What event was this?

Whos in the
circle?
Tunku
AbdulHe was a great
Rahman
fighter who had
fought really hard
to achieve
independence for
Tanah Melayu.
He is called the
Father of
Independence
(Bapa
Kemerdekaan)
He was
Malaysias first
Lieutenant Adnan Bin
Saidi
He was one of the
soldiers who
fought the
Japanese army in
Malaya during
World War II.
He was killed
while fighting the
Japanese army at
the age of 27.
 rights of the
Aung San Suu Kyi
people of
Myanmar.
In 1990, her
political party
won the 1990
election.
However, the
Myanmars
military Junta
detained her in
her own house for
15 years. She was
fully released in
 These people are fighters for the
independence of their own country.
 A Fighters Lines
by Marzuki Ali
Luahan hati seorang pejuang
 What is the poem about?
Whos the persona in the poem?
The persona in this poem is a
veteran fighter / soldier / war
hero
The persona had fought for our
countrys independence.
The persona urges the younger
generation to continue fighting for
their countrys independence.
Stanza 1
I am old and worn

I am old and tired

Who is I in this line?

I is a veteran fighter / a war hero /
a soldier
Why is I tired?
I had fought really hard for his
countrys independence.
and have lost all my
strength
I am weak

Why is the persona weak?

The persona is weak because
he is old and tired
he was badly injured from the war
he became disabled from the war
sufferings
I had suffered a lot of
difficulties when I fought
for the countrys
independence
and the history of the fight for
independence
have forced sacrifices
that know no name
1) The persona explains that the war
or life
for independence sacrificed many
lives.
2) The fight for independence have
forced the persona to make
sacrifices.
What were the sacrifices that the
persona had to make?
)The persona had to sacrifice his
youth, strength, soul, energy and
Stanza 2
from the wheelchair of the rest of
my days
The word wheelchair tells us that
the persona is weak and crippled.

I, body and energy crushed

see and cannot do much
I am weak and crippled. I do not have
energy and strength to contribute to
the country as much as I want to.
these times are too big a challenge
The persona realises that the threats faced
by his country are now a different nature.

What kind of challenge did the persona

face when he was young?
He had to fight for his countrys
freedom from the colonizer like the
British, the Japanese army and the
Communists.
What kind of threats or challenges does
our country face today?
Corruption / The abuse of power /
for the remnants of my crippled
years

remnants: bits and pieces of the personas

life (saki-baki kehidupan persona)

my crippled years: the persona is now

living as an old and weak person (hari-hari
tua persona)

The meaning of this line:

Even though the persona is worried about
the challenges faced by his country, he is
too old and weak to do anything.
the net of deceit spread
everywhere
disturbs me
deceit:
lie (penipuan)
dishonesty (ketidakjujuran)
betrayal (pengkhianatan)
corruption / abuse of power (salah
guna kuasa/rasuah)

The meaning of this line:

The net of deceit disturbs and
worries the persona.
Stanza 3
In the name of justice
Wake up and form ranks sons of our
ancestors
Be brave
1. justice:
And erect fairness (keadilan)
a wall of people
2. ancestors:
Stand forefathers
up heirs of our freedom (nenek
moyang)
3. heirs of our freedom: the younger
generation (anak merdeka)
4. erect - build
5. form ranks / erect a wall of people /
stand up
the younger generation must unite
regardless of their age, gender, race
and religion
We must stay unite to protect Malaysias
freedom!

ERECT A WALL
OF PEOPLE! STAND
FORM UP!
RANKS!
Stanza 4
I have no more voice
I am old and weak. I do not have the
energy to speak.

It is you now who should speak!

1. It is now the younger generations

turn to protect the freedom of
their country.
2. The younger generation must
speak for their rights.
 What can we learn from the
poem?
We must love our country.
We must appreciate the fighters
sacrifices in achieving independence
for our country.
We have to respect each other
regardless of our age, gender, race
and religion.
We must stay unite in order to
protect the freedom of our country.
 A Fighters Lines
Marzuki Ali was born in 1945 in Terengganu, Malaysia. He was brought up
in Kemaman and later Sabah. He has been writing poems since the 1960's.
His poems mostly deal with issues regarding his hometown, environment
and patriotism. A lot of his poems have been published in theUtusan
Malaysia,Berita Minggu,Dewan SasteraandDewan Budaya.

Synopsis of the poem

The persona in the poem is an old soldier. He is tired as he is old and weak.
He and his people suffered in the past in their fight for freedom of their
country and they made many sacrifices. People lost their lives and some
remain nameless or unknown.
The persona, who believes that he will be in the wheelchair for the rest his
life says he can only watch the happenings around him. Physically, he is
helpless and he has no energy left. He was either seriously injured when he
was a soldier or is very ill. He finds that times have changed and being a
crippled man, it is too challenging for him to fight the injustice he sees
around him. He is troubled by many lies being told everywhere.
Being highly spirited, he calls on the younger generation to wake up and
fight on. They have to realise that they have to form lines or ranks
irrespective of racial, religious and social differences to fight courageously
for justice. He wants the young people who inherited the country's freedom
to be united and denounce lies which may threaten the country.
The persona feels helpless that he is not heard. He urges the younger
generation to fight or speak up for what is right because it is now their turn
 The Setting
The poem is set after indenpence. The persona feels that the independence he has struggled for is
now threatened by subversive elements.
Tone and mood
In the first stanza, the tone indicates that the persona is sad and weary because he is old and
weak. The persona is also melancholic, reflecting on his past sacrifices he made for the country's
independence.
In the second stanza, the persona voices his helplessness, anger and contempt because his
country is facing threats.
The tone used in the third stanza is serious and demanding. The persona urges the present
generation to form a united front to uphold the freedom that he and many others has fought for.
The persona ends by insisting that the younger generation continues to fight against injustice
because he can no longer do so.
Themes
1. PatriotismPatriotism is one of the themes of this poem. The people in this country have made a
lot of sacrifices to fight for their freedom. They have achieved independence but now there are
other threats such as deceit. This affects the country's safety. The persona calls on the younger
generation to fight for justice and to speak up against deceit.
2. Being courageousAnother theme is being courageous. In the past, people made many sacrifices
and fought bravely with the country's enemies for their freedom. Now, the persona urges the
younger generation to be brave and fightagainstother threats in the country. He tells them to
stand up and speak with courage.
3. UnityIn the past, people were united when they fought for independence. Now, the persona
emphasises that the younger generation who has inherited a free country should unite to preserve
their freedom. They should stand united by building a wall of people or forming ranks irrespective
of racial, religious and other social differences. The "lines" in the poem, A Fighter's Lines refer to
the persona's lines and the lines or ranks formed for unity. We have to be united and strong as in
the saying, "United we stand, divided we fall".
 Values
1. We must be brave to uphold justice.The persona urges the younger
generation to stand up against the widespread lies which are rampant
in society today. This 'net of deceit' worries his as it can destroy the
solidarity of the people. Therefore, he urges them to stand united and
uphold justice to preserve the freedom and safety of the country.
2. We must be willing to make sacrifices to preserve our
independence.In the fight for independence, the persona and other
soldiers sacrificed and risked their lives when they fought for
independence. Now, he is wheelchair-bound because he was either
crippled in the war or is now old and sick. Now, he wants the younger
generation to make sacrifices too to preserve their freedom.
3. We must be united to preserve our freedom.The persona wants the
younger generation to stand united regardless of their differences to
ensure their freedom.