recently i have been touched by three books - they're not the usual english fiction that i go for. i read some magazines like Time, KLUE, et cetera. they feature books in their what-to-read section. frankly, i have never touched a piece of local literature, specifically those cheesy novels. something with more stature, more backbone would be my cup of tea. that is why i am more attracted to english books. plus, i get to improve my english and learn a bit about literature, POVs and so on. but the three books that i currently read (and can never put down) are truly works that are worthy of my money. a fresh POV on malaysia. something that depicts the truth. what really happens in my beloved country, what is the true view. not some idealistic view that some factions put out to convince readers. these books depict what is really going on. reading them is akin to reading a review of a product that was penned by real users - instead of reading product descriptions and claims made by the manufacturers, we have a true view of what is experienced by malaysian. TRUE malaysians. correct me if i'm wrong, which i doubt i am. you can't help but read and affirm what is written in these books, nay, works of art.
some may come to the conclusion that these books as leftists' attempt to make us rebel, hellbent on toppling the incumbent with false claims and slanders. but one can't help but to realize that things are as they say in the book. New Malaysian Essays paints a picture of malaysia that is not false, not theoretical. the writers have made their observations of true, living malaysians and written them as they are. Mr Saharil Hasrin Sanin's Teroris Bahasa (which i have been re-reading numerous times) writes about the language that is Bahasa Malaysia and the problems that surrounds (even threatens) it in such a casual manner we can't help but be amused by it. it is akin to talking to him (which i dream of doing one day). Sonia Randhawa presents her Manifesto For Independence, and tells it as it is. Dina Zaman's I Am Muslim captures what i think are really malaysian muslims. there aren't just one facet of us. malaysian muslims come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life. a different interpretation for each of us. What Your Teacher Didn't Tell You by Farish A. Noor, on the other hand, tells of the truth that is our history - the real one.
say what you want about me. but i am still on the fence about politics. i seek point of views, i listen to all, i view all as equal. after all, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. i have friends from the right and the left. and fellow on-the-fence-rs. me reading this book doesn't make me a leftist, or make me love my country less; it just tells me that there are like-minded people who have the same, realist point of view as i am.
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