Theories of Literary Criticism in A New Years Day Lunch in Kia Peng by Karim Raslan

A New Years Day Lunch in Kia Peng is Written by Karim Raslan, a Malaysian writer. This story is about a widows, Cik Bainun, celebrates New Year with her family. Throughout this story, it is developed by the story on the preparation of the New Years Day Lunch, Cik Bainuns children, and the problem of the family after the death of Cik Bainuns husband, Raja Zulkarnain. The text is very complex and it is suitable only for adults because it contain a lot of controversial plot. It is also suitable for adult because it contains a lot of real life problem that only adults understand about it.

The theory of criticism that I will elaborate is the social criticism. Family of Cik Bainun is close related to the royal family, that is Sultan Selangor, and corporate family. His husband, Raja Zulkarnain is a former of Director-General in Ministry of Transport. After the retirement, he was appointed to be the Chairman in Board of McMurtie Estates Berhad. He became more influence and their house visited with more people that most of them will be the guest of their New Years Day Lunch every year. But, his influence is not permanent. As he became older, the people that come to the house seeking for help and so on become lesser. At this point, for me, the influence of someone in this corporate business is an important things to other people. When you are popular, everyone will seek you and using you as their booster in their business. When you are not anymore, you will be abandoned in this field.

Raja Zulkarnain is a firm man with a firm attitude when he is alive. During his life, their house and their neighbourhood will never be touched by the estate owner or the estate agent. Everybody fear him. There was once he chase off an agent with a pitch fork. After he died, even their house garden were torn up. Cik Bainun, a woman incharge of the house cannot defend the house like his husband. Here I can

say that, a woman as not respected and feared by the people even they have become as firm as possible.

Nevertheless, Cik Bainun is a strong person inside. This is shown during his husband. She was not crying as a normal people will do. In our society, a lot of people will be so sad and cry whenever their love one died. The society will be wird about this. Actually in Islam, it is not. Islam even said that, if you love someone, do not cry infront of him during his death. The soul will not be in peace. Same goes here, Cik Bainun actually practising it that is not understand by the society, especially her own daughter in law, Mei Mei , who is a muallaf.

Raja Zulkarnain and Cik Bainun have three children, two daughter, Mahani and Meriam, and a son, Raja Kamarul. Every one of them, have their problem. Mahanis husband have a second wife. He married the woman with the excuse to avoid having an illegal sex relationship zina. Nevertheless, Mahani also have his secret with Din, her cousin. This bring me the idea of a marriage with no trust and religion knowledge of polygamy will end up chaos like this. They cheating on each other. The main purpose of marriage is broken into pieces.

Meriam also have problems with his husband that cheats on her. The story of her husband, Shahrir, revealed by his own brother, Raja Kamarul or Kam at the last paragraph of the story. Shahrir have an affair with an English lecturer and to make thing worst, she got pregnant and she abort the baby. Kam know about this and use this as a blackmail to Shahrir. Not only he wants to tell to Meriam, he will also telling Cik Bainun about this. Shahrir have to follow the order from Kam so that their secret will not be revealed. This brings the idea of how a person who wants something, can do anything to achieve it. This can be apply on Shahrir that lower his dignity just to cover up his secret.

Kam, is an architect who is selfish and ambitious. He was so spoiled because Cik Bainun really pampered him since he is the only son of the family. He is so

ambitious that he can manipulate others weaknesses very intelligently, like what he did to Shahrir. This bring me ideas of Marxism on how lower class people were exploited by higher class people to achieve their goal. For Kam, everything is about money. He have the money, and he can control people the way he wanted. The goal that he wants to achieve is to build a condominium out of his own family house. The sisters will certainly not agree with it. Then he saw Shahrirs secret as an opportunity for him. He wants Sharir to persuade his wife, Meriam to convince Mahani about Kams plan.

The New Years Day lunch was brought by Raja Zulkarnain to his family after seeing the benefit of it during his study in England. It was not inherited by the family traditions nor the religious practice. For him, this lunch can developed a repo relationship among his family. But actually, the repo relationship was only portrayed during his live. After his death, the traditions goes on, but the repo vanished. All of them come with full of envy, secret, and hatred among each other. This carry out the idea of structuralism and post-structuralism. The father wants to construct the family with a tradition but it is actually deconstruct the family relationship between others.

A New Years Day Lunch in Kia Peng is a good story on how the high rank people lives. Society thinks they are happy but the real situation is against it. It reveals a lot of real problem in the high class family.

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