The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Fearless in Manchester, the undoing of the Red Devils Posted: 29 Sep 2013 06:22 PM PDT
I write this after a weekend that has been a very good one if you are an Arsenal supporter. Having all but one of your closest rivals lose or cancel each other out in a draw, while your team wins to strengthen its hold on the top position is always a cause for a bit of celebration... until the next round of matches comes along, anyway. But while we Gooners raise a toast to Arsene Wenger, I cannot help but have one eye on the situation at Old Trafford. It seems dire to say the least. I believe it may actually be worse than most Manchester United fans care to admit. Quite simply, I believe the exit of Alex Ferguson and the lack of a good game-changing signing during the summer transfer window has removed any last remnants of the air of invincibility that the Red Devils had built up over the Premiership years in English football. Of course, Manchester United were never invincible in any given season – only the Gunners achieved that in season 2003-04 – but that aura of fear was always present among most teams going to Old Trafford, or even hosting Fergie's lads, with a sense of wanting to avoid defeat rather playing to win. There is no doubt that for most of the past two decades, half the battle was already won by Manchester United even before kick-off... and I am not talking about Fergie's infamous mind games here. It is not a new phenomenon in the top flight of English football. I will never forget what my late eldest brother told me back in the late 1970s and early 1980s about Liverpool's dominance in the then First Division, and even in Europe for that matter. My brother was a long-suffering Manchester United supporter at the time, when the team's success was limited to the 1977 FA Cup wins and before that, the 1968 European Cup and 1966-67 First Division title. Yes, there was a 9-year gap between trophies at Old Trafford. So, it was not surprising when he lamented to me a few times while we were following the live broadcast of English football via the BBC World Service every Saturday night, that teams were simply afraid or intimidated by the Liverpool juggernaut. Here was a team that Bill Shankly built and Bob Paisley enhanced – among two of the greatest managers that the English game had produced. Before Ferguson, Paisley was the most successful manager in English football. At its peak, Liverpool had seven players in the English national team, and some top Scots too, with the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen. The Reds were then fortunate to have some continuity after Paisley stepped down in 1983 with a member of the famous Anfield boot room boys, Joe Fagan, taking over the reins. That helped to maintain the status quo of winning the league title, with a European Cup and League Cup for a unique treble at the end of the 1983-84 season. Dalglish took over in 1985, and the promote-from-within policy maintained the continuity of league success, with two more titles, including their first League-FA Cup double in 1986. But the ascent of Souness to the manager's seat in 1991 was the beginning of the end for Liverpool. I suppose he was just not cut out for the job. And as we all know, the launch of the English Premier League eventually brought an end to the Shankly/Paisley legacy and the start of a new era for another big team in red. My brother, Ganesh, unfortunately, never got his chance to see his beloved Manchester United enjoy the same dominance that he envied about Liverpool. As I recall, he was among the first to sign up for the Manchester United Supporters' Club in 1992 – it was the first supporters club launched in Malaysia, incidentally – and enjoyed the Red Devils lifting their first title in 26 years the following year. But sadly, the second consecutive title was won on April 24, 1994, just a week before he passed away, and he missed watching them take the unique League-FA Cup double that May, too. I am sure he has been celebrating his team's glory years from up above but I wonder what he would be telling me now, with the team making their worst start in a league season since 1989-90. That season was the make or break season for Ferguson after finishing in positions 11, 2 and 11, respectively, in the previous three seasons the Scot had been in charge. The Red Devils ended up number 13 on the League table in 1990 and that should have cost Ferguson his job but for the small matter of winning the FA Cup, his first trophy. The Manchester United manager added to his achievements by winning the European Cup-Winners' Cup the following year. This was followed by the league runners-up position in 1992, the last time the top tier was called the First Division. Not for lack of effort or ability, but David Moyes is likely to have the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over him should Manchester United fail to keep the momentum of 23 years going in his first season in charge. Yes, it is all still early in the season and it might even be a little bit of mischievous speculation on my part, but three defeats in their first six matches is going to be telling on the players' confidence. More importantly, Moyes is no Ferguson. He came from outside the Manchester United culture and worse still, booted out all of Ferguson's men in favour of his own group of coaches and staff from Everton. Something has got to give and it is showing on the pitch already. These are not going to be pleasant times for the masses of Manchester United fans around but it is also going to be a great time for their true supporters to set an example as the glory-hunters start bailing out of the "sinking ship" in the coming months ahead. – September 30, 2013. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. | |
| Menterjemah minda penulis Tamil (Bahagian 1) Posted: 29 Sep 2013 04:17 PM PDT
Walaupun saya secara penuh sedar – dan penuh syukur – memilih untuk menulis menggunakan Bahasa Malaysia, saya tidak ketinggalan mengikuti perkembangan bidang penulisan Bahasa Inggeris, Tamil dan Mandarin di Malaysia. Saya percaya bahawa saya amat bertuah kerana mampu hidup, bernafas serta mewarnai beberapa "dunia" sastera tempatan. Pergaulan saya juga merentas sempadan kaum, bahasa dan bidang penulisan. Malah, pernah wartawan sebuah akhbar arus perdana datang mewawancara saya dengan andaian bahawa saya fasih membaca dan menulis Mandarin! (Akhirnya laporan wartawan itu disiarkan dengan judul "Uthaya Sankar SB Tidak Tahu Berbahasa Mandarin" pada 3 Julai 2007.) Saya pernah diundang menulis rencana khas mengenai sejarah dan perkembangan cerpen Tamil di Malaysia untuk siaran akhbar New Straits Times. Selepas tulisan saya bertajuk "What Tamil Writers?" tersiar pada 11 Februari 2004, muncul reaksi yang pelbagai. Walaupun saya bukan penulis Tamil – malah bukan juga individu keturunan Tamil – saya tetap mengikuti perkembangan sastera Tamil di Malaysia menerusi pelbagai sumber. Bidang penulisan karya kreatif Bahasa Tamil di Malaysia bermula dengan novel Karunakaran Allathu Katalin Matchi (Karunakaran atau Kesucian Cinta) pada tahun 1917. Manakala antologi cerpen pertama muncul pada tahun 1930. Genre cerpen Tamil terus berkembang pesat mulai tahun 1950-an. Pemangkin utama dalam perkembangan ini sejak dahulu adalah kelahiran akhbar dan majalah; antaranya Tamil Nesan, Tamil Celvan, Tamil Kodi dan Tamil Murasu. Walaupun pada mulanya tema dan persoalan penulis Tamil di Malaysia/Malaya tertumpu pada hal-hal di Sri Lanka dan India, khususnya Tamil Nadu, mulai pertengahan tahun 1940-an, sudah nampak perubahan ke arah yang positif. Karya-karya sastera Tamil sudah semakin bercirikan masyarakat pelbagai kaum di Malaysia. Antara cerpen yang wajar disebutkan adalah "Onril Munru" (Tiga dalam Satu), "Pukkari Punita" (Punita Penjual Bunga), "Cinakkilavan" (Lelaki Tua Cina), "Kuranku Antu Palan" (Kebaikan Tahun Monyet) dan "Pavamuttai" (Bebanan Dosa). Segala maklumat lanjut berhubung hal ini terkandung dalam buku Cerpen Tamil dan Melayu (1957-1970): Perbandingan Tema dan Struktur (1993) tulisan Dr Krishanan Maniam. Cerpen terjemahan Tamil "ditolak" puak tertentu Di samping menghasilkan cerpen Bahasa Tamil, beberapa penulis yang memiliki penguasaan bahasa yang baik turut terlibat dalam usaha menterjemahkan cerpen Bahasa Malaysia ke Bahasa Tamil. Cerpen-cerpen terjemahan itu tersiar dalam akhbar dan majalah Tamil sejak tahun 1950-an lagi. Jadi, apa yang jelas adalah bahawa pembaca kaum India yang menguasai Bahasa Tamil berupaya menghayati karya penulis-penulis Melayu yang diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Tamil. Beberapa cerpen saya juga sesekali diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Tamil dan disiarkan di media Tamil. Sebaliknya agak mengecewakan kerana cerpen Bahasa Tamil kurang diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Malaysia. Majalah Dewan Sastera misalnya menyiarkan terjemahan cerpen-cerpen luar negara. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) sendiri menerbitkan antologi cerpen dan novel terjemahan dari India. Akan tetapi, agak mengecewakan kerana cerpen yang ditulis oleh penulis Tamil di Malaysia kurang diberikan perhatian. Usaha terjemahan seperti ini adalah penting bagi membolehkan kita menghayati hasil kesusasteraan, kebudayaan dan permasalahan hidup masyarakat pelbagai kaum yang mana kita sendiri menjadi sebahagian daripadanya. Atas inisiatif dan usaha Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan (Kavyan), sebuah cerpen Tamil berjaya diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Malaysia dan disiarkan di majalah Dewan Sastera pada Julai 2012. Bagaimanapun, amat mengecewakan kerana usaha itu tidak dapat diteruskan kerana terdapat kritikan hebat dan bantahan daripada pihak tertentu yang menyebarkan fitnah kononnya cerpen-cerpen Bahasa Malaysia dan Tamil yang dihasilkan oleh pengarang kaum India di Malaysia mempunyai motif menyebarkan agama Hindu. Kekurangan usaha terjemahan (selain tuduhan dan fitnah puak tertentu) menyebabkan masyarakat Malaysia khasnya dan masyarakat Nusantara amnya tidak mengenali penulis Tamil di Nusantara. Sebaliknya kita lebih mengenali penulis India di Benua Kecil India, Amerika Syarikat serta Eropah. Hal ini kerana mereka menulis dalam Bahasa Inggeris atau karya mereka diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Inggeris. Pada masa ini, kehadiran beberapa penulis kaum India yang menghasilkan cerpen Bahasa Malaysia – Sasterawan Kavyan – sekurang-kurangnya dapat mengisi tuntutan yang disebutkan tadi. Hanya sebuah antologi sehingga kini Malangnya, pengarang seperti Saroja Theavy Balakrishnan dan M. Mahendran yang mampu menghasilkan karya Bahasa Malaysia bagi menampilkan permasalahan hidup masyarakat India di Malaysia dalam karya mereka sudah semakin jarang berkarya. Untuk rekod, majalah Dewan Sastera keluaran Mei 1997 buat julung kali dalam sejarah sastera Malaysia telah membuat fokus tentang penulis kaum India di Malaysia; sama ada menghasilkan karya Bahasa Malaysia atau Tamil. Usaha itu saya lihat sebagai langkah yang wajar dalam memperkenalkan kelompok penulis kaum India kepada khalayak. Malangnya, inisiatif seperti itu sudah semakin jarang. Apatah lagi ada puak yang amat prejudis terhadap karya penulis kaum India. Walaupun Persatuan Penulis-penulis Tamil Malaysia dilaporkan sebagai pernah "menjalinkan hubungan yang erat dengan persatuan penulis Melayu dan Cina serta dengan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka", tetapi sehingga ke saat makalah ini ditulis, tidak ada usaha bersungguh-sungguh dan menyeluruh dalam menterjemahkan dan menerbitkan antologi cerpen penulis Tamil di Malaysia. Dalam hal ini, tidak dapat tidak, usaha M. Balachandran menterjemahkan sebanyak 12 buah cerpen bagi antologi Seruling Di Persimpangan (1999) harus dipuji. Saya ada menyebut tentang perkara ini pada acara "Apresiasi Sastera Kaum India" anjuran Kavyan dan Majlis Kebudayaan Negeri Selangor di Morib, Selangor pada 17 Januari 2004. Cerpen-cerpen yang terkumpul dalam antologi Seruling Di Persimpangan mengemukakan persoalan yang pelbagai. Dari segi teknik penulisan, perlu diakui bahawa hampir kesemua cerpen dalam antologi itu memaparkan teknik penceritaan yang bersifat konvensional. Penulis ketara campur tangan dalam "menceritakan" (telling) kepada pembaca apa yang berlaku. Begitu juga dalam beberapa cerpen, penulis ketara bercerita secara meleret-leret tentang hal-hal yang tidak membantu ke arah perkembangan cerita. Penceritaan yang meleret-leret ini telah saya sunting semasa mengedit manuskrip versi Bahasa Malaysia semata-mata bagi menjadikan cerpen-cerpen berkenaan lebih padat dan lancar dari segi isi dan bentuk. Saya berharap antologi kedua yang sedang diusahakan akan mampu menyajikan karya terjemahan yang lebih bermutu dan lebih membanggakan. - 30 September, 2013. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. |
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