Friday, January 18, 2008

Adoi laa...where have I been all this time?

Uhuhu... now only I've got to be in here.

Been away for so long, now stuck in the middle of an unwanted situation.



Been reading an interesting entry from a fellow blogger (click here). About Natasha Hudson's so-called attempt at literature... yeah right... and just reading the translated part of it just want to make me go ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing)... forgive me if if were being too cynical, but the translation... I mean, the Malay version of the words is enough to convince me that it doesn't sound original. Imagine my surprise when Jannah Raffali had compiled along THE ORIGINAL version of the poem. Aiyoh... makan sesama diri??! Why don't you just said, "I want to eat you in my bed?" That'll save a lot of problems.

To be honest, how easy is it for anyone of us to write a poem... or better still, writing rhyming lines? I still struggle with it until today, knowing that different readers have different perceptions towards written works. Just to get that message across is pretty painful enough, what's more with getting the right words to get it done right.... Anyway, I'm not trying to say that I'm smarter than Natasha Hudson, but just want to explain what it is all about.

Translated works are okay, as long as you credit the original author(s). But copying it word by word, then passes it off as your own? That's 'kucing tiru' (copycat) la gurl.. plagiarism in plain and simple words. Yes, it is undeniable that Malaysian writing scene is not that flourishing enough, but there are avid readers out there. I don't know whether it was her plain ignorance or laziness that prompted her to do so, but that is going to be a very bad message you're sending to the kids, especially those who inspire of becoming writers in the future.

Hurm, I guess I should review all my works first... just to make sure that I don't just 'cedok' from those concerned....