Pramoedya's Magsaysay award about human rights

Pramoedya's Magsaysay award about human rights

By Margaret Agusta

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Malaysia's intellectuals and educators see the objections to Pramoedya Ananta Toer's recent acceptance of the Ramon Magsaysay Award from the Philippines as the result of a narrow view of the man and his works.

Tan Sri A. Samad Ismail of the Malaysian Language and Literature Board told The Jakarta Post during the Seminar on Comparative Literature, which ended Thursday, that the award "has to do with human rights".

"It's about time Pramoedya was recognized," Samad Ismail said. "He should have been allowed to go to the Philippines to accept the prize. The restrictions on him must be dropped."

"People can say he doesn't deserve the prize, but we must consider the whole issue," he said. "What's important is that he was locked up. His rights were taken away."

Samad himself was imprisoned in Malaysia from 1976 through 1981 due to his outspokenness and political views.

A group of Indonesian authors and intellectuals recently submitted a letter of objection to the Magsaysay Foundation which selects recipients for the prestigious prize.

Mochtar Lubis, who is among the past recipients of the prize due to the humanitarian stance he takes in his writing and daily life, went so far as to travel to Manila to return his prize as a way to protest the prize for Pramoedya. He said Pramoedya did not deserve the prize due to his past abuse of power.

Mochtar Lubis and the other signatories of the letter, including noted poet Taufiq Ismail and playwright Ikranagara, objected to Pramoedya's acceptance of the prize because of his actions during the early 1960s.

At that time, Pramoedya held a top post at the Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat (Lekra, the People's Cultural Institute), which was the cultural arm of the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party, and was either an editor or an influential presence at several newspapers and magazines in Jakarta.

The signatories of the letter say that Pramoedya systematically suppressed the voices of writers, journalists and intellectuals who did not adhere to his leftist ideology. They hold Pramoedya responsible for what they call the "witch hunt" which cost many journalists their jobs due to his influence in the printed media at the time.

Some of them also believe that Pramoedya was behind actual physical attacks on dissidents and their homes.

"Where's the proof of what he did in the past?" Samad Ismail asked.

Ahmad Kamal Abdullah, the organizer of the seminar and president of the Malaysian Comparative Literature Association, was also of the opinion that Pramoedya has been punished enough and that any further restrictions would be excessive.

"Pramoedya has already served his prison sentence," Ahmad, who is better known as Komala, said.

"Pramoedya is widely known for his writing, it seems strange to the rest of the world that Indonesia should reject his work," he said.

"His works are textbooks in Malaysia. Indonesia will be left far behind if it doesn't confront and discuss his thinking. This would be a shame," he added.

Nur Zina Zuhra, an associate professor of literature at the Department of English Language and Literature at the International Islamic University Malaysia, confirmed that Pramoedya's texts were being used to teach Malay literature.

"We use his writing to focus on the role of Moslems and what shortcomings may exist in the actual living of the religion," she said. "Pramoedya particularly in Gadis Pantai, points out that what is said and what is done do not always come together."

Komala said he believed that healthy and constructive criticism requires dialog. High quality literature can inspire people to think about moral issues and humanitarianism.

Samad Ismail was of the opinion that bygones should be bygones. "Even the Philippines is consolidating and forgiving. Marcos people are making a comeback into the public forum now," he said.

"There is now a healing process of reconciliation and accommodation there," he said.

Komala and Samad both felt that writers have a moral obligation to speak out against injustice and abuse of human rights.

"Authors may not have influence now as politicians, economists and entrepreneurs, but it is through intellectuals that humanitarianism is felt," Samad Ismail said.