CYBER liTERATURE

CYBER liTERATURE: ACOMPARATIVE
PAPER ON MAlAYSIAN-INDONESIAN
SATIRICAL POEMS (SAIEN)
BV: Rahimah Haii A. Hamid
Abstract
The massive outburst of information technology in the current globa/ised
era enables anyone to write and publish his or her writings to be read
by anyone from all reaches of the globe. Among all works produced
are literary works that cover different genres; poems, short stories,
serialised novels, essays and literary criticisms, plus others that were
grouped together under the 'Cyber Literature' category. In poetry, they
are an increasing emergence of poets who writes humour poems or
'Sajen'. Most of them produce satirical Sajen poems as a joke, to tease
and make fun of people, to criticize and to trigger their sensitivity and
creativity. Some of the Sajen poems were made to 'sting' in its satirical
sense, but some were made just for the sake of producing humour-related
works. This essay is made in order to study several Sajen poems by
poets from Malaysia and Indonesia who practiced the satirical approach
as the analysis structure. A comparative study on Sajen under Cyber
Literature from both countries is made not just to see the level of quality
of the works done from both nations, but also to raise-up questions,
themes and the reasons behind their works.
Introduction
Cyber literature can be viewed as a 'brand' of literature which is dispersed
through the computer and the internet. By having information technology
at the end of our fingertips just about anyone could, with ease, have
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their work published. This is a total change from bygone days. Prior
to this, the dispersal of literary work was limited as they were verbally
transmitted from the older generation to the younger generation, from
grandparents to their grandchildren or from parents to their children. In
a more ordered setting, there were a number of professional storytellers
as in Penglipur Lara, Tok Selampit and Awang Batil who presented
various stories orally to the society. Amongst oral literature which was
presented by the professional storytellers and which caught the public's
hearts were stories on epics, animals, humour, fables, fairies and ghost
stories.
The development of time and the coming of colonial powers from
Europe, which brought in the printing press, caused a change in the
genre and the way literature was dispersed to that of modern printed
literature as in poetry, short stories, novels and dramas. The printing
press technology also enabled literature to be published in greater
quantities and thus be widely dispersed to society.
These days the dispersion of literature is far more advanced with
the computer, internet and new media which have given birth to cyber
literature as an alternative to the dispersion of modern literature in a
quicker and wider way. As a matter offact, this technology enables more
people to write and their writings are published quicker. This is because
their work need not go through the tedious publishing processes as in
searching for a publisher, editing, printing and lastly, marketing. Just
by pressing a single key on the computer, a piece of literary work is
published. A type of cyber literature which is close to creators' and the
public's hearts is the satirical poems or better known as, based on its
acronym in Malay, 'sajen'.
Sajen: An Examination Basis
Based on the examination of several collected sajen, it was found that
the most appropriate examination basis in reading sajen would be
satire. Satire means work (prose or poems) which mocks people or
is sarcastic (Kamus Elektronik, 2008). This definition is the same as
Johnson's writings in Dictionary (2005), which states that a satire is a
poem or prose which criticizes someone's shortcomings and faults.
Therefore, as Swift (2004) puts it, a person who writes satires or a
satirist is like a person who holds up a mirror which reflects the image
of each individual but not of the satirist's image itself as he is the holder
of the mirror. On this matter, the satirist is seen as one who likes to pick
on the mistakes of others but not of his. Arthur Pollard (1992) stated
that a satirist is like an ideal leader who is so enamoured by his own
capabilities. They are seen as hoping that others would realise their
capabilities, appreCiate these capabilities and thus agree with their
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identifying and criticizing the actions and personalities of others which
are considered to be faulty and evil.
However, several masters had later looked at satire from a more
positive aspect because satires have the characteristic of improving
the morals of society. Dryden (2004) for example thought that the
presentation of satire by satirists is to rebuild morals because satires
can heal and restore the morals of the society. Thus, satirical writings
are used as guidelines by the public on good characteristics which ought
to be followed and bad characteristics which ought to be avoided. With
this intent in hand, Defoe (2008) stated that the goal of satirists is to
bring about change because satires become a tool to criticize society
in order to build and form their thoughts, philosophies and ideologies.
Apart from that, satires are also a tool to criticize the social lives, the
morals, politics and philosophies of the public with the intent of forming
and improving the quality of their lives.
There are basically numerous types of satires as in humour, wit,
sarcasm, cynicism, irony, lampoon, parody, invective, mockery, raillery,
epigram and burlesque. According to Fatimah Busu (1992), from the
expression aspect, satires carry the import of sarcasm, teasing, reproach,
criticism, ridicule, metaphor, banter and mockery. If satires were to
be translated into physical actions, then they would be translated into
hitting, smashing, thumping and beating. Even though the physical
equivalents seem to be hurtful but in truth, satires, be they in the oral
or written form, are very harsh and is best summed up by the quote
'the pen is mightier than the sword'. The hurt felt as a result of the oral
or written satire is more damaging when those satirized are not given
the chance to defend themselves.
This paper is on the presence of satire in several chosen sajen and is
only focusing on satires based on humour, wit, sarcasm and irony. Humour
means having the elements of funniness, jokes and banter embedded
in the work with the intent of cracking jokes about someone's character.
An example of such intent would be to present a dumb character such
as a simpleton but it is done not with the intention of being sarcastic. In
other words, humour is jokes which are objective, subtle, natural and
not made-up. Wit, on the other hand, means unintentional funniness.
It is similar to humour but there is a certain bite to its delivery. It is also
ambiguous and has artistic value. Wit therefore comes from a sharp
mind because its impact often stunts the listener. Sarcasm which is a
kind of cynical satire is used with the intent of mocking, scorning and
assaulting a person's character. The intention here is to denigrate the
intended target. Sarcasm is not written in a humorous manner but instead
it is written seriously as the intention is unmistakably to deride. Sarcasm
is often uttered in a bombastic manner accompanied with a sigh and
facial expression to further ridicule the target. The last on the list is irony.
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Irony can be classified into two types: dramatic irony and verbal irony.
Dramatic irony is satires which are presented through movements and
actions especially through facial mimicry. Verbal irony, on the other hand,
is satires presented through conversations which are bluntly spoken
or written without any censorship. Irony is often presented in reverse,
for instance, by presenting someone's positive qualities but with the
intent of highlighting the person's negative qualities. An example would
be to rain insincere praises on someone if you wanted to vilify them.
Thus, irony is often voiced in a gentle and polite manner even though
the speaker may be furious. Hence, irony is viewed as being 'plastic'
due to the speaker's play-acting.
The four types of satire mentioned will be presented through several
chosen Malaysian and Indonesian cyber literature, sajen.
Sajen by Malaysian Writers
There are three sajen writers, found through the Malaysian cyber
literary website, who are the perfect candidates for discussion under
this satirical approach. The titles and authors of the sajen discussed
here are: 'Said the Owl to the Moon' (Kata Pungguk Kepada Bulan)
and 'Mawi Oh Mawi' (Mawi Oh Mawi) by Wirasutra; The Clever Orang
Asli' (Orang Asli Yang Cerdik) by Hassan Karim; and 'Wedding Night
Humour' (Jenaka Malam Pengantin), 'A Dialogue Between a Chicken
and a Goat' (Dialog Ayam Dengan Kambing) and 'Political Humour'
(Jenaka Politik) by Abdul Latip.
Wirasutra's sajen, 'Said the Owl to the Moon', leans towards wit
as most of its words carry several meanings. The layers of meanings
lie in his usage of several Malay adages as in 'bagaikan pungguk
rindukan bulan' (dreaming of the impossible), 'hidung tak mancung, pipi
tersorong-sorong' (pushing oneself forward where one is not wanted)
and 'enggang sama enggang, pipit sama pipit' (birds of a feather flock
together). In writing as the first person, the writer had included the said
adages with the intention of displaying his feelings for a young lady
he likes. However, his love is an unrequited one. Hence the humour
in this poem comes about when the writer is likened to the bird in the
adage that misses the moon and would plead to it every night; the moon
symbolizing the young lady he likes. Humour is also obvious when the
writer, in a monologue, questions his senseless actions as in 'I am a
proper charlie. Why do I go on idolizing?' (verse 4). This shows that
the writer is aware that his actions are a sheer waste of time but he still
does it in the name of love.
Upon close perusal, the lines composed by Wirasutra are not that
beautiful as the words used are colloquial. The following are examples
of his usage of colloquial words as in the line 'Aku hairan bin hairan'
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(verse 1), 'naya' in verse 2 and 'sasau' in verse 5. In addition, the writer
also incorporates trendy diction as in 'sifir abakus' as in verse 4. His
intent was to inject humour into his poem. However, the incorporation
of humour in this piece is less obvious as the sajen is presented in a
rather serious manner. Also, the writer was not convincing in mocking
himself, having written in the first person, for yearning for the moon.
Wirasutra's second poem, 'Mawi Oh Mawi' also falls under the
category of humour but the humour here is closer to irony. This is so
because the character of Mawi, being the country's number one singer,
had been made a fool of as seen in the verse below:
mawi suara sumbang (mawi has a flat tone)
mawi salah lirik (mawi sings the wrong lyrics)
mawi salah masuk intro (mawi misses the intro)
mawi punya album konsert meletup 180,000 unit
(mawi's concert album sells 180,000 units)
mawi alim pandai baca quran (mawi is pious and is good
at reciting the Koran)
mawi sudah bertunang (mawi is engaged)
mawi dikatakan masuk pub (mawi is said to have gone to a pub)
mawi lupa diri (mawi is out of control)
mawi FC berpecah (mawi's FC splits up)
mawi jumpa Nik Aziz (mawi meets Nik Aziz)
mawi belia contoh (mawi is an exemplary youth)
mawi benci dadah (mawi abhors drugs)
mawi jadi duta (mawi becomes an ambassador)
mawi tetap world!!! (mawi continues to rule)
kata peminatnyala ... (his fans claim so ... )
bukan aku kata (not me)
The lines in the said verse present Mawi's good and bad traits to
society. In general, a person's good traits are often eclipsed by his
mistakes as best stated by the proverb, 'one rotten apple spoils the
whole barrel'. However, Mawi 'continues to rule' because he is said to
have a positive aura which makes his fans believe in him despite him
being flat in his tone, singing the wrong lyrics and missing the intro.
Wirasutra, then, ironically stated that he was not part of Mawi's fan
club. With that, he came out straight and said 'his fans claim so ... not
me'. His intent is very clear and that is to voice his discontent at fans'
fanaticism over Mawi, who is said to have superseded the popularity of
Siti Nurhaliza and Anuar Zaino Wirasutra went on to present his cynical
message to Mawi:
Mawi ... mawi (Mawi ... mawi)
jangan asyik memandang kerlipan bintang di langit
(do not just look at the twinkling stars in the sky)
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pandang jugalah bumi di bawah (do take time to look down to
the ground)
takut nanti kau jatuh tersungkur (for fear of you falling flat on your face)
in gat tu mawi (remember that mawi)
jangan lupa diri!! (do not forget your roots!!)
In viewing Hassan Kaim's 'Humorous Poem' (Se/oka Jenaka) we
see that this sajen tries to encourage the readers to think about the
reality of the present Malaysian life which he feels is so rocky. That is
why the writer wrote:
mari adik dan kakak (gather around brothers and sisters)
kita berseloka dan jenaka (let us joke and make merry)
kita berlucu-Iucu (let us poke fun)
tentang masyarakat kita (at our society)
untuk menghiburkan hati yang luka (to entertain this grieving heart)
melihat ramai anak-anak muda lebam di mata
(to see many young ones sporting black eyes)
berdarah di muka (with blood on their faces)
bengkak d"1 kepala (w·lth bumps on the·lr heads)
This sajen was written by Hassan to present several incidents in
Malaysia with the intention of taking pot shots at several individuals
and also at the country's political scenario. The way the writer hits out
at individuals and the political scenario is very similar to Swift's take
on satire which sees satire as a mirror which only reflects the distorted
and defective images of others. For example:
... kita cuti reformasi petang Sabtu ini
( ... we are taking a break from reformation this Saturday afternoon)
simpan sebentar sepanduk dan postermu
(put away for a while your banners and posters)
mari kita keliling kota sebagai tetamu
(let us tour the city as visitors)
akan kutunjukkan nisan tertinggi di dunia kini
(I will point out to you the tallest tombstones of the present day)
tugu pusara ekonomi
(tombstones on the economic grave)
kapitalis kroni
(of capitalistic cronies)
The excerpt shows that the writer, having written the poem in the
first person, is a leftist reformation activist. The proof lies in the diction
that reeks of persuasion and orders in which Hassan had convinced
the reformation supporters to 'we are taking a break from reformation
this Saturday afternoon/put away your banners and posters/let us
tour the city'. The reformation Hassan was referring to was the street
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reformations which took place in Malaysia in the year 1997 following
the sacking of Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim by Prime Minister Tun Dr.
Mahathir Mohamad's (who was a Dato' Seri at thattime) cabinet. In
retaliation to Anwar Ibrahim's sacking, his supporters, including the writer,
sarcastically claimed that Malaysia's development symbolized by 'the
highest towers in the city' were nothing more than 'the tombstones on
the economic grave' as they were developed by capitalists who were Tun
Dr. Mahathir's cronies. These people were viewed by Hassan as crooks
who had misused the people's money for their personal benefit.
The writer then lashed out at the National Laureates who were said
to be 'bickering amongst themselves' in Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
(DBP) and they then went on to produce 'novels which uses foul, bad
and obscene language' but they were also the ones who were nominated
to receive the 'nobel prize' [verse 5]. In Hassan's eyes there are many
more that have slipped off the true course of life like the leading actor
at the National Theatre who had lied, directors who had lost credence
and judges and juries who had lost their authority. This is precisely the
issue which angers the public and this rocked the very foundation of
Tun Mahathir Mohamad's position as the Prime Minister at that time.
Another cyber literary writer who ought to be considered is Abdul
Latip. Not only is he a prolific sajen writer but the sajen which he writes
cover a wide variety of themes. As an example, his sajen, 'Wedding
Night Humour' is a humorous poem which digs at the bride's parents
who have overstepped the boundaries by being nosy about the latest
addition to the family. On the other hand, his The Clever Orang Asli' is
filled with irony through the orang asli's candid answers to the policeman's
queries. This is shown in the dialogue between the policeman and the
orang asli:
"Kenapa tak pasang lampu motor?" tanya polis
("Why did you not switch on the light of your motorcycle?" asked the
policeman)
"Orang gila saja pasang lampu waktu siang." jawab orang asli.
("Only crazy people switch on lights during the day," answered
the orang asli.)
... "Awak tak takut masuk lokapT gertak anggota polis
( ... "Are you not afraid of being thrown into the lockup?"
threatened the policeman)
"Makan free, minum free, rumah free apo eden nak takut," balas
orang asli.
("Food is free, drinks are free, boarding is free;
why should I be afraid," replied the orang asli)
Anggota polis geleng kepala.
(The policeman shook his head.)
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On one hand, the orang asli's answer sounds as though he is
mocking the police but on the other, the answer truly reflects his sincerity.
This is so because, logically, the answer is right and exact albeit it is
not right according to the law. The sajen, indirectly, projects the orang
asli, who are often viewed by the general public to be less civilised,
to be actually astute as the answers are all accurate. The orang asli's
innocent or straight answers are the ones which bring about the humour
in this poem.
Abdul Latip's 'A Dialogue Between A Chicken and a Goat' contains
wit as the contents of this poem not only shock and invite the readers
to think but they are also interspersed with proverbs. An example is the
adage 'kata du/ang paku serpih, mengata orang dia yang /ebih' (talking
about others while one is worse than them). Apart from that, the use of
domestic animals such as a goat and a chicken as the butt of the joke
is interesting because society is only too familiar with the image and
characteristics of these animals. Later on, the use of these animals as a
metaphor to portray the intentions of a party to bring down its opponent
is a very fascinating comparison:
"Kasihan ... " kata kambing ("What a pity ... " said the goat)
"Apa yang kasihan?" tanya ayam. ("What is so pitiful?"
asked the chicken.)
"Harapkan bulu sahaja yang cantik ("Only the feathers are lovely)
bila berjalan kaki ayam." jawab kambing. (but when it
comes to walking, it is still barefooted." answered the goat.)
"Kasihan ... ," kata ayam pula. ("What a pity ... " said the chicken.)
"Apa yang kasihan?" tanya kambing. ("What is so pitiful?"
asked the goat.)
"Harap janggut sahaja yang panjang (Only the beard is long)
"bila berjalan nampak telur!" (but when it comes to walking,
the gonads are showing!")
Kambing tersenyum. (The goat smiles sheepishly.)
Upon closer perusal, we see that the goat is taking a dig at the
chicken because though the feathers are lovely but the chicken still walks
around without any shoes. As a snappy rejoinder the chicken points
out that the goat is no better as 'Harap janggut sahaja yang panjang,
bi/a berja/an nampak te/ur!' (Only the beard is long but when it comes
to walking, the gonads are showing!). Even though the two animals
bring out each other's shortcomings but the writer's witty delivery did
not hurt anyone's feelings.
Turning to Abdul Latip's 'Political Humour' we see that this sajen is
delivered in a sarcastic manner. For example:
Politik itu sangat mudah (Politics is extremely simple)
Kalau cuma hendak memangkah (If only to make an 'X' mark)
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politik itu jadi susah (Politics becomes difficult)
Kalau masing-masing hendak memerintah. (If everyone wants
to rule.)
... Nak menang pilihan raya bukannya mudah
( ... To win an election is not easy)
Kena jaga hati rakyat di bawah (Must win the hearts of those
at the bottom)
ampu sana ampu sini kata sedekah
(brown-nosing here and there under the pretext of giving alms)
Tapi rupanya suruh pangkah. (But in reality, seeking votes.)
The writer's intent is to lash out at politicians and those who vote for
them as they are willing to raise tension in the country's political scene
and all for the sake of fulfilling their desire for power. This is the reason
the political image is besmirched. The writer is of the opinion that it is
not politics which is at fault but rather those who practise it and their
supporters. When the people incorrectly vote because they have been
taken in by politicians who 'ampu sana ampu sini kata sedekah' (brownnosing here and there under the pretext of giving alms), then the country's
political scenario which is formed is shaky and unstable.
Abdul Latip's last sajen, 'Unfulfilled Desire' (Hajat Tak Sampai) is in
the form of irony with the aim to lash out at a group of people who do
not know how to behave while being guests at the homes of others. This
sajen is about bujak who is a guest at an elderly lady's home. Bujak,
without being invited, polishes off a saucer of nuts on the table in front
of him while the elderly lady is in the kitchen making drinks. When she
returns with a tray of drinks, bujak informs her that he had polished off
the saucer of nuts:
Nenek terlopong matanya terbeliak
(Granny's mouth was agape and her eyes bugged out)
"Kenapa, nek?" tanya si bujak
("What's wrong Granny?" asked bujak)
"Kacang itu asalnya sebungkus coklat
(''The nuts were from a bar of chocolate)
kerana nenek tak ada gigi nenek hisap jer
(as I do not have any teeth, I just sucked on them)
dan kacangnya nenek kumpul dalam piring .... "
(and I gather the nuts on a saucer ... ")
Tetiba tekak si bujak terasa loya dan perutnya memulas.
(Suddenly bujak felt nauseous and his stomach began to churn.)
On the surface, the sajen is light-hearted humour but the effect goes
deep because the readers are reminded to maintain their manners when
they are guests in the homes of others. In other words, guests ought
to maintain certain decorum when they go visiting.
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Sajen by Indonesian Writers
In the Indonesian cyber literary websites there are several interesting
sajen written by several cyber writers. Amongst the sajen are titles such
as Yudhistira ANM Massardi's The Toothbrush Poem' (Sajak Sikat
Gigi) and Joko Pinurbo's 'Mother's Pants' (Celana Ibu), 'Remembering
Teacher's Pants' (Terkenang Celana Pak Guru) and 'The Soup Seller'
(Penjual Bakso).
Yudhistira ANM Massardi's The Toothbrush Poem' is a humorous
sajen written to encapsulate several minor incidents and in a day-to-day
diction. The humour found here is close to wit.
Sesaorang lupa menggosok giginya sebelum tidur
(Someone forgot to brush his teeth before going to bed)
Di dalam tidurnya ia bermimpi
(In his sleep, he had a dream)
Ada sikat gigi menggosok-gosok mUlutnya supaya terbuka
(There was a toothbrush brushing against his lips to open them)
Ketika ia bangun pagi hari
(When he woke up in the morning)
Sikat giginya tinggal sepotong
(Only part of his toothbrush was left)
Sepotong yang hilang itu agaknya
(The other was gone)
Tersesat dalam mimpinya yang tak bisa kembali
(Lost in his dream and never to come back)
Dan ia berpendapat bahwa kejadian itu terlalu berlebihan
(And he was of the thought that it was really weird)
By using the toothbrush as the subject of his work, Yudhistira had
made his poem unique and had surprised his readers. This is because
he had taken something which is very rarely thought of, is naive, is not
poetic and is in fact as though a cartoon was used as a subject in order
to induce humour into his poem. Dreams, as subconscious thoughts,
are frequently cartoon-like as they often unfold in an illogical manner.
This is the reason why the writer, having written the poem in the first
person, having forgotten to brush his teeth is shown to be brushing
them in his dream. The next day he finds that his toothbrush had been
used. The writer's message in this poem is clear and that is you ought
to maintain good habits. If you do forget to carry it out, you would feel
as though something is not quite right. This is what Yudhistira conveys
by writing that his toothbrush had lost some of its bristles.
The minor incidents and cartoon-like characteristics in Yudhistira's
poem are also evident in Jopkin's 'Pants' (Celana) series. Amongst
the 'Pants' series by Jopkin [Joko Pinurbo] are 'Pants l' (Celana 1),
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'Pants 2' (Ce/ana 2), 'Pants 3' (Ce/ana 3), 'Mother's Pants' (Ce/ana /bu)
and 'Remembering Teacher's Pants' (Terkenang CeJana Pak Guru).
This paper is only discussing the 'Mother's Pants' and 'Remembering
Teacher's Pants' sajen of the series apart from another sajen entitled
The Soup Seller'. Jopkin's sajen are basically impressive because of
his thorough scrutiny in choosing his points and the exactness of his
dictions. Apart from that, his sajen are also beautiful as the points he
raises are complex and vary. The satire used by Jopkin in his sajen
is also appropriate such that it makes his sajen interesting, fresh and
appealing. This is made more so by his way of writing. In truth, Jopkin's
way of writing is far better than that of Yudhistira's. One of the reasons
this is so is his adroit mergence of comedy and tragedy in each of his
sajen. Indeed it has become an identity to all Jopkin's sajen with the
'pants' (ce/ana) image as each storyline would end in tragedy.
In his 'Mother's Pants' for example, Jopkin combines satire in the
form of humour, wit, irony and sarcasm in order to portray Jesus being
utterly overjoyed upon receiving a new pair of pants from his mother
three days after him dying on the cross minus a pair of pants:
Maria sangat sedih menyaksikan anaknya (Mary was devastated
to see her son)
mati di kayu salib tanpa celana (die on the cross without any pants)
dan hanya berbalutkan sobekan jubah (and only covered with torn)
yang berlumuran darah. (and bloodied robe.)
Ketika tiga hari kemudian Jesus bangkit
(When Jesus rose from the dead three days later)
dari mati, pagi-pagi sekali Maria datang (Mary was there
from very early)
ke kubur anaknya itu, membawa celana (at her son's tomb,
bearing a pair of pants)
yang dijahitnya sendiri. (which she had stitched herself.)
"Paskah?" tanya Maria. ("Is it okay?" asked Mary.)
"Pas sekali, Bu," jawab Jesus gembira ("For sure Mom,"
answered Jesus aesthetically)
Mengenakan celana buatan ibunya, (Having put on the pants his
mother gave him,)
Jesus naik ke surga. (Jesus ascended to heaven.)
The portrayal is ironic as Jesus should not be overjoyed with his
mother's gift because with her gift, what lies before him is eternal
separation from his mother, Maria. The use of the 'Jesus' image by
Jopkin in his sajen is purposely done as this image and the story behind
it is also widely known. By doing so, it made it easy for Jopkin to criticize
the brainless and hasty actions of a group of people who were jealous
to the point of causing such a tragedy to befall Jesus.
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In the sajen 'Remembering Teacher's Pants', Jopkin wrote about the
daily happenings in a school, about a teacher and his students. Since
he wrote on daily happenings, Jopkin had incorporated common and
simple language in his sajen. For example:
Masih pagi sekali, Bapak Guru sudah siap di kelas.
(From very early still, Teacher was already in the class.)
Kepalanya yang miskin dan merana terkantuk-kantuk,
(His head is sparsely covered and nodding away,)
kemudian terkulai di atas meja.
(then fell on the table.)
Kami, anak-anak yang bengal dan nakai, beriringan masuk
(We, the naughty and incorrigible, enter two by two)
sambil mengucapkan, "Selamat pagi, Pak Guru."
(while wishing, "Good Morning, Teacher.")
Pak guru tambah nyenyak. Dengkur dan air liurnya
(The teacher sank into a deeper sleep. His snoring and
dripping saliva)
seakan mau mengatakan, "Bapak sangat lelah."
(as though trying to say, "I am so tired.")
Through this simple language, Jopkin gradually plays on the public's
emotions when he portrays the teacher having fallen asleep in class as
he was so tired due to working day and night in trying to eke out a living
for his family. The wages earned by the teacher is relatively meagre
and is not enough to support his family's expenditure. Consequently,
the teacher needs to take on a second job. As a result, he gets tired,
sleepy and falls asleep in class. Essentially, this story is a simple one
as many people lead similar lives but in Jopkin's hands, something
which is poignant and quite tragic as this comes over as being funny
because it was written in sartorial humour.
The last sajen, The Soup Seller', is a witty piece by Jopkin to present
a very common subject, the soup seller. The soup seller makes a living
by selling soup by the side of a busy road but his business is down.
The situation is a heart-rending one when Jopkin writes that the soup
seller and his son are forced to finish off the soup. With tears flowing
and dripping into his bowl of soup, the soup seller sips at his soup of
tears as he ponders over the lost of his capital and to top it off, he has
nothing to show for it.
Airmata penjual bakso menetes ke mangkok bakso.
(The soup seller's tears drip into his bowl of soup.)
Anak penjual bakso tersengal-sengal, terlalu banyak
(His son was gasping as he was stuffed)
menelan bakso. Kata penjual bakso kepada anaknya,
(with soup. The soup seller said to his son,)
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"Ayo, Plato, kita habiskan bakso kita. Kasihan ibumu."
("Come on, Plato, we need to finish our soup. Your poor mother.")
With that, even though this sajen is a funny piece but at the end
of the laughter readers can empathize with the hardship faced by the
less fortunate.
A Comparison of Malaysian and Indonesian Sajen
This part of the paper will go on to compare the sajen written by the
above mentioned Malaysian and Indonesian cyber literary writers based
on the earlier discussion of their work.
There is a difference between Malaysian and Indonesian writers from
the point of subject matter even though they are derived from a similar
source, which is from every day incidents that occur around the writers'
lives. In the 'Mawi Oh Mawi' sajen, the subject is the fans' fanaticism
towards Mawi, a Malaysian singer who suddenly captured the attention
of fans in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam when
he won a television reality show, Akademi Fantasia. Next, the 'Said the
Owl to the Moon' sajen is on a common topic which is love between a
man and a woman. The 'Political Humour' and 'Humorous Poem' sajen
evolve around the current political and social issues of the country while
the 'Wedding Night Humour' sajen focuses on the nosiness of the bride's
parents on her wedding night. Subsequently, the 'A Dialogue between A
Chicken and a Goat' sajen looks at a characteristic of man which likes to
zero in on the weaknesses of others and finally, 'Unfulfilled Desire' is on
maintaining decorum when visiting the homes of others. The Indonesian
sajen, on the other hand, tend to revolve around love as in 'Mother's
Pants', poverty as in 'Remembering Teacher's Pants' and 'The Soup
Seller' and also to maintain good habits as in 'The Toothbrush Poem'.
The stated sajen clearly show the differences in subject matter chosen
by Malaysian and Indonesian sajen writers. This is so because the
subject matters which capture the interest of the writers, at any given
time, are those most prominent or the most heatedly talked about in
their daily lives at the time the sajen are being created.
When it comes to writing styles, the Malaysian cyber literary writers
have a prosaic style and make an easier reading if compared to the
Indonesian writers. This can be seen through the 'Mawi Oh Mawi'
sajen which is so prosaic, has a cluttered story line and has no climax.
Therefore, its artistic value has less of an impact. Aside from that, the
writer is not sending out any new messages to the readers. The diction
in 'Political Humour' and 'Humorous Poem' sajen is more ordered but
is still prosaic as they lack multifarious meanings. Consequently, 'A
Dialogue between a Chicken and a Goat' sajen is a far better one as
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there is a play on the words and the various meanings they carry. A
great difference can be seen if a comparison were to be made between
these sajen and those written by Indonesian writers. This is so because
Indonesian cyber literary writers are more sensitive in the language
they use in presenting their sajen. The words they use are well-chosen
and are rich with ambiguity. In looking at 'Mother's Pants' for example,
on one level it is only a story about Jesus who ;s presented with a pair
of pants by his mother. But on a different level, there is a tale of tragic
separation and this sajen also has a deeply religious significance. The
same goes for the 'The Soup Seller', 'Remembering Teacher's Pants'
and 'The Toothbrush Poem' sajen. These sajen are filled with wellchosen words and are rich in meanings. The writers' ability to unite
ideas through excellent and beautiful language enables the readers to
immerse themselves in the comedic and tragic aspects of the sajen.
It is found that the Indonesian writers' ability to incorporate such
excellent language in their sajen comes from the influence of their
surroundings. The most influential aspect from their surroundings which
carry weight in their sajen comes from the media as in the newspapers,
television and radio. Often, these three utilize good language which
has artistic value even while reporting something as mundane as the
news. With the constant barrage of such language through the media,
the Indonesian society has become used to it and they in turn utilize the
same type of language in their interactions. Apart from that, Indonesian
writers such as Jopkin for example, are active artistic activists. This is
entirely different from what is happening in Malaysia because news
reporting or the dispersion of news through the mass media is done
in line with news language. The Malaysian writers; on the other hand,
are only active in producing their cyber literary writings and are not
artistic activists as their Indonesian counterparts. Thus it would not be
out of line to say that the influence of the surroundings playa big role in
producing excellent and beautiful sajen language amongst Indonesian
sajen writers if compared to their equals in Malaysia.
In essence, a good sajen needs to have delicate rhythm, have
comparable language, utilizes specific comparisons, have words
which are not cliched apart from being filled with knowledge and have
lessons such that the sajen invites people to think about the issues
presented by the writer. It cannot be denied that there are Malaysian
sajen which meet the mentioned criteria except that the incorporation
of the criteria in the Indonesian sajen is more meticulous and more
discernible. Therefore, even though the sajen may contain acerbic wit
but the exceptional language used enables the produced sajen to be
of therapeutic value to the public.
Looking from the point of humour Malaysian sajen, especially those
by Abdul Latip, are undoubtedly more entertaining. The comedy he
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MALAY LITERATURE
produces is more interesting and natural and is most noticeable when
taking a dig at the immorality of Malaysian society. In addition, the
issues he brings up are more audacious and passionate if compared to
the sajen put out by the Indonesian writers in this paper. Abdul Latip's
'Humorous Poem' and 'Political Humour' sajen for example, are seen to
be very fervent in questioning Tun Mahathir's leadership and besmirching
the National Laureates, while the 'Wedding Night Humour' sajen is so
passionate in disclosing the events taking place in the bedroom of a
pair of newlyweds. This Malaysian sajen writer is audacious and is
able to write such a cutting, sensitive and passionate piece because
the cyber literary medium does not need to go through an editor or
any other parties as there are in any given publishing company. His
sajen most probably would not make it through if the sajen had to go
through stringent publishing screening as those found in newspapers
or magazine publishing. Therefore the existence of cyber literature,
including these cyber poems, offers a difference compared to the work
published through the normal publishing channels because the issues
that are brought up by the writers are more audacious,· passionate and
sensitive.
Conclusion
Even though the sajen which were discussed and compared are cyber
literature, nevertheless as literary work their creative value must be
safeguarded, honed and maintained. A good piece of literary work is
a literary expression which is beautiful, meaningful, entertaining, rich
with imagination and rich in meaning which can bring about a variety of
perceptions. Literary work which combines all of the said elements can
be viewed in many ways, including a satirical approach such as this.
Hence it is hoped that sajen writers do not write merely to satisfy
their whims of filling up cyber space or even just to be writers because
of computer sophistication. At the same time, cyber literary writers
cannot make cyber space a platform to release their unfulfilled desire
by writing obscenities such as which is prevalent at present. On the
other hand, sajen writers ought to have the tenacity to produce quality
sajen which can make the public of both countries proud. To all intents
and purposes, only 'the superior, the excellent and the beneficial' are
termed as 'literary work'!
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RAHIMAH HAJI A HAMID
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