bestseller because of education issues, then the production of the English
version gives emphasize to strengthen that issue. It can be seen from some changes that have been mentioned above.
Whereas Edensor 2007 the third novel translated into English with the same title, a conspicuous reduction is on the title of Mozaik 15. The title of
Mozaik 15 in Indonesian version is Aku dan Anggun C. Sasmi. Anggun C. Sasmi is an Indonesian singer who becomes international singer nowadays after she
moves to France. The main character adores her because she represents an Indonesian who succeeds in promoting Indonesia to the European people,
particularly in France. By seeing her CD album in a music store in France, his patriotic pride is raising:
This evening, after class, we visited a music store in an elite area L’ Avenue des Champs-Elysees. We were delighted to see Anggun C. Sasmi’s CD album
among other world musicians. Her songs were in French language. There was something strange deep inside my heart when I was seeing her CD album. For
the first time, my patriotic fervour was raising. It was because of a singer that I knew when I was not in my own country. Patriotism was not easily gained,
when I stayed in my country with its symbol the bird of Garuda Pancasila.
31
[
My translation
]
However, in the English version the title is changing into Paris and the narrative about Anggun C. Sasmi is omitted. It tells more about France with its charm on
culture. Thus, patriotic fervour as an Indonesian is diminished in English version and replaced with the description of France as the center of art.
The English version of Edensor 2007 as the third novel has been published and marketed, while the second novel, The Dreamer forthcoming has
not yet been settled. Therefore, the publication of the quartet English version has not been done sequentially. This is a questionable circumstance between the
importance to publish the quartet sequentially and the market interest on the issue in each novel. Moreover, based on the information from Hirata’s management
representation, Arsi, the English version of Sang Pemimpi 2006 indeed has never been marketed.
32
Hirata stated that his goals in translating Laskar Pelangi 2006 into English is to share it with the world, not just South Asian Studies classes, but will
31
Pulang kuliah sore ini kami iseng mengunjungi toko musik di kawasan elite L’Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Kami meloncat-loncat girang karena diantara jejeran compact disk musisi dunia tampak album Anggun C. Sasmi dengan lagu
yang dibawakan dalam bahasa Prancis. Aneh, untuk pertama kalinya rasanya rasa patriotik membuncah dalam diriku, semuanya karena seorang vokalis dan saat aku berada di negeri orang. Perasaan ini amat sulit kutumbuhkan selama aku
hidup dibawah naungan Burung Garuda Pancasila. Andrea Hirata, Edensor Yogyakarta: Bentang Pustaka, 2007 p.87; All subsequent references to this work, abbreviated EDI,will be used in this thesis with pagination only.
32
Miss. Arsi’s respond was based on my previous email that asked about the English version of Sang Pemimpi in book stores. She gave a short respond after my brief explanation on the importance of the novel for my thesis research: “Halo
saya Arsi dari Andrea Hirata Manajemen.Nanti saya cek dulu ya, karena setahu kami versi Inggris Sang Pemimpi belum pernah dijual.” The email address belongs to Andrea Hirata, but when I sent the email, I got the respond from his assistant
under Andrea Hirata’s management. I thank Dr. Patrisius Mutiara Andalas, SJ. S.S., S.T.D for giving me Andrea Hirata’s email address.
appear to a wider audience.
33
Therefore, in translating Edensor 2007, the content is also arranged for the purpose of international market. The international agent
responsible for the overseas market, according to Hirata, is Amer Asia Co. Ltd. from Tucson, Virginia, in the United States. Additionally, the agency has already
signed deals to release the books in German, China, Vietnam and Egypt.
34
In February 2011, he signed a contract with New York-based Kathleen Anderson
Literary Management, which oversees the publishing of his novels outside Indonesia.
35
The Rainbow Troops 2009 has been marketed in some countries. The promotion of the international edition is also printed behind each book cover
of The Laskar Pelangi Quartet that is published in Indonesia. The English versions or international editions are: The Rainbow Troops 2009, The Dreamer
forthcoming, Edensor 2011 and Strange Rhythm forthcoming. The advertising of The Laskar Pelangi Quartet is unceasing whether for Indonesian or
overseas market.
3. The Term “Native”
