Question 1a Does Datin Sarina ’ s admiration towards Encik Kassim show that she is more interested in him than her husband, Mus? Alternatively, do you think that her admiration is caused by Kassim’ s sense of dressing, mannerism, and confidence? confidence? Discuss your answer by referring to Karim Raslan ’ s text and relating it to the importance of ‘gender expression’ in determining one’ s impression about the other. In my opinion, Datin Sarina’ Sarina’ s admiration towards Encik Kassim indeed shows that she is more interested in him than her husband, Mus. A typical married woman will not look at a new stranger in such detailed manner. Her observation is somewhat showing that she is obsessed with perfection. As a woman, we have the rights to choose who we want for our partner. Datin Sarina seem to choose someone in a higher rank, which gave her the title ‘Datin ‘Datin’ ’ from from Dato Mus. It is proven right that she is indeed interested in someone with a higher rank when she was ‘more ‘more impressed’ impressed’ when Encik Kassim told her he was a lawyer. To further impress Encik Kassim, she even prepared coffee for her husband and her new neighbour in a ‘fine ‘fine quality of a porcelain’ porcelain’ . She was trying to impress Encik Kassim, and she succeeded when Encik Kassim told her that it was a nice coffee cup. Her obsession for perfection is very obvious in the short story. It started when she invited Encik Kassim for some coffee. The way she described him with words such as ‘ramrod ‘ramrod straight, smooth shaven, golf-tanned’ golf-tanned’ was not something many people would say when describing someone. She also pin-pointed on what he wore, being well dressed and wearing a well-tailored pair of pants and a pink polo shirt that set off his healthy colour. “ colour. “He He was just so athletic, so attractive” attractive” was also how Datin Sarina described him. Adding on, she mentioned that she could not wait to to tell her sisters because they’ d die of jealousy makes it sounded as if she was dating ‘the’ perfect perfect guy. While she was serving coffee to Encik Kassim and Dato Mus, she exaggerated her expectations that Encik Kassim would be very amused about the porcelain teacups. Although Encik Kassim did compliment about the teacups, Datin Sarina exaggerated his expectation because she had already have a mind set about how Encik Kassim will be. When Encik Kassim was drinking his coffee, she started to closely observe him. She even pin point that he did not slurp while drinking his coffee. Too closely to the point where she started to describe how he looked like. A handsome sculpted head, a large forehead and she expected
these traits in a lawyer. Not only that, she even noticed everything about Encik Kassim to the tiniest detail, such as his brown eyes. Later, she thought “if only she was young again, only to be shocked by the impropriety of her thought.” She was married and yet she wanted to be young again so she could have Encik Kassim for her own. She was so observant to the point where she was ‘convinced she knew him or at least his family.’ Datin Sarina was even happier when she get to know that Mrs Kassim is somewhat related to her family, which indicates she can get to know and see Encik Kassim more, either in festive seasons or family occasions. She couldn’ t even contain her excitement. The next morning, after Encik Kassim visited them, she went to sit on the veranda outside the balcony of her bedroom. She tried to think about the household, but was eventually distracted by the thoughts of Encik Kassim. She also admitted that she sat on the veranda because she can get a view of her neighbour’ s master bedroom. Even the thoughts of the young man swirled through her dreams all night long and as soon as it was possible she had arose and taken her place on the balcony. Even though she ought not to sit on the veranda to peek on her neighbour’ s bedroom, but the prospect of seeing Encik Kassim enthralled her too much. Her passion for Encik Kassim was too much. She promised herself not to look into her neighbour’ s bedroom, but yet she was dying to see Encik Kassim again. She just had to stay and watch Encik Kassim because she wanted to know more about the Kassim’s, him and his mysterious ‘wife’ . Their personal lives. Even after seeing the half undressed Mrs Kassim, she insisted on looking again because she thought if there was a half undressed Mrs Kassim, there might be half undressed Encik Kassim. When Mr. Kassim entered, she felt her own breathing quicken and she placed her hand to her chest. During the foreplay, Datin Sarin continued watching and even saw each and every part of Encik Kassim. She pressed her own breast and shivered. She was getting excited about the scene that she saw, especially when Encik Kassim was there. Datin Sarina even imagined herself in Mrs. Kassim’ s place, touching and being touched by Encik Kassim. Datin Sarina’ s actions and behaviour indicates that she was indeed more interested in Encik Kassim than her very own husband. Alternatively, in my opinion, her admiration towards Encik Kassim was caused by Encik Kassim’ s sense of fashion, mannerism, and confidence. The way Encik Kassim presented
himself to Datin Sarina made her admire him as a respected figure. Even being tall, one of the characteristics which was to be found in a man, was a characteristic that Datin Sarina expected from him. Encik Kassim’s facial and outer characteristics, such as having a smooth shaven beard and golf-tanned showed that he cared for his appearance and was active in sport. His smile made Datin Sarina even disarmed and made her excited. Encik Kassim also had confidence, he stood straight and did not slouch. All these characteristics in him made Datin Sarina regretted for not seeing him earlier. She admired all his characteristics because the way Encik Kassim presented himself for the first time showed his mannerism and confidence. Not only that, he was well dressed in his pink polo shirt and a well-tailored pair of pants. He was just too athletic and attractive. Even with his manners, he’d manage to impress his new neighbour. He did not forget about Datin Sarina’s hospitality when she served Dato Mus and him coffee. Although he was in the middle of a conversation, he made a compliment about how nice the coffee cup was to Datin Sarina. Even Mus was impressed by his manners when he didn’t even slurp as he drank his coffee. By how Encik Kassim presented himself, with confidence, and with his manners, even Datin Sarina wouldn’t had guessed that he was another person deep down inside him. He’d managed to hid himself so well with the way he dresses and his appearance.
Question / Soalan 1b How far do you agree that looks can be deceiving? In your discussion, include an analysis on the influence of Western culture and lifestyle in Datin Sarina’s
impression of Encik Kassim. Support your answer by referring to postcolonialism that acknowledges a colonised mind-set may continue to prevail long after the formal process of colonisation has ended. I strongly agree that looks can be deceiving as physical appearance is something that us, as human beings notice first before anything else. Most of the time, people are judged based on their looks and appearances, such as their body shape and the features of their face. Sometimes, these people are judged favourably due to their perceived good looks, and sometimes they are judged negatively because of their perceived bad looks. This sort of bias has been termed as ‘lookism’. A depiction of the phrase ‘looks can be deceiving’ can be seen through the animated Disney film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves . The queen disguised as an old lady and offered her a perfect looking red apple which actually turned out to be poisonous. Snow White was deceived by the apple’s appealing and delectable appearance, so she took a bite out of it and was sent into the ‘sleeping death’. This shows that even the looks of inanimated objects can be as deceiving as the looks of human beings. We commonly perceive that high physical attractiveness, both facial and physical is associated with good and positive qualities. It is known that physical attractiveness is a major asset in sexual exchange and is associated with upward economic mobility in particular for females (Elder 1969, 1974; Holmes and Hatch 1938). Since good looking people are judged favourably, they are highly likely to get the best jobs, the best salaries and therefore the best social statuses, as well. These people with good looks are less likely to be perceived as failures, as they are expected to succeed and be outstanding among the rest. As an example in the novel, ‘Neighbours’, Datin Sarina thought highly of En Kassim as he was described as tall, good-looking and well dressed. Encik Kassim’s sexuality was also lived under the disguise of the dominant heterosexual male identity. He appropriated and sustained the image of the educated, middle class Malay male.
“He was almost six feet tall. Somehow she had known he’d be tall. He was ramrod straight, smooth shaven, golf-tanned and smiling. Such a smile; she was disarmed. He couldn’t have been more than thirty-five years old and was well-dressed.” (pg180). Datin Sarina was also impressed by the fact that Encik Kassim was not only a lawyer but someone who had profound knowledge on the Islamic religion. Encik Kassim voiced out his opinion about Islam and expressed his liberal views with Datin Sarina’s husband, Datuk Mus regarding his religious faith and how he translated it into his daily life. “…Datuk, these people, they say that it’s our duty to intervene and direct those who are transgressing the Koran. Well, I think that’s wrong. Islam brings all men together under the guidance of Allah. We are beholden to Him to live closely as we can within the dictates of the Koran. That doesn’t mean that we should force the unwilling...” (pg 122). One day, Datin Sarina, out of her curiosity, decided to spy on Encik Kassim and his ‘wife’ from her verandah even though she knew that it was wrong of her to do so. To her shock, she then discovered that Encik Kassim’s ‘wife’ was not a woman but actually a man. Datin Sarina was more shocked when the manly Encik Kassim who assumed the role of the woman(the submissive role) instead of his ‘wife’ . “The woman positioned herself behind Encik Kassim… her handsome Encik Kassim.” (pg188). “She pulled herself out suddenly and slapped Encik Kassim hard across the buttocks as if he were a fat kerbau and sneered. And as she did, Sarina saw that he, her despicable Encik Kassim, moaned like a woman.” (pg189). Her image of Encik Kassim was instantaneously shattered once she found out that he was homosexual and not as perfect as she assumed he was at first sight. Datin Sarina quickly made negative judgments about Encik Kassim despite describing how perfect and charming he was at first throughout the story. “Her head spun painfully. She felt deflated and angry as if she had been let down. Encik Kassim had disappointed her, cheated her with his charming smile and his grey eyes.” (pg188). In conclusion, looks can be deceiving and it can be very hard to recognize what is true or false. One’s appearance can be very misleading as the outside packaging of a person does not necessarily reflect the person’s character and personality. It is highly unfair that we
should let looks be the judge of an individual’s intrinsic worth. As the saying goes, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ . We should not let looks become our main factor in judging someone’s character or even sexuality. The clothing that Encik Kassim wore is an influence of Western culture and lifestyle. Datin Sarina described Encik Kassim as well dressed and attractive as his appearance was greatly affected by his clothing. Encik Kassim had dressed as how westerners usually dress which was a well-tailored pair of pants and a pink polo shirt as opposed to the traditional baju Melayu . One’s appearance is greatly affected by the clothes that we wear and by wearing western styled clothes, Encik Kassim was potrayed as a smart and educated young man with higher status as Datin Sarina judged him by the clothes he wore when he first came to visit her in her home. ‘He couldn’t have been more than thirty-five years old and was well dressed – he was wearing a well-tailored pair of pants and a pink polo shirt that set off his healthy colour.’ (pg180) Lawyer is considered as a western influenced career as its origins were from Ancient Greece. The earliest people who could be described as ‘lawyers’ were the orators of ancient Athens. Asian people who possess careers such as lawyers are perceived as higher class and highly educated individuals like how Datin Sarina thinks of Encik Kassim when she found out that his profession was a lawyer. Asians believe that someone with a legal profession such as lawyers and doctors are to have higher paying salary as this is the stereotype that such careers influenced by western culture and lifestyle. Most of these professions requires high proficiency of English. ‘He said he was a lawyer and she was even more impressed.’ (pg181) Datin Sarina had expectations that Encik Kassim was bound to notice her high quality porcelain tea set. She imagined him exclaiming out loud, ‘ Allah, what exquisite porcelain you have Datin. Could it… could it be Noritake ?’ (pg181) Afternoon tea is something which was served and practiced by Westerners as they like to socialize as they enjoy tea. Afternoon tea was known as a tea-related ritual, introduced in Britain in the early 1840’ s. It evolved as a mini meal to stem the hunger and anticipation of an evening meal at 8pm. Postcolonialism is sometimes assumed to refer to ‘after-colonialism’ or ‘after-independence’ (Ashcroft et al., 1995:2), describing the wide range of social, cultural and political events arising specifically from the decline and fall of European colonialism that took place after
World War Two. According to the Oxford English Dictionary(OED) , the word postcolonialism means the political or cultural condition of a former colony. Another definition from the OED is that postcolonialism is a theoretical approach in various disciplines that is concerned with the lasting impact of colonization in former colonies. The phenomenon of postcolonialism begins with the historical context of colonialism and its consequences on the colonized. It is an intellectual direction that exists from the middle of the twentieth century. This term is originally used by historians after the Second World War as, post-colonial state. This discipline is mainly concerned with what happened when two cultures clash and one of them impose itself on the other. Some would date its rise from theorist Edward Said’ s Orientalism (1978) and it was consolidated after by the appearance of The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Postcolonial Literature (1989) by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Apart from that, postcolonialism emphasizes the significance of the impact of colonialism on the societies that were colonized. The term ‘postcoloniality’ puts the emphasis on the economic, material and cultural conditions that determine the global system in which the postcolonial nation is required to operate. Postcolonialism designates the perspective of tricontinental theories which analyse the material and epistemological conditions of postcoloniality and seek to combat the continuing, often covert, operation of an imperialist system of economic, political and cultural domination. For example, in a country such as India, with one of the most extensive colonial periods, stretching from 1757 (the battle of Plassey) to 1947. The colonial impact remains in India, in both negative and positive ways, such as the effects to India’s education system which is the improvement in the reduction of literacy rates in India. Nowadays, aspects of postcolonialism can be found in different fields such as history, literature, politics etc, but also an approach to culture and identity of both countries which were colonized and the colonial colonizer. Theorists Bill Ashcroft et. al claimed: ‘Postcolonialism or often postcolonialism deals often with the effects of colonization on cultures and societies.’ Thus, the main concern of this movement is the several consequences of colonization on the indigenous people, their culture and their society. The British had colonized Malaysia for as long as 84 years (1874 to 1957). This resulted in influences of Western culture and lifestyle, some replacing the traditional lifestyle of the people in Malaysia. The effects of postcolonialism in Malaysia include changes in architecture, infrastructure, food, clothes and education.
As Asians, we mostly strive to achieve the Westerner’s ideals of beauty and way of living. We always admire those who are English educated because we think they are better than us in every aspect. Many of us Asians are not highly proficient in the English language as it may be their second language next to their ‘mother tongue’. Some do not even understand or speak English as they had not received any level of education because most Asian countries do not free education systems. In Malaysia, the government has provided free education to its people with English and Malay as the compulsory language. English and Malay were compulsory for all Malaysians to learn as the national language of the country is Malay while we began learning English due to the colonialism of the British. Asians are known to wear more conservative clothing that also represents their cultural identity. Chinese traditional outfits include the qipao or cheongsam for women and the hanfu, which can be worn by either men or women. The qipao or cheongsam is the dress popularly associated with Chinese clothing. It can be either long or short and has the high clasped collar. For Indians the most common are the sari and the kurta pajama. Women wear the sari, colorfully patterned pieces of cloth draped around the upper body and worn over a long blouse and pants. Men wear the kurta pajama, a long blouse with loose drawstring pants. The Malays wear baju Melayu for men which was a loose tunic worn over trousers and usually accompanied with a sarong called a sampin which is wrapped around the hips. It is also often accompanied with a songkok or kopiah. Malay women wear the baju kurung, a loose-fitting full length dress, consisting of a skirt and a blouse. However, due to postcolonialism, we begin to dress a lot like Westerners by wearing clothing such as t-shirts, coats, trousers, and skirts as opposed to the traditional clothes that represent our cultures. Datin Sarina thought that she was more ‘high class’ than other women as she wore heavy makeup and was attractive due to her voluptuous figure and glamorous jewelry. Malaysian women were more conservative in the olden days, but because of postcolonialism that caused Datin Sarina to dress as the way she is now, which was more bold and striking in appearance. “She wore the loudest colours possible, shocking reds, turquoises and vermillions and tottered around on four-inch heels. She wore make-up at all times, serious jewellery for at least eight hours a day and exercised sparingly.” (pg179) Datin Sarina also thought highly of Encik Kassim who dressed well in Western style. Her perception of him instantly changed when a handsome young man like him showed up at her front door. Encik Kassim portrayed a modern image of himself causing Datin Sarina to
fawn over him unreasonably. She wanted brag about Encik Kassim to her sisters even though she had no knowledge of his background nor personality at all before this. This shows how great appearance and first impression due to postcolonialism has affected Datin Sarina’s point of view of Encik Kassim. “…he was wearing a well-tailored pair of pants and a pink polo shirt that set off his healthy colour.” (pg180)
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