Hey everyone..

In "Neighbours", Robert Raymer gives us a view of the "dark side" of Malaysians. Seems quite the opposite from the adverts that tend to pop out in TV. Take Mrs. Koh for example. She's so unwilling to help her neighbours-and instead of showing any sympathy to her neighbour's current predicament, she only crititizes them, pointing out only the bad things. The rest are qiute much the same, probably. Some are very sympathetic while others are just "innocent bystanders". But in the end, no-one attempted to tell Veronica about what befell her husband.

Is this the true image of Malaysia's people? To me, the answer is- not really. "Neighbours" is an intepretation of typical Malaysian life-to a certain extent, or, rather completely, it is true. There are some people who care about their neighbours, and some don't seem to care at all (like Mrs. Koh-a bad example of a neighbour if you ask me!)

Here, the main concern of the story is how we actually treat our neighbours and how we are supposed to treat them. In reality, our neighbourhood culture (is there a better word to describe it?) is far from perfect, but not entirely without its positive points.

Oh yes, I'm still learning Literature for now, but here's my view on what Neighbours is all about.

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When in doubt, consult God!

For those taking SMP literature this year, here are the questions from last year that a student passed on to me.

(a) Why did Ramli say that Johnny had it too easy?

(b) How does Mrs. Koh contribute to the idea of being neighbours?

(c) One of the joys of reading literature is for enjoyment. How has the writer contributed to your enjoyment? Support your answer with close references to the text.

I hope they are helpful, as many of the postings listed here, to make you think more about the story, the characters, and all that's really going on in the story.

Good luck with your SPM! For those taking the exam this year, please pass on the questions to help others focus their attention by either posting it here or emailing me via my website:

http://www.borneoexpatwriter.com/

Also, from an earlier post here, here's the link to The Story Behind the Story of "Neighbours", which I recently revised:

http://thestorybehindthestoryoflsr.blogspot.com/2009/06/neighbours-story-behind-story-of-lovers.html

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www.BorneoExpatWriter.com

Chan-Kong,
Sorry for my slow reply! Ah, but you missed so much, which is why you should read it again! The irony of it all. The ending was described to me by a US editor and a long time resident of Malaysia as "a killer ending" and it's that ending that brings relevance to the story, where through their talk they show that they really don't know their neighbour very well nor do they really care.

Mrs. Koh, the busybody who makes it her business to know everyone else's business, has the ironical line, "It's none of my business!" The whole story of them coming together to gossip and then disappear at the end because they don't want to get invloved is typical, too. That is the story! This is what makes the story work, which is why it has been published in several countries, including in the US, and why it's being taught, not just in SMP but also in several universities.

By the way, "Neighbours" is part of my collection of short stories, Lovers and Strangers Revisited, which is nominated for the POPULAR-The Star Readers Choice Awards 2009. Please cast a vote for me at any Popular or Harris Bookstore before 15 July 2009! Thanks!

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www.BorneoExpatWriter.com