Obituary from home: Pramoedya Ananta Toer

The news of the death of great Indonesian writer seemed to be overshadowed by the workers’ mass rally on the following day. He used to pick up arms to fight for our independence. He used to use his ink to pen the injustice, the wrong things that we have committed as a nation. But instead of proper recognition, he was jailed, exiled until 1970s because the government then was too sensitive to his critiques. But strange as it is, most of his great literary works were written during his exile at Pulau Buru.

I have never read any single novels of his, but I got to know about Pak Pram through the interviews in the media and the ideas that he stand for in some books. “Hoakiaw” (means Chinese immigrant), and “Rasialisme Anti-Tionghoa dan Percobaan Menjawabnya” are only two of his works that served as a testament to his efforts to fight against the injustice and prejudice that the state imposed on the Chinese Indonesian. I have not read the book, but from the excerpt of the book that is discussed in the media, I am shocked at the complexity of his thoughts, his sympathy for the Chinese and in fact, because of that he was exiled.

He deserved to be called the great sastrawan (artist) of Indonesia. I believe that he deserve a place equal to that of the late Nurcholis Madjid or commonly known as Cak Nur. Both of them were the informal leaders of the society, unofficially looked up by the masses for advice, for information and enlightenment. Pak Pram is able to illustrate vividly the conditions faced by the people from time to time and in short, the journey of our big nation.

He had known no fear. Despite his exile and home arrest, they do not make him slown down, less critical and bow down before the government’s pressure. Instead he kept on writing as he once mention, “I write what I like to write.”

Pak Pram’s literary skill is undeniable. His skill is acknowledged by many foreigners. His works are published in more than 20 languages. He does not ask fro the state to recognize, give him award and live on government stipend. Many of his peers, like Mochtar Lubis, Taufik Ismail and Gunawan Mohamad recognized the superior quality of his works. The most important thing for him, as he said, is not whether the government will reward his work, but rather for his art works to gain acceptance and appreciation ffrom the Indonesian.

The death of Pak Pram is not a mere loss for the Indonesian society, but I believe that it is also a loss for the Chinese Indonesian. He spared a thought for the Chinese under the risk of being branded a communist. He did write an article to fight the racism because he thinks that it is the right thing to do.

Pak Pram, your may have passed away, but your works, ideas and contribution for the Chinese community shall never fade away.