Souvenir Dari Angkasa Lepas, (or A Souvenir From Outer Space) is a collection of short stories, also known as cerpen in Malay, written by local Singaporean author, Hassan Hasaa’ree Ali. The collection features new stories alongside those which ave been published in the Berita Harian ad Berita Minggu newspapers. The stories are arranged into three distinct sections titled, “Cetera”, “Pathologi”, and “Alternatif”. It is interesting to note that ‘cetera’ can either suggest stories of origin or original stories – a milestone indicative of beginnings or the author’s early works – and ‘pathologi’, or pathology, is a field in medical diagnosis and research that is mainly concerned with the causal study of disease, i.e. whether the disease is caused by pathogens or a non-infectious physiological disorder.
The section titled ‘alternatif’, or alternative, features stories written in the speculative fiction genre, ruminating on post-human futures and the impacts that artificial intelligence and dependence on digital technology may have on the human condition. Through the medium of narrative, Hassan’s brave and unique – sui generis – collection takes on the issues, realities and beliefs that exist within the Malay/Muslim community, both in the present time and the projected future, holding them up to stark juxtaposition and for soul-searching scrutiny by the reader.
COMMUNITY CARE
Hassan’s observations (perhaps even experiences) in his occupation as a nurse comes through in a number of stories within Souvenir. They often feature elderly patients struggling with the realities of ageing within a rapidly progressing society, where old values are being discarded, even frowned upon, in favour of scientific logic, rationalism and economic gain.
In “Air Jampi”, (or “Spellcast Water”), a doctor finds himself at once frustrated and beguiled by his patients’ persistent preference for a man’s air jampi rather than medical rationalism, only to be humbled into understanding that for all of its advancements and achievements, science and medicine cannot restore or nourish the human spirit, which is needed to see a person through difficult times. Stories such as “Autonomi” and “Bubur dan Bohong Sunat” (“Porridge and White Lies”) contend with the moral debate of blatant truth when it comes to a person’s psychological well-being. The answer, it seems, is never meant to be a clear one.
Souvenir also touches upon and effectively warns against the dangers of materialism as it manifests within the community. For example, “Raja Sehari”, (or “King for a Day”), illuminates on the shortfalls of the common phrase that governs much of marriage preparations and ceremonies today: to be king for a day, basking in the glories of admiration and material wealth through opulent, extravagant – and expensive – wedding receptions, may lead to a life saddled in debt, which is something known to many a family in the community. In “Cuti-Cuti Hospital” (“Hospital Holidays”), an elderly man tries to find some measure of comfort in being left behind at a hospital while his family enjoys a carefree vacation overseas, and in “Miskin” (“Poor”), a young boy learns that destitution is not so much being deprived of the latest gadgets. Rather, it is to be so enthralled by the spell of the screen so as to lose one’s sense of self and even simple morality.
FUTURE DIAGNOSIS
Apart from providing a reading of the daily conditions of everyday life, Souvenir also proffers a glimpse into the community’s future given its current directions and developments. There exists a longstanding desire to see more Malay/Muslim representation within the STEM fields and industries – the question of how the community can achieve such a goal being at the forefront of its leadership’s many concerns, right alongside the prevailing worry of its underperformance in Mathematics. The topic is often raised, consciously or unconsciously, in tandem with the community’s overrepresentation in the arts and humanities, creating – again, consciously or unconsciously – a stark hierarchical divide between the disciplines.
However, it can be argued that such a divide may actually work against the above mentioned goals rather than towards it. Science fiction, a genre under the umbrella of speculative narratives, has served as inspiration for real-life scientific and technological development. Space flight, underwater exploration, robotics and artificial intelligence, just to name a few, have had its precursory developments within the works of early science fiction writers such as H. G. Wells and Isaac Asimov. Science fiction narratives are spaces in which authors can perform thought experiments, test out new and emerging theories, and assimilate scientific language, thus normalising what would otherwise continue to be alien, western constructs with naught a place in the community’s collective consciousness.
Souvenir manages to achieve this through the stories featured in “Alternatif”, going further as to explore the quandaries that the current pace of scientific and technological advancement pose to the community’s long-cherished moral and religious values. The results, as these stories suggest, would often be one of cultural loss, disconnection, displacement, and widespread dehumanisation, even as progress is achieved.
Such a critique can be seen in “Doa.com”, where the deceased are interred in underground cubes and tombstones come equipped with slots into which those who wish to pay their respects can insert smart cards and have prayers played over the stereo. The smart cards are purchased from self-service machines at desired values, very much like one would top-up an EZ-Link card today. This mechanised commodifying of religion is reminiscent of the Soul Scrolls in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, where prayers are being churned out on slot-machines in thebid to indicate divine presence in a setting where it seems like God is all but dead. On a similar note, “Mimpinya Seorang Sasterawan”, (translation: “A Writer’s Dream”), a writer travels forward in time to 2155 A.D. and finds that no one speaks the Malay language anymore, the community’s cultural centre is in disrepair, and that robots are performing the ronggeng instead of people – such a degree of Malay language and cultural loss caused by centuries of government and public funding being channelled into more profitable projects and developments.
THOUGHTS
At the first reading, the stories within Souvenir may come across as moralistic and didactic. However, it will require one to take a step back in one’s reading of the stories to remember that they carry on a traditional style of storytelling dating back centuries. The role of the story, it seems, have not changed: tales are meant to educate, directly or indirectly; they are a means of recording, and perpetuating, a people’s histories and values. They are also vessels of greater imagination and ways of exploring new possibilities, to which end, the stories written under the speculative fiction banner are the strongest in this collection. Souvenir demonstrates that scientific and technological developments can, and in fact, do have a place in the Malay lexicon, however, these developments are also a double-edged sword as they can be the very instrument of moral and cultural degeneration.
There cannot be enough emphasis on the need for such a literacy if the Malay/Muslim community is looking to progress and come into itself. One also cannot shout loud enough to drive in the fact that this literacy and its Malay language writers need far more organisational support than they are currently receiving in order to flourish and be a source of pride for the community. The alternative may, as Souvenir has shown so well, be far from cheery; the death of a language have been shown in anthropological and linguistic studies to also be the death of a people and if robots can replace dancers, they can replace leaders too. No? Now, that is a freeze-dried astronaut food for thought. ⬛
Dr Nuraliah Norasid is a Research Associate with the Centre for Research in Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA). She holds a Doctor of Philosophy, with a specialisation in Creative Writing and Contemporary Mythopoesis from Nanyang Technological University. She is the author of The Gatekeeper and her other writings have been published in Perempuan: Muslim Women Speak Out and the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore.
Souvenir Dari Angkasa Lepas can be purchased from Unggun Creative (ungguncreative.com).
