Ever read a book or an article and felt that you could do better? Some youngsters did, and have since had their works published. Reena Enbasegaram from The Sun Megazine meets (one of) them for a chat. And if you have any comments, feel free to send it by simply clicking here before typing: mailto:uthayasb@tm.net.my.
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REMEMBER THOSE Khatijah Hashim and Othman Puteh novels we used to read in school? Well, not content with merely reading, some took it one step further. Writing works in a similar vein, they got their pieces printed in youth magazines such as Dewan Siswa. Their potential was noted and their magazine contributions eventually led to their recruitment into the ‘Minggu Penulis Remaja’ (MPR; Young Writers’ Week) programme.
Quite a number of non-Malay writers are involved in the workshop, and they later go on to publish their own novels, such as Tan Bok Hoi, the author of Topeng (Mask). Like Tan, they often write about protagonists and central characters of their own race.
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One MPR product who has won numerous writing awards and made a name for himself is Uthaya Sankar SB. The multi-lingual Uthaya soon revealed himself to be ambitious, confident, and even perhaps, a little arrogant.
Uthaya started writing in school because he was tired of the same old cliché Malay teen stories and decided he could do better. He initially wrote for himself, friends and teachers, before deciding to get his works published.
“When I joined MPR, I realised that I could actually write quite well.”
The topics for his works range from Indian folk tales (retold in Bahasa Malaysia) to bilingual children’s stories.
He does write for teenagers, but “I treat them like adults. I write heavier topics or it could be a simple theme but written in a heavier style. Teenagers need psychological motivation, they should not be treated like stupid children. I could write a love story, but set it during independence. I also have teenage characters in my books for adults, so they could have a better understanding of their children.”
As a Malayalee, Uthaya tends to write about Indian characters, sometimes even using Indian names for his titles, but maintains he is able to adapt himself to other communities. For example, he used to write for Dakwah magazine (1996-1997), published by Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia. He was also a literature columnist for Mingguan Wawasan (March-July 1998) and is currently a Bahasa Malaysia news editor at RTM (since July 1996).
Uthaya is perpetually collecting data for his stories, and is not afraid of running out of ideas, or readers.
“I only need 10 thinking people who appreciate my works. I want quality not qauntity readers. If a reader does not understand my stories, it means he is not thinking (or not matured enough to think about such topics). I admit that some of my works are difficult to understand, but my 10 intellectual readers will find that challenging.”
Uthaya, who also writes under the pen names Shafie Uzein Gharib, Hanuman O dan Leonard Loar, got his first degree in media studies at Universiti Malaya.
He doesn’t shy away from declaring himself a writer, and states: “I don’t need others to motivate me, I know my own interests. When I complete a piece, I tell myself that I’ve done a good job. I don’t need outside help to give me feedback before my work is published; it goes straight from me to the publisher, and to my readers.”
Explaining that part of the attraction of his stories is the occasional use of non-Malay titles (like “Nayagi”, “Vis-à-vis”, “Pancayat” and “Le Spectre de la Rose”), Uthaya adds that he has open-endings because he doesn’t want to go around educating his readers.
“I believe the role of the writer is to raise questions for the contemplation of the readers. I have a social responsibility to respect the readers’ intellectuality.”
[Uthaya’s stories have appeared in all leading newspapers, magazines and other publications in Malaysia. He has 9 books under his name: “Orang Dimensi” (Dimensional People: 16 short stories), “Siru Kambam” (Small Village: 16 short stories), “Yang Aneh-aneh” (The Strange Ones: 5 short stories), “Hanuman: Potret Diri” (Hanuman’s Self Portrait: parody of Indian ‘Ramayana’), “Nari! Nari!” (Wolf! Wolf!: Indian tales) and “Munis dengan Harimau” (Munis and the Tiger: Indian tales) are among them.]
I asked Uthaya whether any of his stories ever got rejected. He admits there was one, but rationalises that the reason was the controversy it raised, rather than the quality of the writing. It revolves around a boy killing “his mother’s husband”, and not regretting it.
“I have my reasons for writing it that way,” he asserts, adding that the story could be found in Orang Dimensi.