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l{csc11si l111ln H Nosa Nur 111t111da.J11nw/1.nu' .\'ustral1'1. \ntan I• iks1 dun Fuktn, \ntara Seniman d1111 Wnrtawan
9. Ilcrlin Putri
Mendengungkan Suara Yang Terbungkam
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JndeksSutan Takdir Alisjahbana's Thinking, Today
and in the Future.
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana as a Literary Writer.
E. Ulrich Kratz
SOAS, LondonAbstract:
Until today, the discussion over Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's works has still been controversial. On one hand, he was considered pro-West and anti-East, while on the other he was respected as a visionay and a man of principle whose contribu tions to 20' century Indonesian intellectual and political life have been essential. Aside from these contradicting views, a thorough study on his lifelong works 1s still rare, and people based their views more on hearsay rather than on their own reading of his writings
lhis paper, I hope, will mark an important point in the Indonesian and intenation-11 nppreciation and recognition ofSutan Takdir Alisjahbana's work. Particularly, I wish to encourage people to actually read his work, rather than to perpetuate , w'll-established tradition of passing on unsubstantiated views, seemingly as ill' 1cs11lt of an immediate, intellectual confrontation with the author's work, but r,hv1ously based on secondary reading.
l,q words: controversy, intellectual, thinking, Poedjangga Baroe.
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�,111:1c has been no end to the discussion over Sutan Takdir Alisjah - hmm 's work ever since he began publishing in the early 1930s and, If 1 1111 _ lollows what has been written and said about him in the course r,' 111m 111 Indonesia alone, there has been no limit to the positive and It ,1 t Vl l'lllotions aroused by him and his work. It would appear that his \. "' � p1 uvokcs strong views, which continue to be aired -whenever It Ii. d 1.,i><Cd. I!18 SUSASTRA
lo gel done with the damning views irst, oremost among the more negative comments generally heard and oten repeated without urther substantiation, are the irm postulates that Sutan Takdir Alisjabbana was pro-West and anti-East, in fact, that he was excessively Westen in bis attitude and outlook. Secondly, one can read that be was not really inter ested in society, but believed in the arts for their own sake. Furthermore, he has been accused of being a stubbon, unrealistic man of words, but of no action.
In contrast to these, there is the view that Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was a visionary and a man of principle whose contributions to 20th cen tury Indonesian intellectual and political lie have been essential. A man who proved himself in various disciplines of nowledge and was intenationally recognised; the founder of a university; a sharp analyst oflndonesia's intellectual and cultural condition and need in an era of colonial oppression; a fervent nationalist with a clear intellectual and cultural agenda of renewal; and a man equipped with a well developed business sense.
Leaving any ulterior reasons and motives behind this controversy aside, there is one question which one has to ask oneself again and again when confronted particularly with negative generalisations like the ones referred to above, namely: what do people actually know about Sutan Takdir Alisjabbana's achievements today; how much of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's work have they read; and, how much of their views is based more on hearsay rather than on their own reading of his writings? What do his detractors know about the critical dialogue with his work which is articulated in the writings published in Sutan Takdir Alisjah bana 's honour (Udin 1 978, Lubis 1979) and, no less, in some of the other published studies of aspects of bis work and thinking (Kleden a.o. 1988). What do they know about the intellectual discourse, which foms the background to the controversies, which have engaged Indonesian intel1ectuals to this day?
One might also ask: Has Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's work ever been studied in full? Where are the (Indonesian) PhD - theses that deal with the many different aspects of his life's work? And, do those who are more familiar with one particular aspect and part of his work, really know about those others parts?
E. ULRICH KRATZ 219
Take for example the cherished statement that Sutan Takdir Alisjah bana was blindly pro-West. No reading of his writings can substantiate this claim. Equally, the accusation of inaction seems diicult to uphold. To paraphrase Raja Ali Haji ofRiau, who, J believe, was indebted to al Ghazali: seribu kata lebih kuat daripada seribu pedang. This sentiment, which is much older than either of the two, describes not only Raja Ali Haji's own efforts but equally well Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's approach and attitude.
Furthermore, and although this is outside my literary brief, if we look at Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's political oundations and connections, let alone his political activities, starting from the ounding of Jong Sumatra in Muara Enim, to membership in the Konstituante and banishment and political exile in Malaysia, we find that Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was an activist, but of a diferent kind from that of bis opponents. And, we can say while taking stock, he probably had a longer lasting influence on Indonesian culture and with it society, than many of his critics.
to show this independence and equality with an almost contemptuous disdain for most, be they Indonesian or foreign (no redundant name dropping for him) , and a strong belief in his own capabilities, which he tried to imbue in others.
Purely in literary terms, a detailed study of his creative work has imme diate relevance or a study of the concept of literary generations alone, and or our understanding of a concept, which is seriously lawed. The actual reading of his texts, his poety, his prose, and his essays does show further that commentators have missed vital elements of his thinking, and that many of the views held about Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana today are either superficial and ill-informed, or merely polemical and lack evidence in act.
Partly, one might say, this is Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana·s own fault; why did he not correct the record with greater insistence, while he was still alive? But then, he would not have been Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, if he had done so. He had to move forward, there were more important things to do, in order to give Indonesians the place in the world, which, in his view, they were able to occupy.
I shall, in the following, look at some of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's writing with this consideration in mind. And, I can say rom the outset, there is no easy labelling since his writings cover a considerable period of Indonesian intellectual expression in the course of the 20'h century His work does not fit the usual divisive and exclusive categories of genera tio.s and in fact, it spans generations Even to label his poetic language as belonging to the Poejangga Baroe period would be misleading if we accept, that he is not the only writer who has continued to write in a style most associated with the jounal Poecjangga Baroe, but which has not remained exclusive to it. Poets and critics may have moved on, and present-day perceptions of artistically and aesthetically satisying poetic expression may be different rom those prevalent during the irst decades of Indonesian literature but, we must keep in mind that the Poejangga Baroe style was Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's very own style, which he had championed and propagated even beore the jounal Poejangga Baroe itself was irst published. Does it not seem strange, to criticise him or encouraging the use of a language, which still remains the basis of any contemporary artistic expression in Indonesian? One must not orget, that he had pushed or the use of a new kind of Indonesian, while the
Pane brothers were still experimenting with Dutch. It was Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, who provided the irst outlet for Amir Hamzah's poems in Pandji Poestaka. (ratz 1980)
Looking at his essays, there are a considerable number of original writings to deal with. To this day, in my view, his literary work has never been discussed ully. n a certain sense, the reception of Su tan T akdir Alisjahbana's work is not unique of course, and we must realize that his is the ate of many Indonesian writers throughout the 20m century. J Iow ever, this act should not prevent us rom looking at some of his actual literary writings. Not to provide complete answers but at least to show where, in my view, there are questions worth to be looked at urther in order to really appreciate Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's contribution to Indonesian literature and culture during the 201h century, and to under \tand their relevance for today and tomorrow. Apart from the intrinsic value of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's writings which a closer study will 1 cveal, there is the general relevance of any more detailed study for our understanding of Indonesian literary texts, both as works of art as well lli historical witnesses of their own times and society within the greater fontcxt of Indonesian culture, the national movement and modenity
hl lore and ater Independence.
But what do we know today of his actual contribution to Indonesian 111ll;llcctual and cultural life of the 20h century?
\ 1· know that Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana once worked for Balai Pus-111k111111d that he was one of the ounders of Poedjangga Baroe. The fact
of 1hci1 Joint editorship did not prevent him, however, rom launching ltH•J II l'undnmental debate about the uture course oflndonesia with one of11iI fellow editors; a debate which is of relevance to Indonesia to this d11y(Mih11rdja 1954).
n11c people may know that he edited more periodicals as time went 111 d111 inf the Revolution and into the early 1950s right into the 1990s. ,01 111n11y pcnple know, that Poejangga Baroe resumed life during the 1lr.vol111io1110 c,1rry on for several more years, nor will they associate im mm!lillcly 1ht 11111mals Konfrontsi and Pembangunan with Su tan Takdir
ll•1lnhh:m, M,my of you will know, hatllmu dan Budaya remained his Iii Olil, ll11 ,11 long as he was at Universitas Nasional.
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use of Indonesian, as we know it today, during the Japanese occupation. I find il sweetly ironical, that the Dutch themselves commissioned his Tatabahasa Baru (1986) , which helped to hasten the demise of the use of the Dutch language. The Dutch also, albeit indirectly, helped with its publication during ther inal agonies, as Pak Takdir once told me, since the honorarium he had received for the grammar, went towards buying the printing equipment which he wanted for the printing of his grammar from a Dutch printer, who was eager to part with it quickly as Independence approached.
In an aside, I might add that we know very little about his political lie, such as his engagement with the PSI and his membership of the Konstitutante as representative for South Sumatra, as well as his incon gmous sounding role as Ketua Dewan Adat Se/uruh Sumatra in 1957 which has a clear PRRI link (Fauzi 1999:80).
In this paper I propose to use a narrow textual approach and, in an old fashioned manner, will go back to a few sources. It would be, l presume, against the spirit of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana 's own work and thinking, however, ifl did not ind myself in other areas soon. Literature after all was a tool for Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, and not and end in itself
Although Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was a forward-looking man:
Jangan tanggungjangan kepalang / Hidup di dunia hanyalah sekali!
as he wrote in 1987 (Alisjahbana 1987:42) , I have no doubt that he would agree that in order to understand the relevance of his work for the present and the future, we have to look at its origins and see its in its original contemporary context.
Chronologically, we gain this picture of his literary activities:
1929 Ta putus dirundung ma/ang (novel) 1932 Dian yang tak kunjung padam (novel)
1935 Tebaran mega (poetry)
1937 Lyar terkembang (novel)
1940 Anak perawan di sarang peyamun (novel) 1970 Grotta Azzura: kisah cinta dan cita (novel) 1978 Ka/ah dan menang (novel)
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1978 Lagu pemacu ombak (poetry)
1980 Perempuan di persimpangan zaman (poetry) 1984 Kebangkitan ( drama)
1987 Sajak dan remmgan (poetry).
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There are also translations and anthologies of other people's work such as Pelangi, which came out in 1940, and Puisi baru and Puisi lama, which were published first in 1946.
There are essays and talks in large numbers, very few of which have been recognised for their worth, and even less are remembered. I am reminded here of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's significant studies of Chairil Anwar (1977) and Amir Hamzah (1979), both writers he knew personally well.
Some of his literary essays were collected and published and I want 10 mention here:
1969 Kebangkitan puisi baru Indonesia
1977 Perjuangan tanggung-jawab dalam kesusasteraan Jndone \/11
/1)85 Seni dan sastra di tengah-tengah pergolakan masyarakat dan hudya.
I would suggest that it is no coincidence that Ajip Rosidi (re)published llto I '177 collection of essays, given Ajip's interest in a full documenta iio11 ol Indonesian literary history.
I 1111.ing at this evidence we can only stand in awe: here is a man ho, 1111 literature alone, has achieved more than many other writers !ti� 11•11111ry. I believe he was seventeen years old when he wrote his ll1i1! 111,vrl, which was published when he was twenty-one years of age,
HI 111 111111111ucd writing and publishing when others, half his age, had hmr11 111 I l·sign from this calling.
Sutan Ta<dir Alisjahbana remained a teacher all his life yet, we know, he did not like teaching schoolchildren. We also know that his legal mind and training which he did not want to use professionally, found recogni tion during his membership of the Konstitutante.
W hat is remarkable in all of this is that fact, that Sutan akdir Alijah bana who, despite all criticism, is generally recognised for his achieve ments as an artist, a thinker and an academic, obtained recognition in ields, which were outside his original leaning and training. Trained as a teacher, he graduated in law and, in doing so he exhausted two of the three opportunities (medicine being the last) to advanced study which were open to Indonesians under the Dutch.
He had started, let us remember this, walking barefoot to school and preerring ishing to studying the Qur'an with his grandfather, a renowned ulama in west Sumatra at the tin1e. We also know from his own recol lection the deep impression that was left in him, when his grandather's libray was placed on his grave to perish, as none of his grandfather's pupils had the spiritual power and strength to possess it.
What then motivated him?
To attempt to answer this questions, T do not propose to look at his creative work in detail here, nor will I attempt to explain the dichotomy between three of his earliest "Malay" novels, now in their 14h (Dian
yang tak kunjung padam and Tc putus dirundung malang) and I 7'h (Anal< perawan di sarang penyamun) editions, and his other, "intena tional" novels. Neither will I attempt a detailed interpretation of some of his poems. I want to look at his critical writing, and I shall go back to some of his earliest essays such as the ones on Puisi baru dan lama and on Perosa.
These essays were irst published in 1932 in Pandji Poestaka where they remained widely ignored by the public, but they, among others, ormed the intellectual and artistic basis or the establisment of Poed jangga Baroe
and with it, for much oflndonesian literature as we still know it today.
Sutan Tal<dir Alisjahbana's statement on poetry does not need urther explanation and I believe it suices to quote it as written:
Kesusasteraan Melayu yang selama ini tumbuh sendirinya, tersem bunyi di balik tembok yang tiada dapat dilalui angin, sekarang mendapat udara yang segar dari Barat. Demikianlah tumbuhnya berubah dari sediakala, dihinggapi semangat kesusasteraan Barat, malahan boleh kita katakan semangat kesusasteraan intemasional. Beberapa syaratnya sendiri dilepaskannya dan digantinya dengan syarat yang terdapat pada kesusasteraan bangsa asing.
Pastilah perubahan dalam kesusasteraan bangsa Melayu itu macam macam disambut orang. Ada piha. yang mengejek-ejek melihatnya, mengata.an anak muda yang "mabuk kebaratan". Tetapi bagi kami ialah suatu keyakinan, bahwa ha! itu telah selayaknya, ta. dapat dielakkan. Oleh karenanya bahasa Melayu yang layu, tida. bersemangat lagi itu mendapat semangat baru, seperti dalam sejarah dunia senantiasa terbukti, bahwa pertemuan suatu bangsa dengan bangsa yang lain, apalagi jika bangsa yang lain itu lebih pandai dan berpengetahuan, mendatangkan manfaat kepada bangsa itu.
Dan yang boleh dipertikaikan menurut pendapatan ami, hanyalah soal sampai ke manakah pengaruh Baral ilu boleh dan akan menpenga ruhi kesusasteraan bangsa kita. Tetapi soal iu hanyalah soal banyak sedikitnya pengaruh itu dan buan/ah tentang hakekat pengaruh itu. (Alisjahbana 1977:34)
He describes the actual nature of poetry in the following way: Bukan sekali-kali maksud syair itu hendak disiasati tiap-Liap perkataan, tiap-tiap baris. Orang mendengar lagu, mendengar suara, mendengar ceriteranya dan sampai ke situ habislah. Kenikmatan yang dicari orang h_anyalah kenikmatan peranggang waktu. Orang yang men dcngamya pun tida. usah mendengar tiap-tiap perkataan, tiap-tiap baris. Scmentara tukang syair membaca syair itu ta. ada salahnya orang lain hcrcakap-cakap, sambil minum kopi dan ma.an penganan.
Tetapi syair yang dima.sudi orang sekarang belum puas hatinya 1lr11g11n bunyi dan perkataan bela.a. Tiap-tiap perkataan itu mesti kena t-111pntnya dan nyata arti dan pen yang dikemukakannya. Pun bukan , n ltunya saja yang dipentingkannya, tiap-tiap bahagian dri cerita itu
1111p11i kcpada tiap-tiap suku dan perkataan harus sempuma.
t 11111 nrung henda. merasai kenikmatan syair sekarang, tidak dapat lagi 1111111hucunya sambil terguling di antara tidur dan bangun.
IM.1111 snia pekerjaan penyair bertambah berat dan bertambah banyak 11,1111ya, si pembaca pun tidak dapat sembarang orang, yang sedang 111 1111.1 kerJanya yang lain.
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Already in this last sentence we can see the direction of his concens and, in the spirit of the early l 930s, which saw an ever increasing suppression of independent thought, his call or a new poetry gains a much wider and also more political meaning than would appear on its surface. This impression is only reinforced by his elaboration on prose:
Sesungguhnya payah hendak mengatakan perbedaan antara perosa dan puisi. Sering/ah watas keduaya menjadi kabur, oleh karena ada perosa yang menyerupai puisi dan ada puisi yang menyerupai perosa. Tetapi alau puisi itu kita kataan yair, maka dapatlah perosa itu kita katakan cerita biasa. Pada umumya menurut anggpan orang dalam perosa itu pikiran lebih besar pengaruhnya dari dalam puisi. Dalam puisi persaan bersemaharajalela, tetapi sebalinya dalam perosa perasaan itu diawasi oleh pikiran dan sering semata-mata pikirlah yang berkusa. (Alisjahbana 1977:37)
In the light of this, nobody can say when reading his poetry and prose, that Sutan Tcdir Alisjahbana did not remain faithful to his own words and did not ollow what he preached: poetry to release emotion and prose to articulate thought.
His explanation of the new term perosa deserves a urther rider, because it deals with another common criticism ofSutan Takdir Alisjah bana 's work: its sentimentality on the one hand and its cerebral nature on the other. Both are seen as major shortcomings of his work today, however, they must be seen in their contemporary context. In expressing personal emotion, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was very much in the avant garde of his time and place; what is more, in doing so he gave personal, individual expression to a kind of literature which hitherto showed no apparent emotion, and which articulated anything personal indirectly and in established, generally reconized stereotypical images. The early poets of the 20h century who are now decried as sad sentimental cases, broke through public barriers which probably were stronger then than the ones Dee recently broke through in her highly successful novel Supenova (200 I) , where the ideal love story is written by a pair of homosexuals who live in a model relationship. He continues:
Kami senantiasa membandingkan perosa Melayu yang lama den gan sebuah sungai yang telah dikuasai manusia: tepinya telah diberi
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bersemen, lila1 dan be/ok-be/oknya telah diluruskan, dalamnya telah disamakan, leku-lekunya telah diperbaiki an di sana-sini tel ah dipasang pematang yang indah rapi. Hujan di hulu tiada mengesan, musim kema rau airnya tiada berubah.
Senantiasa tenang, tenang ....
Atau kalau kita mengambil perbandingan yang lain. Perosa Melyu itu ia/ah kuda sudah dikeang, sudahjinak. Penunggangnya sudah boleh mengantuk-ngantuk duduk di atas pe/ana. la sudah tahu ja/an kudanya: pasti demikian, tak mungkin lain daripada itu. O
Maka menurut pikiran kami perosa Me/ayu yang akan datang -da/am beberapa hal boleh kita ataan sudah mu/ai datang-harus membawa perubahan yang besar tentang pasal ini.
Pengarang harus melepaskan dirinya daripada kebiasaan men garang yang lama itu. la harus mengemukakan persaannya sendiri, pikirannya sendiri dan pemandangannya sendiri. Cara ia menyusun karangan itu pun hendaknya caranya sendiri, baik tentang memilih, maupun tentang menyusun perkataan dan ka/imat. Yang dike/uarannya itu ia/ah si jiwanya dan pas ti/ah isi jiwanya tak sama da/am segala ha/ dengan isi jiwa orang lain.
Demikian pcrosa Melayu yang baru itu menu rut pemandangan kani hendaknya seperti sungai di daerab pegunungan yang belum pernah diusik manusia, senantiasa penuh perubahan menurut perubahan alan sckitanya dan keadaan dirinya sendiri. Pagi-pagi ia mengalir, girang gembira, menyanyikan penjelmaan siang, bersama-sama dengan sekar, unggas dan segala penghuni belukar yang lain. Tengah hari ia berbuih hcrpcndar-pendar disinari cahaya matahari yang kuning-keemasan. Dan wnktu senja suaranya sendu-tenang, dalam kekabur-kaburan cahaya surya yung telah bersembunyi di balik gunung. Musim kemarau kelihatan batu llillunya di atas air yang jemih, tempat ikan bercnang berkejar-kejaran. I >nn musim hujan ia mengalir berombak-ombak, melampaui alurannya, 111r11ggcnangi, membanjiri sekelilingnya, menarik apa yang dapat ditarik, 111nghanyutkan apa yang dapat dihanyutkan.
I do not understand this long passage as meaning that Indonesians should orsake their identity. Elsewhere Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana once wrote, that surely there must be something wrong with Indonesia, if a country as insigniicant as HoJland could conquer and occupy Indone sia, a county as glorious as it is made out to have been or, to put it in another way, if Indonesians ever wanted to be treated as equal human beings, they had to master the knowledge which had made the Europeans, momentarily, their superiors. This however never ever meant for Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana that Indonesians should become Westeners, even if he recognized that they would change in the process. But then, this was only natural and nothing new in the history of the Indonesian peoples. The only issue remained, what did Indonesians do with that knowledge in order to make it their own?
The 1950 Surat Kepercyaan Ge/angang
addressed th is fundamental question most clearly in the statement:
Ka/au kami berbitjara tentang ebuajaan Indonesia, kami tidak ingat kepada me-lp-lp hasil kebujaan lama sampai berkilat dan untuk dibanggakan, tetapi kami memikirkan suatu penghipan kebudjaan barujang sehat. (Kratz 2000:182)
However, already in 1933, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana had stated the same in Candi Prambanan, a piece of lyrical prose, which he wrote while visiting the monument:
Hatiku tiada rindu kepadnu masa, ketika pendeta meniarap di hadapan Syiwa, ketika jiwa-berbakti menjelma candi berarca.Tidak, tidak! Tidak, tidak!
YaAl!ah, yaRabbani, kembalikan ketulusanjiwa-berbakti pembentuk candi kepada umatmu!
Dan aku aan melahirkan seni baru, tidak serpa-sebentuk ini ....... , abadi selaras dengan gelora sukma dan zamanku. 1978:5) (Alisjahbana
Lyrical prose, one might add, which is a poetic genre of literary renewal in the 20'
centuy, had of course found its fomal expression previously in the mantra which is an essential part of traditional Malay poetics.
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana did not stop there, he went urther in his relentless quest for a new mankind in a new society. He was aware of the challenges faced in this struggle, as most commonly nown through his 1946 poem Menuju ke Laut (Alisjahbana 1978:31-2), but he expressed this view equally strongly in various other poems. So, for example, in Menghadapi nautwhich he wrote while in prison in TanahAbang in January I 945 and which, surprisingly, expresses a rare moment of albeit passing doubt. A doubt however which is expressed quite diferently from that of Chairil Anwar's Aku which was published a year earlier in 1945 in the irst issue of the same journal Pembangunan. This is what Takdir wrote:
Tanganku menggapai-gpai: Orang karam mencari ranting. Wahai nasib,
Sebayak ilu perjuangan! Sebanyak itu pengikat! Pemberat hati kepada dunia!
Sedangkan dari semula telah kutimbang, Kupiki, kurenung matang-matang: Ditengah peperangan seluruh buana, I lebat dahsyat tiada beragak:
Bom peluru mungkin menghancur emuk. J>erampok peyam11n mungkin mengolok, /)(sentri, kolera, lapar mungkin mencekik ....
/)an diantara mati pelbagai mati. ll11kankah ini telah kupilih, />1•11gan hati jaga, mata terbuka? llr1/wl rahsia hidup!
,..,111/1 pertenlangan, pem1h kesangsian! lt.m1I s11ni1h menjadi manusia!
(Alisjahbana 1978:30)
\1111 ugoin the sentiment expressed here is not new in either form or 1111tr11t. The I 932 Prospectus of Poejanga Baroe writes under the hofH_lll!V ,\',•11/ dalam masjarakat:
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SUSASTRA menoenjoekan poela, bahwa seni itoelah pengerak semangat baroe, pembantoe sesoeatoe bangsa dalam perjalanannja kearah kebesaran dan kemu/iaan. {Kratz 2000: 16)
Kebesaran and kemuliaan were values which at the time of his writing, the early 1930s, were only ejoyed by Europeans but which, in Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana 's views, the Indonesians should reclaim by their own eforts:
.... adalah kesoesasteraan itoe gambar tinggi rendah darajat semangat sesoeatoe bangsa pada soeatoe masa, tetapi didalam pada itoepoen setiap masa ia sebgai pembangoen, penggerak dan pendorong dalam segala tjabang penghidoepan. (Kratz 2000: 17)
Literature for Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was a tool. But in contrast to others who appeared to use literature solely as a tool in their ideological struggle but with few aesthetic considerations, or Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana this tool had its own, literary, rules and he wanted it to be used in accordance with its own aesthetics and poetics. This meant in particular an emphasis on a new and individual language which, of course, followed the rules of Indonesian, but which was not govened by slogans, stereotypes and cliches. His was pioneer work, if one looks at his use ofTndonesian and at the way how he, together with like-minded friends, attempted to create a new literature while providing models for the use of good Indonesian which relected the spirit of a new people, about to renew themselves.
Speaking in terms of literary form, a twist in the development of201h
century literary prose expression is that while Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana asked for a direct and personal expression of one's own individual emotions, and for a direct statement, as he did in his three philosophical
novels, Lyar terkembang, Grotta Azzura, and Ka/ah dan menang, in
order to create a new nation on par with what he perceived the West to be, Indonesian prose continues to reer back to its past. Even while becoming more realistic- something which Hamka, who aspired recognition by Po
ejangga Baroe, welcomed too-Indonesian prose developed a new form
of abstractness and symbolism, which are precisely those eatures which Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana had criticized in the old literature. In contrast to the old conventions, however, authors today prefer to use their own
E. ULRICH KRATZ 231
symbols and images which, at times, are not easy to penetrate and which, quite oten, do not relect the sentiment of a majority of readers.
How much Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's literary contribution and his concept of a new literature, which relected his aspirations for a new society are relevant or the presence or the future depends very much on today's and tomorrow's readers and how far they are prepared to take up the challenges presented by Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's analysis of humankind and his desire for a genuine renewal.
It remains clear that the issues Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana has raised ever since the late 1920s are still with us and that Indonesians like the rest of mankind continue to search for complete answers. It is also cer tain that Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana has demonstrated and shown a way forward which most Indonesians, even if they reject the person, by and large have been committed to ever since Memajoekan Kesoesasteraan ,1ppeared in Panji Poestaka, and that, ultimately, the kind of literature dreamt of by Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, is the kind of literature most Indonesian aitists have produced, tersurat dan tersiral -even if this is , cause for regret as Rivai Apin once said in the early Nineties when, 111 personal conversation, he spoke of the lasting, negative impact of Au111kan Takdir '. But then, I wait to be shown evidence of genuine al-1c1111111 ves which, while maintaining a high social engagement, offer the
111 hi ic and creative freedom which Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana developed \\'llh his friends under a regime not known or its liberal and democratic 111111des and at a time which hardly encouraged the broadness of vision 111d the degree of humanity displayed in his work.
U, ,11ll11x:
\'i/,,, t,•tl 111rili11gs y Su tan Takdir Alisjahbana
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l fJr, I l'llisi Baru. Tjetakan ke-VJ. Djakarta: Pustaka Rakjat. fFirst edition I ',I% 11 vols.
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--.1977. Kedudukan perempuan dalam kesusasteraan Timur baru. (In Alisjah-bana, Sutan Takdir. Perjuangan tanggung jawab alam kes11sasteraan. Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya, 83-105. )
--.1977. Penilaian Chairil Anwar kembali. (In Alisjahbana, Sutan Takdir. Pejuangan tagung jawab dalam kesusasteraan. Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya, 139-80. )
--. 1977. Perjuangan tagung jawab da/am esusasteraan.Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya.
--.1977. Prosa. (n Alisjahbana, Sutan Takdir. Perjuangan tanggung jawab da/am kesusasteraan. Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya, 37-41. ) [First edition
1932.]
--.1977. Puisi baru dan lama. (In Alisjahbana, Sutan Takdir. Perjuagan tangung jawab dalam kesusasteraan. Jakarta: Pustaka Jaya, 34-36. ) [First edition 1932.)
--. 1978. Ka/ah dan menang.Jakrta: Dian Rakyat. --. I 978. Lagu pemacu ombak.Jakata: Dian Rakyat. --. 1978. jak-sajak dan enungan.Jakarta: Dian Rakyat.
--. 1979. Amir Hamzah, Penyair besar antara dua zaman dan Uraian Nyanyi
Sunyi.Jakarta: Dian Rakyat.
--. 1982. Sastra yang bertanggungjawab. Horison, 17(7), 149-59.
--. 1983. Literature's role in the emergence of a new culture. Prisma(29) , 11-23.
--. 1984. Kebangkitan.Jakarta: Dian Rakyat.
--.1985. Seni dan sastra di tengah-tengah pergo/akan mayarakat dan kebu-dyaan.Jakata: Dian Rakyat.
--.1986. Kebangkitan puisi baru Indonesia. Djakarta: Dian Rakyat. 3rd edi tion. [First edition 1969.)
--. (ed.) 1986. Polemik Kebudayaan, sesudah 50 tahun. 1/mu dan Budaya, VII1( 11) , 802-831.
--. 1986. Tata Bahasa Baru Bahasa Indonesia.Jakarta: Pustaka Rakyat. 32nd edition. [First edition 1949.] 2 vols. pp.
--. 1987. Bumantara.Jakata: Pcnerbit Dian Rakyat.
--.1987. Di Candi Prambanan . (In Suyadi AG, Linus. (ed.). Tongak. Jakata:
Gramedia, 59. ) [First edition 1933.)
--. I 990. The crisis of Renaissance man s the crisis of the whole of humanity
in our time. Indonesia Circle, (53) , 13-18.
·--.1995. Dian yang tak kunjzmg padam.Jakarta: Dian Rakyat. 14th edition.
[First edition 1932.)
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--.1996. Tebaran Mega.Jakarta: Dian Rakyat. 4th edition. [First edition
1935.]
--.2002. Anak perawan di sarang penyamun.Jakarta: Dian Rakyat. 17th edi tion. [First edition 1940.]
Acua1
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i\lisjahbana, Puti Balkis. I 966. Natal ranah nan data.Jakarta: Dian Rakyat. \nwar, Chairil, Apin, Rivai, and Sani, Asrul.1950. Tiga Menguak Takdir.Dja
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I l111nhang Soebendo. 1988. Diproklamasikan; Kritik Sastra Sawo Manila. Suara pembaruan, 2(356), 1,11.
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234
SUSASTRA
Mihardj a, Achdiat K.( editor.) I 9 54. P olem ik kebudayaan. Djakarta: Perpustakaan Perguruan Kenenterian P.P. dan K. 3rd. edition. [First edition 1948.J Mohamad, Goenawan. 1982. Menghadapi pemikiran Takdir Alisjahbana. Hori
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�1
'Novel of Ideas":
A Textual Analysis of Mohd. Afandi Hassan 's
Pujangga Melayu
Based on Persuratan Baru
Mohd. Zariat Abdul Rani
Universiti Putra Malysia
Abstract
lhe function of literary works, speciically that of fictional narratives, has been ,, �ource of debate in Westen and Eastern civilisations throughout the ages. The Malay literary tradition is no exception; V.I. Braginsky states that since the 16th 111d 17th centuries, Malays have been aware of the functional value of literature, which among other functions serves to teach, and to enlighten mankind with � 1111wledge. It is important to note that the same issue is still a matter of debate 111 rnntemporary Malay I iterature. Chief amongst those who regularly foreground iht issue is Mohd. Affandi Hassan (heraier Hassan) , a contemporary Malay
1l1c1 uy critic and creative writer. As a literary critic, I lassan generated the no
t i1111 ol 'Pcrsuratan Baru', a notion that amongst other principles urges authors
ff, lulay literary works to prioritise the transmittance of knowledge. Naturally, tlt1I invites scrutiny, especially given the context of Hassan being a creative , itc, himself; with such a standing (as a literary critic and creative writer) the
j!IC�t11111 lhal immediately springs to mind is whether Hassan heeds his own call. lu llii li�:hl, this article will analyse one of Hassan's works based on his own
II� ti1 ,ll framework -Persuratan Baru -in an efort to determine whether the
llilt 11l'l1on of said work truly takes into account his own identiication of the
111�111111 11f literary works, that is as a medium of knowledge. llassan's novel
tllJ:•' Afelayu (1997) will be the study material, with the employment of 1111l'lil:1tl framework of Persuratan Baru. By using Persuratan Baru which
IIH\lli\h'S between 'knowledge' (ilmu) and 'narrative' (cerita) as an
analyti-1 ltnanalyti-1analyti-1u ,,,analyti-1,r k, my findings answer the question brought up earlier that Hassan lildo <I pncuced what he has preached, by presenting Pujangga Melyu as !llifl• 111a11ifcstation of his literary notion: 'Persuratan Baru'.
