Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Relationship between Literature & Politics in Selected Malay Novels

Fatin Najla Binti Omar, Sim Chee Cheang

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i12/6826

Open access

It cannot be denied that politics has a connection with the field of literature as politics is often a source of ideas and literature a "tool" to politicians especially in Malaysia. Baha Zain once said, "writers or literates often make politicians a screen to show their dreams. Politicians usually see writers as the dreamers who are like branches of life in a tree of more important matters"(1982: 3). When discussing the two areas, the socio-economic issues that spark the themes of creative work are inevitable. In general, fiction writers cannot escape the political, socio-economic environment of a country, especially in Malaysia. The more political the situation of a country, the more political the literary works becomes as they are used as a voice for the community to support or protest the socio-economic administration of a government. Thus, a society’s ideology and thoughts or expectations are often reflected in various genres of creative and flow works such as novels, short stories, poetry and drama. This research explores the relationship between literature and politics of Malaysia in the 1980sinparticular, the novel genre written by selected Malay authors in the mainstream Malay literature.