Loads of translation

1. For obvious reasons the State Council’s decision on “a temporary expediency” was not a satisfactory arrangement either to the Superintendent Monopolies or to the Legal Adviser (L.A.). In a letter to the Adviser, the L.A. stated that it had entailed undue delay. He noted that my father was burning the candle at both ends.

2. In his letter, the L.A. enclosed a statement showing a list of Enactments and rules which awaited drafting (see below). He pointed out that some of the 27 items on the list need to be translated very urgently and noted that the list would certainly continue to be added to.

LIST

1. Stamp.

2. Government Officers’ Guarantee Fund.

3. Rides.

4. Reciprocal Judgments.

5. Pension.

6. Hospitals (Estate)

7. Perlis Sharaiah

8. Insolvency

9. Land.

10. Rules under “Courts Enactment”.

11. Wild Animals and Game.

12. Christian Marriage.

13. Labour Code.

14. Criminal Procedure Code.

15. Penal Code.

16. Customs.

17. Excise.

18. Bull and Cock Fighting.

19. Lunatics.

20. Chinese Marriage and Interstate Succession.

21. Prison Rules.

22. Evidence Ordinance.

23. Arbitration.

24. Dangerous Drugs.

25. Motor Cars.

28. Forest.

27. Minors (especially Mohammedans and Chinese)

3. Due to the urgency of the matter, the State Council in October 1923 decided on the secondment of the “Translator of Enactments” temporarily to the L.A.’s office to assist him in the translation work. Later he was appointed Assistant to the L.A. The loads of translation were enormous. Translation work was also done at home to cope with the load. This was evident in his memo dated 15 September, 1932 to the L.A. It read:

I shall be much obliged if you will be good enough to forward the attached bill to the Under Secretary for payment of my remuneration for translations therein detailed. This work was done at home. I am entitled to payment of a personal fee at the rate of $1/- per folio in accordance with the decision in S.C. 374/49 but I am charging Government only 75 cents per folio.

4. The bill was for his translation of notes of evidence in Criminal Case No. 1 of 1351 and notes of evidence in Criminal Case No. 2 of 1351. He charged the Government $193.50 for the work and was paid in full.

5. He had most of the translations to his credit. For instance, the translation of Criminal Procedure Code which was done by a committee of three took 25 days to accomplish. The members of translation committee were “Che Merican, Che Kassim and Che Hanafi.” The Acting L.A. in a letter to the Adviser dated 3 July, 1933 recommended that bonuses be paid to the three of them. Note his remarks:

… In addition to his labours as a member of translation committee, Che Merican was responsible for the original translation of the Code and of the Courts Amendment Enactment. He voluntarily came back from leave to do this translation and accomplished it in 25 days. During those 25 days he worked at considerable pressure and frequently worked overtime.

... I would suggest that $400 be paid to Che Merican and $200 each to Che Kassim and Che Hanafi. …

6. I believe that besides Enactment etc. re the list above, there are numerous other translations that he had done during his time working either as Assistant to the L.A. or Office Assistant at the L.A.’s office for almost 14 years. The enactments and rules he translated that I have mentioned previously are from official files that I was able to find in the National Archives of Malaysia. Other documents pertaining to his translation work might have been lost with the passing of time. Suffice it to say that for fourteen years “… M.I.M. Noordin was responsible for the translation of hundreds of enactments and it was said that few knew more about the laws of Kedah than he.”*

* Khoo Salma Nasution. The Chulia in Penang. Penang: Areca Books, 2014.

to be continued