A clever weave of family history into a rich tapestry, Legacy blurs fact and fiction in a fascinating narrative involving a watch, James Birch, two world wars and Merdeka. JAMES HIPKISS finds out more from the author.

IS Legacy the story of a family or story of the birth of a nation? This is a pertinent question which arises as one reads the new novel by Shahriza Hussein.

On the surface, this is a fictional story, set against a background of historic fact. It traces the adventures of a Malay family between 1875 and the dawn of Merdeka in 1957.

The saga begins with the killing of James Birch, a historic fact. The intrigue begins at this point with the relationship between the late Birch and Mastura, the story’s first major character, a lady of the royal household of Perak.

The narrative then follows palace intrigue seen from the point of view of Mastura, through the Perak wars, and further to her death.
The plot then follows the passing on of the legacy, a pocket watch, but far more than a mere timepiece, to future generations of her family, their trials and tribulations through two world wars, the economic and political development of the Malay States, until Merdeka.

It is a fascinating story. The narrative is gripping and the historical background richly depicted. Further details of the plot I leave to readers to discover for themselves.

Suffice it to say though that as one reads the book, one becomes more and more intrigued as to where the blurred line between fact and fiction actually runs.

This was one of the questions I posed to the author, Shahriza Hussein, when I was fortunate enough to be granted a few minutes of his time.

First, a little background on the author. Shahriza was born in 1943 in Selangor. An old boy of Victoria Institution, he went on to gain an honours degree in English literature at Australia’s Monash University.

This last point is clearly evident from the sheer quality of his writing in Legacy. It has a certain richness and elegance, making it a pleasure to read.

Legacy is Shahriza’s first book, after having written many articles and short stories during his long career, first as a teacher and then running his own publishing company for 30 years.

Referring to the novel as a “labour of love”, which he researched and subsequently wrote over a period of three years, he said much of the inspiration goes back to the many tales he was told as a child by his parents and grandmother regarding the history of his family.

He had wanted to record these stories, this family history, before it was lost for ever but shuddered at the thought of producing a boring tome.

Thus he cleverly wove his family history into a tapestry. From the book, it’s clear that his grandmother and mother were great women, who lived through the most amazing adventures during a very dramatic period of both the Malay and world history.

Shahriza doesn’t give too much away, though. Was his grandmother directly connected to the Perak royal family, I asked?

“Well, the connection is, shall we say, tenuous,” came the reply.

He did concede though that members of his family had met the historical wfigures Maxwell, Swettenham, Chow Kit and Loke Yew, as well as many members of the royal families.

Shahriza enigmatically leaves the reader to sort fact from fiction in his novel.

However, what was important to him was that he got the historical background details correct, and to this end he spent three solid months on research.

He browsed through archives, museums, old photographs, even old advertising hoardings, enabling him to paint a detailed and accurate background to accompany and complement his narrative.

Shahriza clearly wished to bring to life, as vividly as possible, everyday living, everything from food to transport in this historic period, whether from the life of the common man or the aristocrat.

When writing of recent history, one can easily venture into controversies or cause offence by not necessarily painting the right picture of a particular period.

Here, the author has tried to be historically accurate and honest. His character Mastura, for instance, judges 1875 Perak in a highly-critical light.

When asked about this, Shahriza said society at that time was very feudal, particularly so in Perak.

He certainly does not romanticise the period or particularly flatter historical characters.

Interestingly, he is not full of praise for the modern world either, opining that respect for one another and the pursuit of excellence are perhaps lacking today, where the culture of squandering and living for the moment is more prevalent.

These thoughts come from a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. One who has high ideals, writes the most beautiful English, and tells a fascinating story.

Legacy is published by Editions Didier Millet, and is now available in major bookstores. It is surely a landmark Malaysian literary work. I hear it has been entered for a Commonwealth literary prize. If it wins, it will be well-deserved.