Jalan Retak

jalanretak

It is with inordinate pride I announce the completion of my first novel in Bahasa Melayu, Jalan Retak by A. Samad Said.

Written for middle-school students, Jalan Retak is a 70-page portrait of a widower who tries to emotionally support two grandchildren coping with a broken home. The widower counsels his son but without obvious results, and the children return to boarding school unsure if they will come home for the next holiday. Melancholy and tender, the story ends unresolved with tears at the train station.

More importantly, I was able to comprehend the action and read through it at a good pace while picking up some vocabulary here and there. I’m ready for the next Malay novel.  Jalan Retak hari ini, Hujan Pagi sebelum mati!

Episod 8: Anak Anak Kita

Sempena Hari Merdeka, mari kita baca – bukan nyanyi ye – lagu M. Nasir serta terjemahan yang sentuh hal-hal kemerdekaan dan kebebasan secara halus dan puitis.

Anak Anak Kita

by M. Nasir 

Anak-anak kitakah yang berlari telanjang

Di bawah mentari sumbing

Sambil bernyanyi lagu

Ketakutan hari-hari ini

 

Anak-anak kitakah yang memikul beban

Kesilapan kita

Hingga dia tak kenal budaya

Canggung bangsa sendiri

 

Selamatkan anak kita

Dari padang jerangkap samar

Selamatkan anak kita

Orde baru politikus usang

 

Anak-anak kitakah yang bermain

Di hutan belukar

Dengan senapang kayu-ubi cambah

Tak kenal bahaya

 

Anak-anak kitakah yang tak tahu nak pulang

Bila petang

kerana terlalu sibuk main lastik

Dan berpistolan

Pistol-pistolan

 

Jaga-jaga anak kita

Jangan sampai jadi hamba

Jaga-jaga anak kita

Kita ini orang merdeka

 

Panggillah mereka pulang

Ayah nak ajar

Tentang kurang ajar

Jadi mereka takkan sendiri lagi

 

Panggillah mereka pulang

Ayah nak ajar

Tentang kurang ajar

Jadi mereka takkan dimomok lagi

 

Fikir  Selamatkah kita di tangan tukang karut itu

Fikir   Selamatkah kita di tangan dalang wayang itu

Fikir   Selamatkah kita di tangan ahli koporat itu

Fikir   Selamatkah kita di tangan doktor jiwa itu

Fikir   Selamatkah kita di tangan pakar kitab itu

Fikir   Selamatkah kita di tangan tuhan-tuhan itu

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Our Children  

by national treasure M.Nasir

 

Are those our children that run around naked

Under that broken sun

as they sing songs

In These fearful days

 

Are those our children shouldering the burdens

of our mistakes

Until they don’t know their own ways

Uneasy with their own people

 

Save our children

from the minefields

Save our children

New regimes, obsolete politics

 

Are those our children playing

in the woods

with cassava branches for guns

blind to danger

 

Are those our children who don’t know to come home

in the evening

because they’re too busy shooting slingshots

and playing guns

playing with their play guns

 

Watch over our children

Don’t let them become slaves

Watch over our children

We are an Independent People

Call those kids home

Daddy wants to teach em

all about disrespect

So they won’t be on their own again

 

Call those kids home

Daddy wants to teach em

all about disrespect

So they can’t be spooked again

 

Think    Are we safe in the hands of those story tellers

Think    Are we safe in the hands of those puppeteers

Think    Are we safe in the hands of those boards of directors

Think    Are we safe in the hands of those brain scanners

Think    Are we safe in the hands of those book peddlers

Think    Are we safe in the hands of all these gods

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Other translations of M. Nasir’s music: Perjalan, The Journey