JOHAN JAAFAR: Literature may be missing ingredient in our lives

2009/11/07

by Johan Jaafar

DEPUTY Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah suggested that "science stream and engineering students" should be offered literature as part of their curriculum.

"The arts should not be sidelined. It teaches critical thinking, ethics and communication, which could be lacking in science subjects."

What is lacking among us is a basic understanding of what constitutes good literature, the notion of high culture and the meaning of great works of art. It is not by design that many among us believe literature to be merely sajak (poems) and cerpen (short stories), and culture as dances at festivals.

The truth is we need to prepare our people for the future in more ways than one. Certainly, we need the sciences to move forward in the ever-changing landscape of technological advancement.

We need the cream of the crop among us to lead the way. We need the expertise in every endeavour to take us to the next level. We need the best and the brightest to pave the way to the glorious future.

Sadly, our understanding of literature, culture and the arts is spotty at best, clueless at worst. The problem between Malaysia and Indonesia of late is a classic example of how different we are from them in terms of interpreting culture and creative works.

Take a look at how protective the Indonesians are. When we used the ketoprak and tarian pendet to promote tourism, they protested noisily. They believe popular folk songs like Rasa Sayang and Suliram are theirs, not ours. Many of the cultural artefacts we take for granted as ours are not, according to them.

Menklaim or "to claim" is what we are good at. Most Malaysians cannot understand what the commotion is about. After all, we come from the same root. But to the Indonesians, culture is sacrosanct. Perhaps the thinking is that if they can't beat us economically, arguing for the supremacy of their cultural legacy is the next best thing.

We erroneously believe that the ones protesting are in the minority. Just listen to the discussions on their airwaves. Almost every scholar, artist and journalist in Indonesia is adamant that Malaysia has no right to claim what we believe are cultural and artistic similarities with them as rightfully ours.

Yes, they all agree, carrying bamboo spears and "hunting" for Malaysians in the markets is an aberration and those carrying banners to ganyang (crush) Malaysia do not represent the majority.

But the argument that Malaysians menklaim their culture is more than just about national pride. It is about sending the message that they take their culture seriously.

We were "brought up" in a different manner, if you like. The Indonesians developed a strong cultural identity that includes total acceptance of all the principles of Pancasila. They believe in "oneness", thus the necessity to go to the same schools and speak the same language. Culture is everything to them -- identity contestation, national character and the articulation of a single bangsa -- Bangsa Indonesia.

Cultural identity is about how they look, speak and behave. Our priorities are different. We believe in diversity, in fact the mantra "strength in diversity" has put us in positions of difficulty at times. We take culture lightly, unlike them. We are vindicated in terms of progress and development. They excel in promoting a national consciousness which we ought to be envious of. In short, they are more culturally and literally inclined than us.

Teaching literature is not about reading boring classics and pretentious tomes. It should be the starting point to understanding who we are. The English brought along anthropologists and social scientists to learn about the locals. They read and studied Malay works of literature to understand the Malay mind and psyche.

Even the Portuguese brought back countless priceless works of literature, perhaps to better understand the locals. Alas, one such ship sunk with a treasure trove of the great kitab and hikayat.

Not too long ago, literature was never considered a necessity in business schools. Things are changing. As more leaders of corporations exchange pinstripes for jail stripes, even the Harvard Business School (HBS) has redefined its curricula to accommodate courses on "ethics".

What best explains ethics than works of literature? Since the 1980s, HBS has been using literary works to study decision-making and leadership. HBS has been introducing works by Albert Camus, David Mamet and Chinua Achebe among others to students. Even Sophocles's play Antigone is taught there, so too Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day.

According to its proponents, the course is designed "to explore practical questions that help us understand the moral domain and where morality and leadership intersect".

The idea is to allow its MBA students "to find their own definition of moral leadership". In fact, one of the required texts is The Moral Leader: Challenges, Tools and Insights, which uses historical and social contexts in literature to enlighten the students. HBS is not alone.

Many other business schools are following suit. In many American and European universities, literature is being introduced even in medical, engineering and architecture faculties. In many such universities, students taking law and economics are requested to study literary disciplines as disparate as feminism, deconstruction and post-modernism.

The Education Ministry has introduced KOMSAS, an acronym to mean a component in the teaching of Bahasa Malaysia to introduce literature to pupils in lower secondary schools. Many private schools are making it compulsory for pupils to engage in drama and literary activities. The highly regarded and probably most successful A-level college in the country, Kolej Yayasan UEM, is encouraging its science students to take English literature as one of the core subjects, not to mention engaging them in cultural performances.

We can never know what the 3,000-year history of creative works can do to change the world. We know one thing though -- the history of letters teaches us to understand our world and ourselves. For that reason alone, Saifudin's idea should be taken seriously and the teaching of literature should be made compulsory to all students regardless of their disciplines at tertiary level.