Hussein’s ‘Legacy’

Hussein’s ‘Legacy’

Erda Wati Bakar; Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia;

erdawati@upnm.edu.my

Abstract – The word ‘budi’ originated from the Sanskrit word ‘buddhi,’ which means wisdom, understanding or intellect. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary defines the meaning of buddhias ‘the power of forming and retaining conceptions and general notions, intelligence, reason, intellect, mind, discernment, judgement…’ (Monier-Williams 1956). However, once this word was accepted as part of the Malay vocabulary, its meaning was extended to cover ethics as well as intellect and reason, in order to accommodate the culture and thinking of the Malays. This paper wishes to illustrate the molecularization of ‘Budi’ as portrayed in the novel Legacy and how these concepts have deconstructed the representation of the Malay women and contested the stereotypical representation of these women in other post-colonial novels. As stated by Zawiah Yahya (1988), the depiction of Malay women in the earlier years of Malaysian post-colonial novels were minimal and suffered from “under-exposure.” The women were normally side-lined and playing “insignificant feminine roles as prostitutes, midwives, abortionists, ‘makandam’ and servants.” Even if the Malay women were given some form of focus and “semblance of personality,” it was normally the men who eventually became the saviour of the women and took all the limelight. In contrast, Shahiza Hussein has taken a bold step by featuring three Malay ladies as the prime characters. These women survived many obstacles such as the

World Wars and Japanese Occupation by practicing the different sub-parts of the

-6

‘Budi’ concept. The molecurisation of ‘Budi’ consists of Akal (mind), Bicara (Speech),

-25

85

Daya (Effort), Pekerti (Manner) and Hati (Feeling) (Lim Kim Hui, 2003). ‘Legacy’

initially took place in Perak during the tumultuous time of British resident J.W.W.

-59 67

Birch and later shifted to the earlier era of Kuala Lumpur. The historical accounts 7 8 were beautifully weaved alongside the story of Mastura, a royal widow of Perak’s -9

Sultan Jaafar. She bore two lovely intelligent daughters; Raja Khatijah and N

SB

SharifahAisyah with her second husband, Syed Mansur. The story reflects the strong

matriarchy roles of these three women and their survival. Their ultimate

accomplishment was finally concluded eight decades later during the post-

IN D

independence era of Malaya. Mastura and her family have successfully encompassed E

CE

and embraced all five sub-concepts of ‘Budi’ hence, reflect a positive and encouraging

representation of the Malay women in Malaysian literature.

Keywords – Budi; deconstruction; Malay representation.

2 CO 0 1

INTRODUCTION

I2 N

‘Budi’ is very closely related to the culture and world view of the Malays. It CC E

carries various layers of meanings and its origin can be as far-fetched traced R

within the verses in the al-Quran and later developed by Arabic scholars, as well

5 19

as Socrates and eventually the concept was further studied and elaborated by

the Malay scholars such as Tun Sri Lanang and Hamka. The concept has journeyed thousands of years and it can be concisely defined as norms and mental sets of individuals and social behaviour in the way they think and behave. The concept of Budi composed of various moral values such as generosity, respect, sincerity, righteousness, discretion and feelings of shame. The Malays also associated Budi closely to Islam in which they share a symbiotic relationship “Then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it, He will indeed be successful who purifies it, And he will indeed fail who corrupts it” (As-Syams: 8-10). This verse indicates that Budi is closely related to one’s intelligence and ability to differentiate truth and fabrication. In Legacy, the implementation and practise on the concept of Budi were reflected by the re- visioning of the representation of the Malay women. The women were no longer silent and marginalised. Despite living in a patriarchal system during colonial era, the women still managed to strive and elevate their status without being frowned upon by the society around them. They became role models and well respected by the different layers of society around them. This article shall explore further how the different molecularization of the Budi; Akal (mind), Bicara (Speech), Daya (Effort), Pekerti (Manner) and Hati (Feeling) were closely observed and practiced by three pivotal Malay women, hence had managed to liberate themselves from the narrow and conservative gendered roles.