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CULTURE AND THE ARTS
Radical novel challenges established norms
by Dr Shakila Manan
Malaysia, Absolute Press (M) Sdn Bhd, 2004 Salam Maria is a radical novel as it provides a critique of the nation-state for turning its back on the less-privileged and marginalized communities, mainly women who are old, poor, single, disabled, victims of incest and rape, says prominent literary critic Dr Wong Soak Koon. She expressed this view during the recent launch of Dr Fatimah Busu’s Salam Maria by Malaysia’s Poet Laureate, Prof Muhammad Hj. Salleh. The launch was organised by KANITA, Universiti Sains Malaysia’s foremost Women’s Development Research Centre, Before the launch, Muhammad moderated a panel discussion with four notable speakers: Dr. Wong Soak Koon, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruzy Suliza Hashim, En. Hanafi Ibrahim and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maznah Mohamad. Spiritual leader and entrepreneur The female protagonist in the novel, Maria Zaitun, is a character taken from W.S. Rendra’s famous poem Nyanyian Angsa (Song of the Geese). Wong added that it was Maria Zaitun, fashioned after women Islamic saints such as Rabeah al-Adawiyah and Sayyidah Nafisah, who provides spiritual leadership, enlightenment and salvation to this group of dispossessed women in Hutan Beringin, a place deep in the interiors. Maria Zaitun is not just a spiritual leader, she is also an entrepreneur: she is the one who encourages these women to start a small cottage industry, sewing and selling specially-embroidered telekung or praying attire for Muslim women in the urban centres. This helps provide them with some form of financial independence and security. A devout Muslim, Maria Zaitun is reduced to a social outcast because she has been misunderstood. Wong highlighted Fatimah’s courage in criticizing religious institutions through the character of the village imam, who lacks compassion and humanity for social outcasts such as Maria Zaitun. Instead of helping her, the imam chases Maria Zaitun out of the mosque, where she had thought she could find refuge and spiritual salvation. It is a group of women, old, poor and disabled, who offer her sanctuary in their humble abode in Hutan Beringin. Wong noted that Maria Zaitun’s resourcefulness is clearly demonstrated when she takes over the running of the household and provides help to other marginalized women who had sought refuge in Hutan Beringin. Fatimah didn’t spare the media in her novel, noted Wong. One of the characters is Siti Senang, a journalist with Primadonna magazine. To please her bosses, gain popularity and reap profits, Siti Senang sensationalises news about Maria Zaitun, her spiritual powers and saintly touch. The novel has several strengths and some limitations, said Wong. Although the writer was brave enough to raise important social issues affecting Malaysian society, in particular Malay-Muslim society, it would have helped if she had attempted to explore the “subjective layer of personal life”. It would have been interesting to unravel the underlying tensions, contradictions and anxieties within Maria Zaitun as she juggles several roles and assumes a number of identities. “The spiritual leader is bound to conflict with the entreprenuerial self,” said Wong. Likewise, tensions and conflicts within other characters such as Tasnim and Siti Senang could have been explored. As an educated Malay-Muslim woman living in a modern, capitalist society, Siti Senang too was bound to have faced tensions and anxieties within her. Wong felt it would have been interesting to see how Siti Senang handled them. A pertinent point indeed: by revealing her doubts and insecurities, the character assumes a human identity and “begins to live.” Easily maligned Maznah, a social scientist and KANITA director, agreed as she underscored Fatimah’s valiant attempts at exposing the “brutal realities of contemporary society” through her airing of issues such as incest, child sexual abuse, religious hypocrisy, superficial religiosity, greed and slander. Maznah argued that Malay women are often “easily maligned” and vulnerable to slander, as in the case of Maria Zaitun, as they are expected to conform to certain State-constructed and -promoted ideals. The writer, Maznah added, deserves to be commended for her efforts in dismantling a “gendered Islamic history”. Reinscribing an alternative history into her narrative, Fatimah has highlighted the contributions and sacrifices of Muslim women saints. Women in this novel, Maznah noted, are portrayed as highly reverent, charitable and non-judgemental in their dealings with incest victims and unwed mothers. These marginalized women are kind, humble, understanding; they have a genuine desire to help fellow women in distress. It’s an interesting point Maznah raised as such women are often subjected to shame and scorn at the hands of bureaucratic officers and holier-than-thou religious authorities. Blurring the boundaries Salam Maria has provided women with alternative identities that are contrary to the traditional model of womanhood, a model that other writers so often subscribe to, observed another panel speaker, Ruzy, a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer. Fatimah provides a critique of such women - whose identities are defined by the men they are married to - through Maria Zaitun. This female protagonist is not portrayed as a subservient wife but as a devout Muslim and a wise and knowledgeable spiritual leader. Like other women in this novel, Maria Zaitun has been given both voice and agency, said Ruzy. This is clearly shown through the character’s interrogations of society’s improper understanding and implementation of religious practices. It is also seen in her resourcefulness in setting up home in Hutan Beringin. Ruzy also touched on the technique of magical realism that Fatimah employed to blur the boundaries between fantasy and realism. Using such a technique, she was able to weave in elements of mystery, mysticism, suspense, disbelief through dream sequences when foregrounding real issues of poverty and abuse. Hanafi Ibrahim, a Language Planning Officer with Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka, viewed Salam Maria as an “idealistic novel” as it is reflective of Maria Zaitun’s idealism. Her migration to the interiors, he added, was the result of moral and spiritual decay and loss of humanity amongst city dwellers. He felt that the writer had foregrounded several basic issues revolving around religion - issues which have not yet been resolved. Difficulties arise when boundaries that separate cultural and religious practices are blurred in this novel. This, he added, is worrying as uninformed readers will not be in a position to distinguish them. Bold touch In her speech, Fatimah touched on the creative and publishing processes of her novel. She expressed her disappointment with the editor for making unnecessary changes to the manuscript and acknowledged that Maria Zaitun was based on a character in W.S. Rendra’s poem. Rendra had depicted Maria Zaitun as a syphilis-stricken prostitute; however, the Maria Zaitun in Salam Maria is a devout Muslim woman much hated and maligned by a sick Malay-Muslim society. The writer added that Maria Zaitun is an ordinary person, but she is one who is quite conscious of her temporary existence in this world. Fatimah Busu’s latest novel is certainly radical: it questions and challenges established religious norms and practices by exposing their gaps and inconsistencies. She is highly critical of Malay-Muslim society, its religious hypocrisy and its penchant for superficial religiosity. The novel also highlights the nation-state’s failure in providing much-needed support to marginalized women. What is demonstrated is this society’s skewed understanding of important religious principles and their improper implementation. In addition, issues of incest, rape, child sexual abuse and abandoned orphans are real issues that confront this society on a daily basis; hence the writer deserves praise for being bold enough to highlight them, when her contemporaries would have played safe by staying well clear of them. Please support our work by buying a copy of our print publication, Aliran Monthly, from your nearest news-stand. Better still take out a subscription now. 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Fatimah Busu's novel highlights the nation-state’s failure in providing much-needed support to marginalized women.
