| Abstrakt: |
This article arises from observations of scholarly corpus on Abdullah Munsyi who is often touted as the "Father of Modern Malay Literature". Several interpretive orientations become evident from the corpus extant particularly as they pertain to the recognition of Abdullah Munsyi's "modernity", and the role played by the West in this recognition. Alongside these orientations are the polemics that surround Abdullah Munsyi's suitability of the title. Given these interpretive orientations, the article argues that the history of Western intellectual development played a significant role in understanding Abdullah Munsyi's position in the history of Malay literature and culture. This article thus strives to map Western discourses on Abdullah Munsyi's "modernity", as well as identify the key idea that informs the discourses. The article has cogently mapped Secularism and Modernism as discourses that first emerged in the West, and which have continued to surround debates on Abdullah Munsyi's "modernity" till this day. Such mapping allows for identification of the key idea that underpins the discourses, namely scepticism towards religions especially the religious authority that endows the title "Father of Modern Malay Literature" to Abdullah Munsyi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
