Towards Understanding The _ Psyche of The Malaysian Diaspora: A Reading of K. S.

Maniam's Short Stories

Lajiman Janoory

Psyche of the Malaysian Diaspora

a social tool in

psychical fragmentation of people of the diaspora through the main theme of nation building. It will study four short stories by K.S.Maniam which have identity and hybridity as their underlying themes. They present different perspectives of the same dilemma of a people living in an alien land.

Abstract: This paper examines the issue of

Keywords: Psyche, diaspora, fragmentation.

INTRODUCTION
In the Malaysian educational landscape, English literature
has

sometimes been regarded as the difficult terrain, a domain only few would care to enter. This is due to the perception of literature as a difficult field, full of linguistic gorges and swamps, which require multiple skills to understand and appreciate, the least of which is language proficiency. Like it or not, Literature in English, as well as English Literature, has now 'gate crashed' its way into our school syllabus. Students have to go through its territory whether they like

understanding and dealing with others. Thus, literature is very relevant to all of us because the literary text transcends the words and sentences and is actually a window into understanding man and his social environment and the many facets of humanity. In a multi-cultural country such as Malaysia, there is an acute need for literature to be taught in schools. Taking the above arguments into account, literature would nicely serve as a bridge to connect the cultural gaps between the races. Nation building, more than anything else, would then be grounded on a sense of justice and impartiality, of understanding each other, and of taking into account the needs of all the cultures. It is here that literature can play its role. Once these objectives are understood, it is of paramount importance for teachers teaching literature to provide good background information on literature as well as to gain the ability to teach the subject in a way that will attract students' interest. This paper is intended to expose teachers to one of the many ways of looking at a text. The objective is not so much to provide a comprehensive understanding of the field as to serve as a catalyst for students (as well as for teachers) to become interested in the field. The writer hopes that students(and teachers) would pursue the field later in their future educational pndeavours. It is merely an introduction that will hopefully bloom into an intimacy.

it or not. It is now left to the teachers to

determine the path the

students have to take, whether the mental journey would be one of revelation or a torture that would be avoided in future. Literature, in actual fact, can be a satis$ing experience once the students have tasted the sweet fruits of the field. They might possibly love to linger a bit longer if they understand that literature is not solely about understanding texts orland being able to write competently. Literature can serve many purposes, one of which is to teach students to look at issues, problems or solutions from varying perspectives. Literature provides students with human sensitivity as

A VOYAGE INTO THE PSYCHE OF THE DIASPORA

This paper will analyse four short stories written by the prolific Malaysian writer K.S.Maniam. While it can be interpreted through many points of reference, this paper will deal with the texts through the theme of nation building. Haupting the Tiger, The Eagles, The Third Child and The Terminal all deal with the issues of identity and hybridity. Each short story presents the dilemma of a man who tries to keep his culture in its totality and the need to conform to the dominant cultural forces in the new land. For a race which finds
75

English Language Journal

I'sychc olthc Malaysian Diasporu

itself far removed from its cultural centre, there is always the need to find, in the adopted land, a place for the original culture to blossom. Every so often the psyche will never find itself intact. The collision and collusion with the dominant culture always cause the transformation of the culture(s) of the diaspora to blend in with the new social and cultural landscapes. As defined by Samad (2003):

of domination, the British brought in immigrants especially fronr China and India to hasten the economic development. After Independence in 1957, the races were left to sort out problems among themselves. As mentioned by Rehman Rashid in his
Malaysian Journey:

The self, migrant, half-formed, unformed, dismembered, must be remade from a series of metamorphoses; it takes as parts of itself all influences and personages which have affected it, afflicted it, lived with it and died with it (p.17).
and on the need to fit into the new social landscapes- that Maniam bases the premise

'The country that had come to call itself Malaysia ... had been flung free into the world as an orphan of Empire and left to fend for itself as best it could, picking through the rubble of its colonial identity, in search of clothes that might fit, or the material with which to fashion new ones'(p 13). It was a new country young yet vibrant and there was hope as well as dangers as each race vied for a place in the political arena ofthe newly- independent country. It was not so much a political struggle as a cultural one. After colonialism, all the races were in actuality trying to rediscover their identities. Jostling for cultural space was expected, and friction was unavoidable. A clash occurred and suddenly a new power structure began to assert itself. The immigrants realised that in order to survive in the newly independent land they had to assimilate with the dominant culture. As stated by Paul Sharrad in his Introduction to K.S.Maniam's novel In A Far Country,'the ideal is not recovery of a country of cultural origin, but the discovery of a meaningful connection to the place one inhabits' (Shanad, cited in Maniam 1993:x). The effort is, of course, easier said than done because it could create the feelings of dispersal and fragmentation of the psyche, of the changing of an identity. Living in a land where one is a minority is doubly hard. The first hardship is the physical survival, the need to put bread on the table, to have clothes on the back and so on. It is the necessities of life but then life does not merely hinge on necessities alone. The second obstacle a minority person has to overcome is the psychical hardship, notably of an immigrant culture living amidst an existing dominant culture. It is the seeking of the cultural identity, which if not resolved properly, will leave one in a cultural abyss. Not even wealth can fill the void of one's loss ofa cultural sense.

It is on these- on the fragmentation of the psyche,

of his short stories. He attempts to translate the feelings of his culture and its psyche into words so that there will be understanding, which in turn will smoothen the path towards nation
building.

Cultural issues in Malaysia are no simple matter. This country, with its potpourri of cultures, can also become a cauldron of fire if the issue of race is not handled properly. Opening a cultural box is like revealing the contents of Pandora's box of uncertainty. One never knows how other cultures would perceive its contents. Malaysian writers like K.S.Maniam understand this and acknowledge the sensitive cultural issue. In the preface to his Haunting the Tiger, he states that;
There is the risk of treading on cultural sensitivities; there is the risk of political persecution if he so much critises the establishment (xi).

This situation, then, produces a challenge for writers to utilise their creativity in handling issues as delicate as culture. However, the end objective should be to form an understanding, in the sense that a person is able to make other cultures understand his or her unique roots. This will breed empathy and sympathy among the cultures and consequently establish a more cohesive and united society. The Malaysian cultural landscape has a unique setting. It is a country formerly colonized by the British Empire. In its centuries
76

77

English Language Journal

Psychc of the Malaysian Diaspora

This is the identity, which Maniam constantly seeks and which is evident in his writing. In essence, Maniam has to balance his cultural sense and assertions, and a sensitivity of the other culture(s) in the land he now is a part of. To overcome this problem, a writer like Maniam needs to use certain means to achieve both.
He admits that;

'The old man had trouble dying. The peace he had hoped for was disturbed by dreams. Some of these dreams took on the sharp edges of a nightmare and kept sleep away' (p 37)
The search for cultural identity is a matter of great importance, in this instance greater even than death. Culture is the umbilical cord that binds an individual with his or her community and to a certain extent with the country of origin. It provides a history with an agreed code of conduct, with joint aspirations and with similar hopes. Without an identity that one can relate to he or she can never find peace, whether in living or in dying. The first two sentences of the short story highlight the dilemma of an immigrant seeking cultural identity in a foreign land. The words 'dying' and opeace' in the sentences are abstract words but they represent the reality of living in a new land. He or she can never truly 'live' with a borrowed culture nor find 'peace' if the reality of the cultural landscape, vis-a-vis the local culture is ignored. Survival means adaptation. He or she realises that he or she needs to refashion the cultural identity to suit the land and be satisfied with whatever emerges out of the refashioning. It is this decision that causes the fragmentation of the self. However, the old man's refusal to do so causes him to lead an unfulfilled life which will result in a troubling death. The word 'dreqms' in Haunting the Tiger represents hope and aspiration, but unfortunately it resides in the world of cultural dream as opposed to the 'nightmares"' which is actually the cold cultural reality of the multicultural land. This contradiction of hope and reality in the psyche is the main reason for the fragmentation of the psychical self. That is why Muthu finds it hard to track the tigeq itself the symbol of reality. When he traverses the depth of the forest hunting for the tiger, he is actually deep in the jungle of dream and reality. He is in between his aspiration of an intact culture and the harsh reality of having to appease the dominant culture. He seeks to track the tiger using his own cultural perspective, which he inherits from his ancestors, whereas the tiger is a 'beast' of a new land, and to be able to see it requires a new perspective. Thus, he fails to confront the tiger 'face to face' (p44).
79

"The writer is therefore compelled to distort the familiar in order to reveal its transience; he is compelled to make accessible the strange in order to reveal an ignored reality"(xi)
Maniam, thus, strategises his writing such that he can probe deeper into his ancestral culture and expose it to the masses as well as maintaining racial harmony. This discourse, then, strives to explain the psychical nature of an immigrant with relation to his culture as it clashes with other existing cultures of the land. It also deals with how the psyche tries to resolve the problems arising from the clash

of cultures.

In

highlighting the issue

of

cultural fragmentation

and

identification, the collection of short stories in the text 1/aunting the Tiger describe how K.s. Maniam, or any other people of the Indian diaspora, negotiates the issue of cultural identity and confronts the dilemma of being in a borderland state. Maniam states that behind all the stories is the need to push 'the frontiers of consciousness further awayfrom a purely social, political and cultural centre'(x). He further asserts that'writing is an attempt to heal thefragmented self of man' (x). Thus, writing, for Maniam, seryes two purposes. one is to position and project the issue of the immigrant's cultural fragmentation and dispersal to the fore so that it can be understood. Another objective of writing is to serve as a psychical therapy: to

heal the psychical wound, which

fragmentation.

is the result of the said

cultural fragmentation and dispersal are not easy to describe

since they reside in the psyche. But whatever the circumstance, one has to confront it and try to be at peace with it. In one of the stories

Haunting the Tiger, the issue of cultural fragmentation is subtly forwarded by Maniam. It deals with this theme right from the start.
78

[nglish Language Journal

llsychc of thc Malaysian Diasptlra

This failure to track the tiger signifies the fact that in dealing with cultural integration he has to make sacrifices so as to be accepted by the land of the tiger. This fact is futher highlighted by Zulkifli when he says,"So you brought a purpose with you...And a way of thinking. How can you get into the tigerb stripes and spirit?'Qt 45) These words connote the idea of the clash of cultures. lt is the locking of horns between the culture of the immigrant and that of the native race. Muthu, understandably, strives to preserve the purity of his cultural roots while trying to gain a space in the dominating local culfure. He seeks a vacancy to put a piece of his culfure intact into the bigger cultural puzzle. Eventually, he fails and Zulkifli provides him the clue: in order to fit into the space he must modify his cultural psyche to suit the demands of the new land. He must molliS the tiger by sacrificing a part of himself in order to see it. It is this necessity to re-mould his psyche that leaves hirn and people like him, to feel culturally dispersed and fragmented. He feels alienated in his own land. Like it or not, Muthu realises that he now stands in a psychical borderland state-the border between his roots and the de-facto dominant culture of the land as represented by the border between the jungle and civilisation. These dual identities, though, enable him to feel and live in two cultural psyches, but also fragment each of them. The situation does not permit him to hold dual cultural citizenships. So, he has to be like the 'chameleon' (p 45) which changes its colour to suit the surrounding environment. Muthu has to construct a new way of dealing with the land. He realises that being a chameleon is part of the process of integration. The new way develops in the psyche, as he unclerstands the need to re-shape his cultural identity in order to stand side by side harmoniously with other cultures. Maniam feels that to practice his culture in its entirety freely would clash with the values of other cultures. However, his culture should not be relegated to the lower rung of importance either because this would deny his own selfidentity. There is another factor contributing to the feeling of dispersal and fragmentation of self, and to make it complicated the factor
80

comes from within the inherited tradition itself. K.S. Maniam is not one who focuses on cultural identity with respect to other cultures alone. His conscience embodies all aspects of lives, be they cultural or political. And we must bear in mind that the fragmentation and dispersal of the psyche does not result due to the hegemony of one culture over the other alone. 'The Eagles" brings to light the sociocultural issue within one's own culture itself. Again, Maniam's flair in writing with subtlety exposes how the caste system within his

own culture can be debilitating to the psyche. This is further

complicated by the financial security of the higher caste as opposed to the money-constrained lower caste. Maniam admits that'the story images the attempts of a boy to break out from the dominating influence of a moneyed class of people''(x')' However, in this case' money is not the real issue. The inherited culture has a rigid that structure of caste, which one cannot break from. Even the sea separates the immigrant community from the mother country

cannot shake the cultural grip because the community brings its roots wherever it goes, like a psychical passport which defines is exemplified by the identity. The relationship between the castes preface by E.M. Forster for the novel (Jntouchable by Mulk Raj Anand. Foster states that; The sweeper is worse off than a slave, for the slave may change his master and his duties and may even become free' but the sweeper is bound for ever, born into a state from which he cannot escape and where he is excluded from social
intercourse and the consolations of his religion' (vi)

its

job specification, One of the main features of the caste system is the job is and in the case of Ganesan and his family in The Eagles the specified as washer of clothes. The short story reveals Maniam's
and

awareness that even within his culture there are divisions separations, and that class and status are demarcated by territorial and social boundaries.

These contradictions form another dilemma in Maniam's psyche. On the one hand, living in an adopted land, demands r".ognition of the land, while retaining his inherited cultural iAeniity. On the other hand, like Ganesan, he is in revolt against
8l

linglish Languagc Journal some aspects of his culture which he feels do not run parallel to his sense ofjustice and equality. Maniam highrights this issue through Ganesan who is bulried by the higher caste family to an absurd level. Ganesan feels a sense of helplessness in his encounter with the family each time he goes there to colrect the dirty raundry. His father told him ',tlte mo,rning house wants you. This poor house needs you"(p 55). He has to entertain the upper_caste family Uy being an unwilling victim of their grotesque snobbishness in order

Psyche o1'thc MalaYsian DiasPora

escapism.

child.In order to brock the psychical pain of culture clash, Velu simply reverts to monetary gain as a form of

dirty laundry which was thrown down to him came from ups-tairs, implies that the rot and dirt actually reside at the upper leveiof the hierarchy when Ganesan notices the soiled white thundoo, the blood and the faeces all over the dying matriarch of the family. This contradiction is significant in anarysing Maniam,s pry"t e. It points to the many stages of turmoil in his psyche in dealing with the issue of traditions and varues. The first stage of the turmoil is within his inherited curture, the Hindu curture, which he identifies himself with. The second invorves the crash of his inherited culture and the received culture. These turmoils can be mind- numbing to the extent that sometimes the conscience needs a form of escapism to shut the psychical dilemma. One way out is to simply fo",,, on accumulating wearth and casting aside the cultural thlught out of the mind. This attempt at resorving the dilemma is evid"ent in the
short story The Third

to "bring something back"(yt 5g) for the family. Their lives are intertwined in a vicious cycle of social hierarchy. Ironicaily the

enough
82

him. Velu puts much of his energy and focus on keeping the account books in order, as he berieves that 'the pilrars oytiis i,ortd were expressed in columns in the little account book, (p 165). He tries to believe that wearth would buy a place for his culLar space. He even admits that ,For me money tells me everything. That,s

This action can be compared to Muthu's action in Haunting the Tiger who buys up lands upon lands to make up for the feelin'g of cultural disfigurement. He believes that he can trade the lands or money for the cultural acceptance, which he feers has been denied

'(p

175)' But the fact is that both of them have confronted

the cultural issue and are undergoing psychical transformation in the aftermath of the confrontation. Muthu who wants to confront the issue face-to-face ends up having 'trouble dying'(p 37) and Velu simply escapes by focussing on making money. There is still another option which Maniam feels can be taken. It is a drastic path as taken by Kok Seng in the short story Ifte Terminal. The bloody rituals and sacrifices symbolise the reawakening of the consciousness. The caged and fattened wild boar represents the psyche of the immigrant who fails to see the adversity of the cultural path taken by him. Kok Seng is like the boar, which has been kept away 'from any kind of light until that dqy' (p 15). He believes that he can overcome psychical fragmentation by ignoring the cultural contest taking place in the new land. Little does he realise that ignoring the landscape of cultural reality would only exacerbate the cultural issues more without resolving them. The sacrifice will be a baptism: 'cleansing' the ignorance, transforming it into an enlightened individual who is' finally, psychically aware of his identity. The narrator notices this when he wonders whether Kok Seng has leaped into some new life form. It is in fact the rejuvenating of the new, highly conscious self out of the cocoonised psyche, which had previously been veiled by the apparition of physical grandeur. What Kok Seng believes are the marks of cultural achievement in the form of 'glass-sheated buitdings'(p1), or the 'Light Rail Transit system'(p 2) or even the '3-D advertisement'(p 8) are but the copious entities of other land's cultural values. He fails to comprehend that what he thinks is cultural advancement in its technological feat is actually a cultural degeneration, a replacement of purity with falsity. The landmarks, which are supposed to symbolise unity and pride for all cultures, are a mere facade of a deteriorating race relation and cultural domination. Kok Seng finally realises the truth when he, at last, notices the 'deeply embedded, wedge- like shape'(p 20) in the cheeks of the enforcement officer. The term enforcement and wedge here have great significance in describing the interaction between the various cultures of this land. They signify the power that decide what to do
83

Illtglish [,:rrrguago .lourrrll

q
I'sychc of the Malaysian Diaspora

cultures.

the hands of the one with the wedge to decide the course of the nation, or the relationships between the dominant curture and the cultures of the diaspora. This interpretation is further substantiated by the fact that the man is an enforcement officer. As much as he hates it, Kok seng has to play along with the whim of the officer who is the master of the land. This idea can be substantiated by the fact that the clean-shaven man, constantly, needs to be pacified whenever he frequents the restaurant. only then wiil peace prevail. Macroscopically, the issue deals with cultural/racial interaction where the different races vie to assert self-identity. However, the dominant culture continuously seeks to dominate the immigrant culture by closing the business premises whenever they fite. Eventually, Kok Seng realises that a symbiosis of the cultures can never happen as long as the dominant culture always plays the role of big brother in the integrative process. Thus, the rituaristic sacrifice of the pig symbolises the effort at recognising and identising the roots in determining the future or tr,ut part-icular culture' Sacrifice can be painful, and it can be violent but it is necessary for, without sacrifice a culture can be forgotten or be swallowed into unrecognisable entity by the notion of joint

A wedge as a toor rras the power to divide or to tighten. As a social tool, the power ries in

and not to do, especially in cultural relations.

CONCLUSION
The issues about culture will continue to dominate the Malaysian social, intellectual and even political scenarios. In the literary circle the same themes will recur over time because of the durability and

relevance

of the issues in describing the Malaysian social landscape. In a country where various cultures exist togetheq closer

interaction and communication, and the sensitivity towards the needs and aspiration of others are the only way of avoiding
suspicion thus ensuring a peaceful coexistence. There should not be a case in which a dominant culture seeks to assert its hegemony over the other since cultural tyranny will only beget resistance and resentment. In turn, the cultures of the diaspora should also be able to reshape and transform themselves to fit into the general cultural

and social landscape of the land. Only this mutual understanding and willingness to sacrifice in each culture will enable the smooth progress of nation building. To reverse the trend would mean to dismantle the very bricks that form the pillar of trust. With trust gone the dream of nation building can easily become a nightmare of nation dismantling.

REFERENCES
Anand, Mulk Raj. (1986). Untouchable. Penguin Books: London, England. Maniam, K. S. (1993) In a F'ar Country. Skoob Books Publishing, London. Maniam, K. S. (1996). Haunting the Tiger- Contemporary Stories from Malaysia. Skoob Books Publishing: [.ondon. Rashid, Rehrnan. (1993). A Malay.sittn .hntrnc.t,. Relttttart I{irshirl: I)clrtlitrg .lrty:r,
Selangor. Samad,

humanity itself. This world, with technological and communication advancement, is embroiled in the inter-influencing cultural phenomena. Some are constructive while other interactions can be destructive. In the landscape closer to home, K. S. Maniam who regards himself as representative of the immigrant culture feels the need to negotiate between the inherited and received tradition in order to survive in this multi-cultural land. He cannot afford to fail the negotiation. Failure courd onry mean the prolonging of his psychical existence in the borderland state- neither here nor there.

Cultural issues are the perennial issues faced, not only by a segment of a minority population in a certain country but alsoby

Reading

D. R. (2003). Toward National ltlcrrtity its b-y I'ltt:rtotttt'ttrtl Alt'ltt'rrty. A of K.S.Maniam's ln tl lirr' ('ttttttlr t' irr llrrz,y S.ll :tlltl Subramaniam.G.(eds).Reclaiming l'ltr,'t' rttt(l ,\l,ttt t' llrrrrl'.i. linivt:rsiti

Kebangsaan Malaysia.

84
85