I’m Still Waiting For A Good Book On Tun Perak
January 17th, 2012 § 2 Comments
Since Professor Khoo Kay Kim argued that Hang Tuah and Princess Hang Li Po probably never existed (see here), I guess I’ll file this book under historical fiction then, shall I? Tun Perak: Pencetus Wawasan Empayar Melaka by Muhammad Yusof Ibrahim is, as the title suggests, about Tun Perak the most famous adviser to the Malaccan Sultanate in the 15th century. But since it’s about Tun Perak, of course Hang Tuah appears in the book.
Written in the style of a biographical novel, it is not a bad book but it didn’t rock my world either. The most glaring omission I felt was the lack of details. Very little is spent fleshing out the characters. Tun Perak, his father Tun Perpatih Serdang, his mother (unnamed), even the bad guys like Raja Rekan were not given much space to explain their motivations. It is simply, “here are the cast, this what they did”. It is as if the author takes it for granted that the reader already knows Malaccan history and the politics of the era. After a few chapters of this I lost patience and just skimmed the pages to the end.
Could have been better.
As the writer is one of history professor maybe he refer to Sejarah Melayu and Hikayat Hang Tuah, instead of Prof. Khoo Kay Kim which refer to Ming dynasty history writing.
Or we need await pak Latip to write such kind of novel?
Menurut Andaya (2002), Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat dan Hang Kasturi adalah pemimpin ulung kaum Orang Asli. Kekuasaan Orang Asli dalam pemerintahan Melaka serta kerajaan-kerajaan melayu yang lain mengalami kemerosotan dengan kematian ketiga-tiga tokoh ini. Pendapat ini dipetik dari Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, Macmillan, London 1906 karangan Skeat, W.William and C.O. Blagden.
Andaya juga memetik pendapat Juli Edo, seorang ahli antropologi dari etnik Semai yang mengatakan bahawa Hang Tuah dan Hang Jebat adalah Orang Asli. Hang Tuah ialah Orang Jakun (Winsdtedt, 1935). Hang Tuah dan keluarganya berpindah ke Hulu Perak selepas kematian Hang Jebat.