Kassim Ahmad
Kassim Ahmad (9 September 1933 - 10 October 2017)[1] was a Malaysian intellectual, writer, poet and an educator. He was also politician in the early days of Malaya and later Malaysia.
Education
Kassim was born in Kulim in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah in 1933. He attended a Malay primary school in Bandar Baharu before attending Sultan Abdul Hamid College for his secondary education. He later went to Singapore to enrol at the University of Malaya in the 1950s.
In Singapore, he completed his dissertation that challenged the popular status of Hang Tuah as a Malay hero. Hang Tuah is a Malay legendary warrior mentioned extensively in the The Malay Annals and Hikayat Hang Tuah. Kassim instead argued that Hang Tuah's antagonist Hang Jebat was the hero. In Malay legends, Hang Tuah fought and killed his sworn brother Hang Jebat who rose up against an unjust sultan. The former is celebrated for his loyalty to the sultan, despite suffering injustice from the courts.
Career
Upon graduation from the university, he worked as a researcher at Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (Institute of Language and Literature) in Kuala Lumpur where he specialised in Hang Tuah literature. Soon after, he moved to London to lecture at the School of the Oriental and African Studies. Due to his interest in Malayan politics, he refused to take up a permanent position at SOAS and decided to return to Malaya not long after.
Upon his return to Malaya, he worked as a teacher at a school in Penang.
Activism and political participation
Kassim was an active member of the University Socialist Club in the 1950s, a left-wing student body in Malaya and Singapore. He was also a member of Parti Rakyat Malaysia when Ahmad Boestamam was the president.
He later when on to lead the political body together with Syed Hussin Ali from 1965 until 1980 before joining the ruling United Malay National Organisation. He was arrested under the Internal Security Act for 5 years beginning 1976 for supporting socialist-communist movement in Malaysia. Syed Hussin himself was arrested two years earlier for the same charge.
Kassim was later released on 30 July 1981 after Mahathir Mohamad became the prime minister. Mahathir first met Kassim at the University of Malaya, and had written forewords for Kassim's books.
Islam and Quranism
In 1986, he wrote Hadis: Satu Penilaian Semula, a book questioning the role of hadith in Islam, and ignited a debate on Quranism in Malaysia.[2][3] From then on, he was frequently prosecuted by the religious authority for his unorthodox view of the religion.[4]
Publication
This is a partial list of his work:
- Characterisation in Hikayat Hang Tuah (1966)
- Kemarau di Lembah (1967)
- Perwatakan dalam Hikayat Hang Tuah (1973)
- Pengembara Dalam Perjalanan (1978)
- Universiti Kedua (1983)
- Hadis: Satu Penilaian Semula (1986)
- Hadis: Jawapan Kepada Pengkritik (1992)
- Quo Vadis Bangsaku?
- Polemik Sastera Islam
- Mencari Jalan Pulang Daripada Sosialisme Kepada Islam
- Jalan Ke Parlimen
- Hikayat Hang Tuah
- Lamumba Mati[5]
Awards
- Doktor Persuratan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (1985)
- Anugerah GAPENA (1987)
- Anugerah Zaaba (2016)
References
- ^ "Kassim Ahmad passes away". 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ Template:Id Abdul Majid Khon Pemikiran Modern dalam Sunnah, (Jakarta: Kencana, 2011), hal. 110-111.
- ^ Template:Id Aviv Alfiyyah dan Dewi Khodijah, “Kassim Ahmad: Tokoh Mungkir Sunnah Melayu,” dalam Yang Membela dan Yang Menggugat, ed. Muammar Zayn Qadafy (Yogyakarta: Interpena, 2011), hal. 183.
- ^ "JAWI's detention, arrest of Kassim Ahmad was illegal, court rules". 21 December 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ Nada sinis puisi era 60-an