Verdict (09/2021)

 

Tajuk : Verdict
Penulis : Abdul Rahim Awang
Penerbit : Creative Enterprise Sdn. Bhd., 1993
Jumlah Halaman : 151

ULASAN 09/2021

Aku terima buku ini daripada seorang sahabat yang memperolehinya pula dari jiran yang sudah berpindah. Oleh kerana banyak buku ditinggalkan, maka jirannya itu menyuruh sahabat aku mengambil buku-buku itu untuk diagih-agihkan.

Agak ironik kerana aku macam pernah memiliki buku ini, tetapi sudah hilang dari simpanan. Bukanlah maksudku buku ini. Cuma tajuk sahaja. Suatu masa dahulu, buku-buku keluaran Creative Enterprise Sdn. Bhd. memang tidak pernah tidak aku beli.

Verdict menceritakan tentang proses kehakiman yang sedang berlangsung, melibatkan seorang wanita bernama Aminah (Amy) yang telah menuduh seorang lelaki, Azizol, telah merogolnya. Amy yang ketika itu sudah bertunang dengan Saiful terpaksa membatalkan perkahwinannya kerana kejadian malang itu berlaku pada malam sebelum mereka diijabkabulkan.

Konflik di dalam novel ini bukanlah dalam prosiding itu sendiri, tetapi kemelut yang dihadapi oleh Saiful tentang siapa yang benar dan siapa yang bersalah dalam hal ini. Azizol yang merupakan sahabatnya sejak kecil mengatakan bahawa dia telah didorong oleh Amy. Sebaliknya, Amy pula mengatakan bahawa Azizol yang memaksa.

Penulis juga menggambarkan perasaan Amy yang malu dengan pendedahan kes itu (kerana telah disuruh oleh Saiful membuat laporan polis), kecewa tidak dapat meneruskan perkahwinannya dengan Siaful kerana berasakan dirinya sudah ‘kotor’ dan marah terhadap Azizol dan juga peguam belanya kerana bijak memutarbelitkan keterangan. Tidak banyak yang digambarkan mengenai Azizol, melainkan sewaktu Saiful pergi berjumpa dengannya ketika dia dibebaskan dengan jaminan.

Jika anda mengharapkan suatu keputusan dari prosiding mahkamah itu, anda tentu akan berasa kecewa. Novel ini tidak mempunyai closed ending. Novel ini diakhiri dengan prosiding yang ditangguhkan sementara mahkamah membuat keputusan (verdict) dalam tempoh dua minggu.

Dalam masa yang sama, pembaca ditinggalkan dengan persoalan mengenai masa depan Amy dan Saiful. Amy masih bertegas tidak mahu menerima Saiful kembali dalam hidupnya. Dia berasakan bahawa hidupnya akan sentiasa dihantui kisah hitam itu. Manakala Saiful pula telah mula dapat menerima hakikat bahawa tunangnya Amy tidak bersalah dan sahabatnya Azizol yang bersalah, walaupun mahkamah belum menjatuhkan hukuman kerana verdict mahkamah tidak penting lagi baginya.

Penulis agak teliti dalam penceritaannya dan mampu memainkan emosi pembaca dengan berteka-teki siapakah yang bersalah dalam kes ini. Beliau juga telah menggarap cara prosiding di mahkamah dengan agak baik melalui soal balas saksi oleh pendakwa raya dan peguam bela hingga dapat dirasakan bahawa peguam bela itu seorang yang licik dalam memutarbelitkan keterangan saksi.

Aku berikan TIGA 🌟🌟🌟 bintang untuk novel ini.

 

Nama Beta Sultan Alauddin (06/2021)

 

Tajuk : Nama Beta Sultan Alauddin
Penulis : Faisal Tehrani
Penerbit : Dubook Press Sdn. Bhd., 2016
Jumlah Halaman : 109

ULASAN 06/2021

Sudah agak kerap juga aku dengar nama Faisal Tehrani, namun belum pernah berkesempatan membaca karya-karyanya, walaupun beberapa naskhah sudah kumiliki. Buku Nama Beta Sultan Alauddin ini menjadi buku pertama Faisal Tehrani yang aku sudah baca. Tahniah kepada diriku sendiri!

Buku ini hanya sebuah bacaan santai yang mengisahkan tentang sejarah Sultan Melaka yang bergelar Sultan Alauddin atau nama asalnya Raja Husain. Kisah ini diceritakan melalu seorang datuk yang bercerita kepada tiga orang cucunya yang pulang ke kampung.

Kisah bagaimana Raja Husain pernah dianiayai oleh abang kandungnya sendiri, yang berlainan ibu, bernama Raja Ahmad. Kemudian bagaimana Raja Husain mula mempelajari pencak silat dengan seorang tua di Pulau Besar yang bernama Khidir dan seterusnya, setelah beliau kembali ke istana, beliau mempelajari pula ilmu tasawuf dengan seorang guru yang berasal dari Negeri China bernama Nuh Ha Mim. Dalam buku ini turut diceritakan bagaimana Raja Husain telah diduga oleh Nuh Ha Mim dengan tujuh jenis benda yang tidak terlalu berharga, yang semuanya bermula dengan huruf sin (huruf S). Agak menarik juga benda-benda ini, kerana aku juga tidak pernah mendengar namanya, apatah lagi melihatnya.

Raja Husain juga telah diduga oleh Nuh Ha Mim untuk membina sebuah kereta lembu. Setelah siap, mereka pun menaiki kenderaan itu. Tetapi, tidak lama kemudian ianya jatuh ke bawah bukit lalu pecah berderai. Maka menjadi marahlah Raja Husain kerana kemalangan itu berlaku akibat dari kecuaian Nuh Ha Mim. Padahal pengajaran daripada kejadian itu berbalik kepada manusia yang telah diciptakan oleh Allah SWT. Hanya Allah SWT sahaja Yang Maha Mengetahui dan manusia pula, apabila tidak patuh kepada suruhan Allah SWT tentu akan padahlah jawabnya. Begitu juga dengan tugas dan tanggungjawab antara lelaki dan perempuan yang berbeza-beza, kerana Allah SWT telah menetapkannya sedemikian rupa.

Sultan Mansur Syah yang kecewa dengan sikap anakandanya Raja Ahmad yang telah membunuh anakanda Bendahara Tun Perak, telah menitahkan agar Raja Ahmad dihantar ke Pahang menjadi sultan di sana. Ketika Sultan Mansur Syah sedang gering, dipanggil kedua-dua anakandanya datang mengadap tetapi hanya Raja Husain sahaja yang sempat datang, kerana kedudukan Raja Ahmad jauh di Pahang dan mengambil masa berminggu-minggu untuk sampai ke Melaka.

Oleh yang demikian, Raja Husain telah ditabalkan menjadi Sultan Melaka dengan gelaran Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah. Diceritakan juga bagaimana Sultan Alauddin menjadi seorang sultan yang adil dan prihatin terhadap keadaan di Melaka, hingga baginda bersama-sama dengan beberapa sahabat karibnya turun sendiri untuk memerhatikan keadaan keselamatan di sekitar kota Melaka. Malam itu baginda dapat mengalahkan lima orang perompak yang sedang merompak barang dagangan seorang saudagar terkenal. Pecahlah tembelang Temenggung yang tidak menjalankan tugas untuk memastikan keadaan keselamatan di sekitar kota Melaka itu terjaga dengan baik.

Buku ini diakhiri dengan kerisauan baginda Sultan Alauddin mengenai anakandanya dari isteri kedua yang sering bermain di rumah Temenggung. Ini adalah kerana isterinya itu merupakan adik kepada Temenggung. Apakah kesudahannya?

Elok jika buku ini dibaca bersekali dengan menggali sejarah kesultanan Melaka.

Dengan ini, beta mengurniakan darjah TIGA 🌟🌟🌟 bintang buat buku ini. 

Sungai Mekong (Mekong River) - 05/2021

 

Tajuk : Sungai Mekong – Mekong River
Penulis : Latiff Mohidin
Penerbit : Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia Berhad, 2012
Jumlah Halaman : 81


ULASAN 05/2021.

Aku terserempak dengan buku ini ketika merayau-rayau di dalam kedai buku ITBM dalam tahun 2018. Selama ini aku hanya kenal Latiff Mohidin sebagai seorang pelukis. Tidak aku tahu bahawa beliau juga seorang penyair.

Buku ini merupakan kompilasi puisi beliau yang telah diterjemahkan oleh Mansor Ahmad Saman. Aku mula membaca buku ini dalam tahun 2019. Namun, dek kerana tidak konsisten, maka aku mengambil masa selama 2 tahun untuk menghabiskan pembacaan buku setebal 81 halaman ini.

Bukanlah kerana ianya buku yang nipis (secara purata, buku paling nipis yang aku baca mempunyai 100 halaman) maka aku perlu menghabiskannya dalam sekejap masa. Tidak. Buku ini suatu khazanah sastera yang perlu aku hadam. Walaupun 36 puisi yang terkandung di dalamnya merupakan puisi-puisi pendek, namun sesetengahnya tetap memberikan suatu mesej yang tersembunyi, yang memerlukan sedikit usaha untuk berfikir. Ada yang aku faham dan ada juga yang aku tidak faham.

Contohnya dalam puisi Sungai Mekong pada halaman 4 yang petikannya berbunyi :

kulihat di dasarmu

kuntun-kuntuman berdarah

batu-batu luka…

Aku tahu ada sesuatu yang dimaksudkan dengan “kuntum-kuntuman berdarah” dan “batu-batu luka” itu. Tetapi aku tidak tahu apa sebenarnya.

Dalam puisi Serigala begitu juga:

dari dadanya melompat

seekor serigala

darah mengalir di kakinya

perut terbuka

mata buta

Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan “serigala” itu. Adakah ia sebuah metafora terhadap sebuah situasi atau keadaan hidup?

Untuk memahami maksud di sebalik puisi yang asal sudah agak berat rasanya, apatah lagi hendak memahamkan terjemahannya. Secara amnya aku berasakan puisi-puisi ini telah diterjemahkan dengan begitu baik. Tetapi, ada beberapa perkataan yang aku fikir ada terjemahan yang lebih baik.

Contohnya dalam puisi Tiada Daun Yang Gugur, pada baris kedua terakhir disebut “mencari dan menanti..angin, tak kembali” diterjemahkan sebagai “looking and waiting…” Pada aku ia lebih baik kalau diterjemahkan sebagai “searching and waiting…” yang lebih puitis bunyinya.

Begitu juga perkataan “berlarian ke perut ibu” dalam puisi Lalang Terbakar yang diterjemahkan sebagai “run back to their mother’s womb”. Aku fikir terjemahan yang lebih baik ialah “running to their mothers’ womb.”

Dalam puisi Perpisahan, perkataan “yang merentak” diterjemahkan kepada “that wrench”. Petikan puisinya berbunyi begini:

Perpisahan

adalah jarimu

yang merentak

bersama ombak

Apa yang dapat aku fahamkan di sini maksudnya jari itu bergerak atau mengikut rentak alunan ombak. Maka sebaiknya ia diterjemahkan kepada “that rhymes…”. Atau mungkin merentak telah disalahtafsirkan sebagai merentap. Wallahu’alam.

Walau bagaimana pun, penterjemah di dalam catatannya mengakui bahawa menterjemah karya kreatif bukanlah mudah dan beliau juga sudah berjumpa dengan penyairnya, mungkin untuk lebih memahami apa yang tersirat dan tersurat di sebalik bait-bait puisinya ini. Maka usaha ini harus diberikan penghargaan yang sewajarnya.

Maka aku berikan buku ini TIGA 🌟🌟🌟 bintang.   

A Life Worth Living (04/2021)

 

Title : A Life Worth Living
Author : Yvonne Foong
Publisher : Yvonne Foong
No. of Pages : 132


REVIEW 04/2021.

This is the sequel to her first book “I’m Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell.” Although the total page is lesser than the previous, the writing in this book, however, is smaller and the spacing is also very tight. I had to strain my poor eyes to read them. But this sequel contains more information into her ordeal.

Interestingly, the cover of this book featured Yvonne in her ballet dress and smiling childishly. In fact, her chapter titles are illustrated with ballerina figures intricately and uniquely drawn for each chapter. 
 
The first book was written in 2006 and this one was in 2017. In that span of 11 years, Yvonne had undergone over 22 surgeries. I could not imagine how she had managed to endure them, including rehabilitation after the surgeries.
 
This book started with the story of her father, who suffered from a brain haemorrhage since she was 3 years old. His condition made him incapable of taking care of the family. When she wrote about her mother, it was in a less friendly note. Her relationship with her mother was always strained. It was “tough love” as she put it.
 

In the previous book, she wrote briefly about her Aunt Ivy. In this book, she provided details on her aunt and how her passing has turned the family upside down. She called this chapter “Family Drama.”
 
She has also written the same thing as she had written in the previous book, in Part 2, and much more. She even told in detail how her friend Cordelia managed to convince her to write the book.  It’s good for those who have not read the first book. In Part 2, she entitled it “Kindness of Strangers” and she wrote about the people whom have helped her throughout her ordeal – the doctors, her friends, her support group, and fellow NF2 sufferers.
 
One thing that she wrote in this book that made me reflect was about the naysayers who questioned her motive to get treatment abroad. To which she said that she was the only person who knew about her condition and she knew that the treatment in Malaysia could not provide her with a good solution, plus she had to also take into consideration her family’s condition who were incapable of handling her and themselves, should she become incapable too. Hence, her decision to go abroad. Another thing that hit me was the fact that Malaysians are such generous people who were willing to help one another. In fact, Yvonne had been asking for donations a few times and there were supporters who had been her regular contributors. She was also fortunate that someone managed to get her seats on the MAS flight back to Malaysia upgraded.
 
I admired her for the relentless efforts in raising funds for her own surgery. Hannah Yeoh, the Assemblylady was her friend who has helped her to raise the funds. She was also fortunate to have two ladies from an Amway group who brought her to their convention in Genting Highlands where she managed to collect over RM45,000 within one day. She also received donations from a church.
 
In part 3, Yvonne wrote about her father’s health which eventually deteriorated. Her father passed away on October 2010. Just a few days after that, she was on her way to Maryland, USA to participate in a clinical research program on NF2. She was there for the protocol visit for one week. When she came home, an accident occurred at home when she accidentally broke her ABI. She had to go to Singapore to get it fixed.
 
Then she met Shahidah, another NF2 sufferer who had her Acoustic Neuroma surgery at a local hospital, but it was not quite successful and it has also damaged her brain stem. Yvonne helped Shahidah by showing her how to raise funds for her treatment in US. Somehow, the support was not as good as what Yvonne had received.
 
 “Not only were they not supportive they tried to thwart her efforts and drag her down,” Yvonne wrote in response to the lack of support that Shahidah received. It was contrary to what people in her cycle had done for her. So, Yvonne all out to help Shahidah and by October 2011, they managed to gather enough funds for Shahidah to go to US together with her mother, Yvonne and her mother.
 
Part 4 was about her experience with a few men who were courting her. Although they knew that she was suffering from the illness, they still wanted to befriend her. One of them was a wealthy man who showered her with all kinds of materials, even cars with drivers to drive her around. Eventually, none of their relationship worked.
 
In Part 5, Yvonne wrote about her ordeal of having to go under the knife again, in 2015. By that time, they found out that two of her tumors had grown very large and her eyesight was deteriorating. This time around, she was having trouble swallowing food that they had to insert a feeding tube into her abdomen. She came home to Malaysia with the tube in her belly and she had to ask for assistance from the cabin crews during the flight.
 
She planned of setting up her own foundation to support other NF2 sufferers. Despite all that she had gone through, Yvonne was still being positive and upbeat about life.
 

“Life is worth living when I know that is has value and it makes me want to continue living no matter how hard situations can be at times. In fact, we are the ones who decide for ourselves whether our life is worth living or not.” 

Yvonne Foong

1986 - 2019

I'm Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell (03/2021)

 

Title : I’m Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell : Life with Neurofibromatosis
Author : Yvonne Foong
Publisher : Yvonne Foong
No. of Pages : 134


REVIEW 03/2021.

One day, I came across a message on Whatsapp about this book. They were giving out this book for free. Buyers need to only pay for the postage. Not only this one, but there is also a sequel to this book that they are giving out for free, too. That got me interested.

Why giving them for free?

Apparently, the author, Yvonne Foong, has passed on in 2019 at the age of 33. Since there are still a lot of stocks, her friend decided to give them away. However, being a writer and aspiring author myself, I bought them at the selling price plus the postage.

Just by looking at the title we would immediately know that Yvonne was full of positivity despite her health condition. Neurofibromatosis (NF), the disease that she was suffering from, is a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system, causing tumors to grow in the body “anytime, anywhere,” as she put it. There are three types of NF – NF1, NF2 and schwannomatosis. What Yvonne had was NF2, a rare form of NF that caused tumors to grow in her brain and spine. The tumors include Acoustic Neuroma which grow on hearing nerves and eventually affect the patient’s hearing. Information on the disease is available in page 115 onwards. You can also get more information on the internet.

Yvonne started off the book by immediately writing about her encounter with Dr. Eow Gaik Bee, a neurologist, who showed her the scans of her spine. It was a 3-page introduction that sets off the pace for us to read on.

In the next chapters, she wrote a little bit about her background. Yvonne also wrote about her Aunt Ivy whom she described as her guardian angel, who died when she was 15. In these earlier chapters, she wrote about her frustration that due to her family’s busyness, her deteriorating condition was neglected. Her parents, in particular.

The first sign of her illness occurred when she was 13, when she lost the hearing on her right ear. Unfortunately, it was dismissed by her mother that she didn’t clean her ears. The next symptom was the feeling of dizziness and nauseous, including blue black marks all over her body, that had caused curiosity among her teachers and friends. She was also having problems with balancing herself, until she had to stop going for ballet and figure-skating classes.

She was finally taken to the hospital for a thorough check-up when she was unable to walk, at the age of 16. That was when she had her first spinal surgery. After the surgery she had to stay in the hospital for physiotherapy and rehabilitation. She ended up being in the hospital for one month. She told of her unfortunate encounters with uncompassionate doctors and nurses, which I could relate to, when my late brother was hospitalised. Yvonne also wrote about her regrets for taking things for granted, such as being able to move her legs and walk; and how she was dependent on her mother again, like when she was little.

She had her second surgery in 2003 to remove the Acoustic Neuroma. Despite her condition, she managed to sit for her SPM at the end of the year. However, soon they found that the tumour was not completely removed and it has affected her hearing.

She then made her own research about the illness. In the NF support group, one of the members suggested her to email Dr. Friedman of the House Clinic. Fortunately, they were able to provide her with financial assistance for the surgery while her aunt sponsored the flight ticket. At 18, she went to LA for the surgery. That was the first time she met with Dr. Friedman, who later played a significant role in her life and the life of other NF2 sufferers.

During her first visit to LA in 2004, Dr. Friedman managed to remove the Acoustic Neuroma without damaging her hearing nerves. However, she still needed to have an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) device which would cost her USD58,000 (about RM300,000). That’s when her friend suggested she wrote a book about her ordeal, to collect the funds.

However, out of 40 proposals that she sent out to publishers, only 2 responded and they were a Chinese literary agent in Malaysia and another one in Europe. Then she got to know John Ling who taught her about self-publishing. Other than publishing her book, Yvonne also sold T-shirts for her fund-raising project. She was also invited to speak at various events.

What amazes me was that during the whole ordeal, she still managed to get into College. She was also awarded the Most Outstanding Youth of the Year in 2005. From that winning, she was awarded a scholarship by Life College to continue her studies in Mass Communications.

The main points that I could gather from this book, that I think would also benefit us all:

1. Illness will not only disable us physically, but mentally and financially too.
2. We need to do our own research on the best medical treatment. We cannot rely on the hospitals to provide us with alternatives.
3. We need to also be able to find our own funds if we chose to have our treatment in private hospitals or abroad.
4. It helps to join a support group where we can get more information about who and where to go to, for alternative treatments.

After reading this book, I could not help but wonder how had she managed to go through all the challenges. Not only did she have to face the illness itself, but she also had to go under the knife for numerous numbers of times. She also had to find her own funding which amounted to hundreds of thousands of Ringgit and travelled alone to the US. On top of that, she also had to take care of her ailing father.

What I could say is, it takes true courage and internal strength to go through all these ordeals.

I give this book a FIVE 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟stars for the contents and the impact that it has given me.

 

Life Full of Reading (02/2021)

 

Title : Life Full of Reading
Author : Syed Ahmad Fathi
Publisher : Independent Insight
No. of Pages : 161

REVIEW 02/2021.

I am sure you have heard the quote “Don’t judge the book by its cover.” This is one of those books. Do not be deceived by the illustration of a father pouring over a book with his two children on the cover. This is not a family book. Nor is it a children’s story book. This is in fact a collection of book reviews written by the author in various platforms.
 
I bought this book because I am learning how to write book reviews myself. Fancy that, I am now writing a review of a book on book reviews.
 
This book is separated into two parts – Long Reviews and Short Reviews. There are 30 books in the Long Reviews and 41 books in the Short Reviews. Only a few of them are novels. Most of the books are about economics, psychology and social sciences. He definitely has an array of non-fiction books and I have read only 5 out of these 71 books. A few I have already bought and yet to read.
 
Throughout his writing, I could sense that the author was trying to be as objective as he could about the books that he has read. Thus, in the reviews he did not counter the thoughts, opinions and argument presented in the books. However, in certain reviews he did mention about his emotions after reading the book. For example, in his review of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe, Syed ended it with, “If you did not cry reading this book, you have lost your heart.” This is one of my favourite reviews.
 
In the review of Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, he wrote that he found the saddest part of history when the whole natives of Tasmania were wiped out. I also love his reviews on From Beirut to Jerusalem by Ang Swee Chai, Beyond Chutzpah : On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History by Norman G. Finkelstein.
 
What I particularly like about Finkelstein’s book is that he criticized Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Professor, who wrote the book The Case for Israel. Finkelstein gave documentary evidence to destroy many of Dershowitz’s claims. This review gave me the realization that whenever we want to write something, we must always ensure that our facts are right. Otherwise, it will damage our position, status and image.
 
Some of the books that I feel intrigued to read after reading his reviews are the following:

• From Beirut to Jerusalem by Ang Swee Chai.
• The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe.
• The Power of Now : A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle.
• How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill.

 
I give this book FOUR 🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars considering that it provides a lot of insights on other books.