COLLEGE OF CREATIVE ARTS

CAAD241 (GRAPHIC DESIGN)

SEMESTER OCTOBER 2023- FEBRUARY 2024

ADE491- CARTOON AND CARICATURE STUDIES

ASSIGNMENT 3-

CARTOON ANALYSIS-” TIMUR BAGI TIMUR” OLEH S. B. ALLY DALAM

WARTA MALAYA, 17 FEBRUARI 1938.

NAME: HAZIQ NAZMI BIN SAMSUL HISHAM

STUDENT ID: 2022821942

PREPARED FOR: MADAM JULIANA BINTI MANAN

SUBMITION DATE: 21 DECEMBER 2023

Analysis

he artwork above is called “Timur Bagi Timur." This art was created by S. B. Ally in

Warta, Malaya, on February 17, 1938. In this artwork, we can see two sides of the colonizer.

The people who sit at the table are the East Asian leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and a

Japanese woman leader, while on the right of the cartoon are the West colonizers.

The dialogues written for the east and the west are written in Jawi script. The title that

was written in the center of the cartoon said Timur Bagi Timur, or East for East. The west

said, “Dia orang makan nasi gorenglah!” (They are eating fried rice!). Then, Gandhi started

to ask the Japanese leader, “Sahabat-sahabat kita itu mengapa master tidak jemput?” (Why

did not you invite our friends, Master?). After that, the Japanese replied to Gandhi by saying,

“Dia orang sudah kenyang dah!” (They are already full.).

This piece is a satire and criticism of Bangsa Asing. "Dia orang sudah kenyang dah!"

(They are already full.) It can be claimed that western invaders such as the British, Dutch,

and Portuguese had already taken so much from Tanah Melayu at the time. To elaborate, the

Portuguese were the first European power to arrive in our country. In the early 16th century,

they began to take over Malacca. Malacca was formerly one of the busiest trading ports in the

world. However, it was taken over by the Portuguese, who imposed severe taxes and

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monopolies on some goods. In addition, the British also “eat” our natural resources,

especially tin. Tin mining is the most famous mining activity in Tanah Melayu, but sadly, it

was fully controlled by the British during their colonial era. In the early 20 th century, Tanah

Melayu was one of the world’s leading producers of tin. That is the reason why, in the

drawing, the Japanese leader said that all the Westerners had already taken so many things

from our land. In this caricature, the artist states his support for the Japanese.

Cartoons and caricatures were employed in Warta Jenaka to represent Malay views

about external threats from the colonizer, in particular. At the period, Malays felt the need to

express themselves, which contributed to the creation of new forms of public opinion via the

newspaper in order to broaden the public's understanding of the current situation in Malaya

and Singapore. All of the colonizer's critique through cartoons demonstrates that Malays at

the period were well aware of the fate of Malay peoples, particularly in terms of the

colonizer's power over the economy. At that moment, Malay society was fully aware of the

outside world. They believed in cosmopolitanism. At the same time, they were concerned

about the aspects of modernism that were beginning to penetrate the Malay mind. Many

people blamed the West. There was a lot of snarks in there. Cartoons in journals such as

Warta Jenaka depicted problems such as the representation of Western culture and

modernism.

In conclusion, cartoons can be a medium to express our feelings, and through art, we

can also spread awareness about certain issues in our society. For evidence, cartoons have

been used since before Malaysia gained independence by the artists to create awareness. Art

is a powerful tool to manipulate people's minds, and it is not only for aesthetic purposes. As

Malaysians, we should appreciate cartoons, and our previous generations also had a really

hard time during the colonization eras.

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Reference

Propaganda Jepun Di Tanah Melayu – TahuTuai. (n.d.). https://tahutuai.com/propaganda-

jepun-di-tanah-melayu/

Peranan seni kartun, Majalah Warta Jenaka 1936-1938 - BASKL. (2022, April 15).

https://baskl.com.my/peranan-seni-kartun-majalah-warta-jenaka-1936-1938/

‌Penjajahan Jepun di Tanah Melayu. (2021, December 5). Wikipedia.

https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penjajahan_Jepun_di_Tanah_Melayu