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Glimpse into Malaysian-Singapore literature in English

In this week's column I focus on Anglophone Singaporean literature against the backdrop of Lit Up, Singaporean Emerging Writers and Performers' Festival. I was privileged to participate in the festival which gave invaluable insights not only into the genesis, evolution and the current state of Malaysian-Singapore literature in English but also potential vibrant future.

In the previous columns, we discussed the life and times of Prof. Edwin Thumboo, a path founder of Singaporean literature in English and Asia's foremost English poet. The generation of literati who moulded the Malaysian -Singaporean English literary landscape were also associated with the struggle for independence and the subsequent socio-economic and political developments which led to the birth of Malaysia and Singapore as newly independent nation states.

Although the turbulent political events from 1946 to 1965 provides the backdrop against which the Malaysian Singaporean literary culture in English began, the focus is on the formation and evolution of tradition of English writing in Singapore and how the language of the coloniser found expression in the adapted soil.

Formation of English literary culture

In examining the genesis of the indigenous tradition of English writing in Malaysia and Singapore, the pivotal role played by the English educated middle -class youth should be assessed primarily on their zealous enthusiasm in the nation building and their struggle to craft a national identity.

The initial steps for an English literary culture in Malaysia and Singapore were taken by young, English- educated undergraduate students in the University of Malaya. Predominantly they were from the middle class and largely a migrant background. At the time they began writing in English, Malaya was torn apart on ideological lines which subsequently led to the birth of two sovereign nations; Malaysia and Singapore. At first they thought of devising a new language through the mixture of major languages in Malaya. However, the idea was, subsequently, abandoned realising the fact that what was important was not the common tongue but common pool of ideas and values made out of diverse practices of the races which inhabited Malaya.

This idea was articulated by English literary journals such as The New Cauldron and writers circles such as The Penang Writers' circle; In an Editorial on the issue The New Cauldron stated "We have assessed previous undergraduate attempts at the creation of an artificial language by an arbitrary mixture of phrases drawn from the existing languages spoken in Malaya. We regret to say that this language, Engmalchin, as its advocates termed it, is a failure if only because of its self-conscious artificiality and failure of its 'sires 'understand that language can never be created by edict...The crisis lies in the lack of common cultural tradition out of which artists can draw their inspiration and which can serve as a common pool of references. Once this is found, however shallow it may be, the language problem vanishes. So long as we understand the same value and "monuments of unaging intellect "the language in which these values and monuments are expressed do not matter" (The Challenge to create, 4-5).

In the manifesto of The Penang Writers of 1969, similar views were expressed on the creation of new identity representing the values and aspiration of all Malay people:

"It is the imperative duty of our writers to reflect deeply the rich and varied life of our multinational people, help to pose correctly the multifold problems confronting our young nation and create a rich modern literature that reflects our national identity...so that out of plethora of our traditions and customs it is possible to distil the essence of uncreated conscience of our people"

The writers who were the pioneers in the tradition of English writings in Singapore had no choice but to write in English. Prof. Edwin Thumboo in an exclusive interview expressed this situation:

"The point is that all this (childhood memories) was increasingly stored and recalled in English. English was the only language in which I had some strength. As time went by, Teochew was used less and the little Malay I had receded. Meanwhile English grew, systematically, daily, as my world grew. If I wrote poetry, and I wanted to, it had to be in English; there was no alternative. As I have said more than once, poets do not chose their language; the language choose them."

However, the issue that the first generation of writers in English confronted was how to infuse "local blood" and "local spirit" into the language in order to root it in the adapted soil. The absence of the local tradition of writing in English further compounded the matter. They drew inspiration from classical English literature dominated by authors like Eliot, Yeats, Dylan Thomas or early writers such as Shakespeare, Donne, Wordsworth, Keats, Dickens, Hardy and Austen.

Colonial writings in English

T. Wignesan in a paper to Sharing Boarders, Studies in Contemporary Singaporean- Malaysian Literature I, argues that there was a canon of English writings in Colonial Malaya before the emergence of Singaporean -Malaysian tradition and that the cannon was rich enough for local writers to draw inspiration from. :

"If the local writers could have striven to learn from the efforts of these for the nonce "writers", such as Spencer Chapman, Russell Braddon, John Cross, Dennis Holman and a few others, they would not have had to lament lack of local tradition of follow or be inspired by. It would appear the "Raffalaisian School" and their successors simply ignored or were ignorant of their work .

In short, this parallel literature by foreigners contains all the ingredients of a firm and well established tradition that local writers could have-and could still -draw from, instead of carping about being left in the lurch to fend for themselves or blaming foreigners for not being able to comprehend or appreciate their meagre output.."

Although the writings in English flourished in Singapore due to pragmatic socio-economic policies, the environment for writers in English in Malaysia was not favourable mainly due the language policy. Following the race riots broke out on 13 May 1969, Malay was declared as the official language relegating English, Chinese and Tamil to send languages and the respective literatures became 'Second literatures'. In general, this unfavourable situation for writings in English compelled some writers to leave the county and contributed to the weaning of literature in English in Malaysia.

The writers and their journeys

Singaporean literature in English flourished creating a distinct literary culture owing to the Dedicated Singaporean writers in English. Some of the pioneers in the tradition include Lloyd Fernando, Lee Kok Liang, Rex Shelley, Ee Tiang Hong, Edwin Thumboo, Wong Phui Nam, Gopal Baratham, Goh Poh Seng, Shirley Geok-lin Lim and Stella Kon. It is noteworthy to record that most of these writers have gone through several journeys having born in one country (like Lloyd Fernando who was born in Sri Lanka) or settling down in another as Malacca born Ee Tiang Hong who arrived in Australia in 1975 and settled down in Perth. However, most of these writers have significantly contributed to English writings in Malaysia or Singapore. Unlike many other writers in the region they have seen legacies of their nations, separation from colonial masters and transformation of their countries. For example, Edwin Thumboo had witnessed the birth and transformation of his nation Singapore and is one of the most senior writers in English but still actively contributing to the regional and World Literatures.

These writers' work and journeys contain fascinating historical capsules. Writing an insightful Foreword to Professor Thumboo's latest Anthology, 'Still Travelling' Professor Rajeev Patke observes: "And what a journey it has been for, and with, Edwin Thumboo, as Singapore has travelled through the burgeoning legacies of Raffles, through the dark and tense years of Japanese Occupation, through the wrenching separation from the Malaysian mainland, to the transformation of an island economy into a modern, multi-cultural nation treading the cautious path to modernity..."

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