by Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof

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    !
K _b. 1939)
K graduated in English from the University
of Malaya _1964)
K did a Doctorate in Asian Theatre at the
University of Hawaii _1976).
K one of Malaysia͛s most distinguished
scholars
K one of the world͛s leading specialists of
traditional Southeast Asian theatre.
K aurrently he is Adjunct Professor at the
aentre
K È"#
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& a private research
initiative set up by him to promote
research in traditional Asian cultures.
 the midnight satay- vendor
he cuts a sorry figure the solitary vendor
among the sleeping bungalows
pedalling up the stubborn
aristocratic slopes of jesselton heights
Satay
Satay
satay
i can see him wiping his sweaty brow
can smell piquant in the air the aroma
of chicken and cincang
as he fans the fire
beneath the sizzling rows of skewers
at home in the kampung a wife and children
await the meagre dayMs collection:
some ringgits and a few sen
that go nowhere
in these days of inflasi; and the election
too with its promise come and gone
but life must not stop for the likes of him
so at pasar malam and along the night s inclines
wiping his migraines off his forehead
he returns to the embers
his children amidst their kurang ajar yawns
prepare tomorrow s ketupat and cucumbers
Satay
Satay
satay

i wish at times i could trade places with him

the midnight vendor if only as a game
surrender for once a so-called elegance
but education tells me i am halus he kasar
for don͛ t you see i m a shakespeare-wallah
with his degree that clings to me like a vice
and a middle-class airconditioned nose?
Glossary:
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 Synopsis
K highlights about ##"
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"/The persona in this poem explains
about the hardness of a satay vendor͛s life
who works to support his family selling satay
around the high-class residential and at the
pasar malam.
K nativizes certain Malaysian cultural aspect in
this poem through the use of the most
popular food among Malaysian; .

K uses well known local setting which is pasar

malam as a nativization of cultural setting4

: Difference in lifestyle
between 0 Malaysians ʹ

K a privileged university- K a hard-working

educated man. uneducated


vendor.

%$*",satay 1
%#,$-$2%
/
 Setting
K Aristocratic slopes of jesselton heights.

K Pasar malam_night market)

K Kampung_home{
:
 È3 
 1.aontrast 1
K the sorry figure K the stubborn/
of the

 vendor aristocratic slopes of
Jesselton Heights.

The word stubborn suggests the difficulty that

the vendor has in cycling up the hills; it is as if
the slopes do not want him to get to the top.
 Ë.aontrast Ë
but my education tells me I am 2alus he kasar

î
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 3.Usage of local language_Malaysia)
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 4.Onomatopoeia
K This is the technique of using a word whose
sound suggest its meaning.

K beneath the sizzling rows of skewers͟

K arbecue-satay-hot/cook-sound like sizzling͟
 3.Alliteration/Repetition
K Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of
words.
K Produces a rhythmic and musical effect that is quite
pleasing to hear.

ïatay ©satay
ïatay© ©satay
satay© satay
K The arrangement is interesting; visually it gives us an
impression of the vendor moving along the hill his
voice receding further into the distance as he pedals
on.
 6.Assonance
K Use of identical vowel sounds surrounded by
different kind of consonant sounds in world in
close proximity to each other.

K Stanza 3:row Ë and row 3

aollection election
K Stanza 4 row 4 and row 6
Embers cucumbers
 7.Imagery:
K Images pictures or sensory content which we
find in a poem.
K Are fanciful or imaginative descriptions of people
or objects stated in terms of our senses.

K Examplea

î pasar malam/satay/ketupat =local/malaysia͛s

culture.
 Point of View
K Third person/he

Shakespeare-wallah with a degree

K See things in his way standing aside watching
a life of a satay-vendor.
 Moral Value
K Satay vendor-work hard to earn money by
selling satay-show his love care and
responsibility towards family.
Ex.?

K Sympathy towards the poors/lower status

community members.
Ex.?