Love and Loss: The Malay Reserve Land Predicament in Malay Novels

Abstract

Malay Reserve Land is a topic that has been discussed less since COVID-19 hit the world. It is not just a simple issue about land and property; Malay Reserve Land is also a matter of Malay privilege in Malaysia. As a country with increasing pluralisation, diversification and practice of liberal economy, sustaining this special right is becoming a challenge. Historically, the practice of land possession in Malay customary law is strongly influenced by Islamic law. According to the teachings of Islam, real ownership belongs to Allah Almighty. However, after the British colonised Peninsular Malaysia for nearly 200 years, new land laws were endorsed to deal with the problems in land management that hindered their political and economic interest. Since then, the Malays have faced numerous problems to manage their special land. The following article, based on an indepth reading of the selected Malay novels, provides the various voices of love negotiating with hate and the feeling of loss. Data from newspapers and academic articles in the last 10 years have shown that the main issue is the decreasing size of Malay Reservation Land. The findings of the textual analysis reveal the authors’ voices of disenchantment in their novels related to the actual depletion of Malay Reserve Land throughout the 108-year-long journey.