A LEGEND RETOLD

Ooi Kok Chuen revives the legendary Mahsuri in his book and thickens the plot behind her wrongful execution, writes Sulyn Chong

SCHOLAR counted 14 versions of the Mahsuri legend. What is going to be told is putatively Version No. 15,” writes Ooi Kok Chuen in the Preamble page of his book, Mahsuri A Legend Reborn.

This English novel version of the legend may probably be the longest one yet. The 257-page story weaves in historical facts that centres on the Langkawi Island and plays out a fantastical romance infused with war, lust and mystical intrigue.

“I’m hoping this book will do for Langkawi what Miguel Covarrubias has done for Bali in his book, The Island Of Bali,” Ooi says with a hopeful sparkle in his eyes.

The legend of Mahsuri has long been tied to the island of Langkawi, located just off the coast of Kedah. It tells a tale of a young woman, Mahsuri, who was unjustly executed for sins she didn’t commit. The accusations of adultery stemmed from Wan Mahura, the village chief’s wife and Mahsuri’s motherin-law, who was jealous of Mahsuri’s beauty. As she was sentenced to death without proper investigations, some said that white blood flowed from Mahsuri, proving her innocence. Before taking her last breath, she cursed the island for seven generations.

Allegedly, for seven generations after her death, Langkawi had seen misfortunes, with the Siamese devastating the island, while rice fields and granaries were completely set on fire by the villagers to halt advances from the invaders. Till today, traces of burnt rice can be found in Padang Matsirat (the field of burnt rice) and Langkawi’s economy suffered. It was only at the turn of the 20th Century that the curse was lifted.

Now, Langkawi is a popular tourist destination with lush green hills, white sandy beaches, and a booming resort population. How much of this legend is true, nobody knows, but historical events and nuances have somewhat given credence to the tale. Ooi Kok Chuen

OOI PEEPS Publishing

257 pages

MOCK MOVIE It’s these historical events that Ooi strengthens and bends further in his novel. Much of the book rides on the idea of “piggyback realism” which Ooi describes as “a fantasy that’s augmented and straddled on real events that has happened”.

From the slow depleting Malacca Empire, to the blood thirsty Siamese, and even royalty from Kedah, the story is cemented with historical facts that has been thoroughly researched. It may be a bit of an information overload for some readers, but overall, it gives a sound timeline that no other Mahsuri tale has ever given.

To write a story of this depth takes time and large amount of investigation. It’s been nine years since the first ideas were penned by Ooi for his book.

“Through the nine years, I must admit that many months were spent idle because I don’t have the discipline. But there was a lot of research done to come up with this book. I had to recce a lot of the places too, partly to develop ideas,” he explains.

Using his 34 years of journalistic experience, the rebirth of this legend is not only detailed historically with notable persons of interest, but also with geographical precision. Each scene that mentions a particular location in Langkawi, is filled with accurate details, something Ooi describes it as being “a mock movie, a movel, where visuals become textual”.

An example is his description of the flight of steps to reach Pulau Dayang Bunting called Tangga Seribu Kenangan (Steps Of A Thousand Memories) which he notes, has “more than 4,000 steps up to the peak, some 860m high”. When ask why the precise details, he answers: “When mentioning places, it needs con- text; it needs information instead of just mentioning it and leaving it as it is. It also gives places an ambient layering and that’s the beauty of writing. It adds to the whole story line.”

HIS MONA LISA

What pulls Ooi to rewrite a legend that has been written a thousand times over? “Maybe you can blame it on Mahsuri herself, for seducing me. But essentially, culturally, we Malaysians have a lot of nice stories but many, like Mahsuri’s story, is very thin. Giving it timber, resonance, more layering and nuances may revive what’s been forgotten. Hopefully it’ll regain its footing with the new generation who may not even know of its existence,” Ooi divulges.

To write a story with such complexity, it’s no surprise that he found himself stumbling along the way once in a while. One of his fears through the process is when he gets stuck in a writing cul de sac. “It’s the worst!” Ooi declares, before adding: “but I cure it by walking in cemeteries.”

An intriguing yet worrisome act to counter a writer’s block. “People always think that cemeteries are all ‘ying’, but actually, it’s a fantastic place where there’s a lot of energy. You just need to harvest it properly,” Ooi informs, before continuing: “I’m usually humbled yet inspired by it. There’s a collective wisdom surrounding all those people who’ve gone through life — seen it all, done it all. It gives me a fresh perspective.”

However, the main attraction to his book, or any book for that matter, is the cover. With Ooi’s roots in art writing, it comes as no surprise that he would commission a painter to put his textual portrayal of Mahsuri into drawing. “This is my Mona Lisa for my book,” he proclaims. The simple and innocent yet mature looking, intelligent and fair complexion beauty was painted by Kow Leong Kiang, a Grand Prize winner of the 1998 Asean Art Award.

“The whole appearance of Mahsuri is important to me, but the satisfaction of being able to finish the book and ‘solving’ the mystery of Mahsuri with seamless linkage in history as well as a plot of her lineage is a great achievement.”

su-lyn@nst.com.my