“Pagar makan padi" in early publications and manuscripts

October 21, 2020

The Malay phrase pāgar mākan pādi or

ڤاڬر ماكن ڤادي

can be found in R. J. Wilkinson's Malay-English Dictionary. On p. 449, Wilkinson wrote:

ڤاڬر pagar.
A fence; a palissade; a row of stakes or palings.
Pagar makan padi: the fence eats up the padi;
the precautions for diminishing loss eat up the profit. . .

Even though the example given (in a business context) is rather odd (since the phrase pāgar mākan pādi is normally used when ),

The English title of the book by Ozay Mehmet is Development in Malaysia: Poverty, wealth and trusteeship when it was published by Groom-Helm in 1986. The Malay title chosen for the book was it was translated was: Pagar makan padi!: Amanah, kemiskinan dan kekayaan dalam pembangunan Malaysia di bawah Dasar Ekonomi Baru. The Malay version of the book was published by INSAN in 1987.

Wilkinson's dictionary entry does, however, gives us a solid record on the fact that ڤاڬر (and not ڤڬر) is the subject of the Malay proverb, and also on how the spelling for word pāgar is handled about 100 years ago.

A Malay-English Dictionary by R. J. Wilkinson, published in 1901, by Kelly and Walsh Limited, Singapore, p. 449.

It is spelt with consonant p, long vowel ā, consonant g, and consonant r. So strictly speaking it ought to be pāgar and not pagar (and definitely not pĕgar, as asserted by the revisionists). Also, the short vowel a between g and r is not explicitly shown, it shows that the Arabic diacritical mark for short vowel a, Fatha َ◌, is not consistently employed in the Jawi spelling scheme.

The similar phrase (rendered as old Dutch spelling as: pagar djoega mĕmakan padi) can also in a Dutch papersee H. C. Klinkert (1866) Eenige Maleische spreekwoorden en spreeekwijzen, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië 13de Deel, [3e Volgreeks, 1e Deel], p. 40 and p. 58. published by H. C. Klinkert in 1866.

Page 40 (in Jawi script) and Page 58 (Romanized Malay with Dutch explanation) of H. C. Klinkert's Eenige Maleische spreekwoorden en spreeekwijzen. The English translation of the title of the Dutch paper is: Some Malay proverbs and speeches.

In classical Malay literature, the first known usage of the Malay proverb can be found in Hikayat Hang Tuah, where the word pagar is used as a derogatory reference to Hang Tuah, and padi is reference to the concubines in Sultan Melaka's palace. The story is distilled by in the following passage:

. . .All the officers of the court hate Hang Tuah and tells Pateh Kerma Wijaya he is “a fence eating the crop", an officer of the court who seduces the Raja's concubines. . .

For the full narrative of the story, we can consult Muhammad Haji Salleh's English translation of Hikayat Hang Tuah, which he published in 2010. Prof. Muhammad's translation on pp. 315 - 316 is reproduced as follows:

When they concluded their meeting, all the officials and loards proceeded to Patih Kerma Wijaya's residence. On their arrival, all of them cast their headdresses and keris down before him. His attention caught by this sudden demonstration.

Patih Kerma Wijaya asked: “Why are you all behaving in this manner My Lords? What is the reason for this?"

All the officials and lords replied, “What is the use of us being appointed officials, My Lord, when somebody commits an outrage in the palace and we stand there unable to act? Should thtere be any enemies now, surely we are they? What is the use of use standing guard day and night under His Majesty? What we have witnessed is as summed up in the proverbs of the Malays: The fence has devoured the crop. Event though we wish to bring our grievances to the ears of His Majesty, he will not listen to use; if we were to keep silent, tomorrow or the day after we shall bear this shame; so we have made it our resolve to inform Kiai Patih, for the Kiai is a great minister. As long as My Lord is aware of this matter, then at least you can bear witness to us."

As soon as he heard their grievances, Patih Kerma Wijaya asked, “Who dares to bring shame on this palace?"

They replied, “Who else greater than Hang Tuah who would dare commit such an act? Last night we were on guard in the courtyard of the palace it was then that we saw Hang Tuah talking to and flirting with a beloved concubine of His Majesty; we wanted to slay him at that very moment, but we were afraid that we would be found guilty by His Majesty, for Duli Yang Dipertuan loves him dearly and has bestowed countless gifts on him, and we may be thought to be envious of him."

Patih Kerma Wijaya then regurgitated the same complaints to the Sultan of Melaka, on p. 317:

The Patih bowed and said, “I bring Your Majesty words of treason. What is the use of us continuing to serve as your officials? One mere individual commits an outrage, and we are not able to kill; how shall we ever defeat Your Majesty's enemies and foes, as the adage of the Malays says, “The fence has devoured the crops!"

The Raja demanded greater clarification, “What do you mean, My Lord?"

Patih Kerma Wijaya replied, “O My Lord, last night we were on guard in the courtyards; there we saw a woman from the palace with the Laksamana. Your servants wanted to kill him, but we feared to do Your Majesty wrong, for Your Majesty places your entire trust in him; moreover he is chief over all of us."

However, the phrase was uttered only once, and it was used by Patih Kerma Wijaya, in p. 248 (Chapter 9: Hang Tuha bersuaka di Inderapura dan memikat Tun Teja) of Ahmat Adam's recent transliteration (based on Manuscript 23, University of Malaya Library. See also Or. 16215 in the British Library. Both the British Library copy (dated between 1828 to 1835) and the University of Malay Library copy are derived from the same parent manuscript):

. . . sekalian ke bawah Duli Yang Dipertuan. Hendak patik persembahkan pun patik takut kata orang banyak ke bawah Duli Yang Dipertuan. “Lihatlah Patih Karma Wijaya dengki akan seorang hamba Raja, melihat Duli Yang Dipertuan sangat kasih akan hambanya itu." Maka sebab itulah patik tiada berani berdatang sembah. Akan sekarang adalah seperti pantun orang, ‘pagar makan padi.'"

Setelah Raja Melaka mendengar Patih Karma Wijaya demikian itu, maka Raja pun terkejut seraya bertitah, “Si Tuhakah berbuat cabul akan kita?" Maka sembah Patih Karma Wijaya, “Hang Tuhalah Tuanku, bermain-main di dalam istana Duli Yang Dipertuan intu. Selama patik sudah lihat, patik hendak persembahkan patik takut." Maka sahut segala pengawai yang disembah Patih Karma Wijaya itu, “Sungguh Tuanku; ada patik melihat Hang Tuha itu berkata-kata dengan seorang perempuan di dalam istana Duli . . .

The same phrase is repeated twice in separate chapter (Chapter 14: Marga Paksa Tujuh Bersaudara Berada di Melaka, p. 380). This time, the sequence is similar to the narrative given by Muhammad Haji Salleh, i.e. first by the court officers to Patih Kerma Wijaya, then Patih Kerma Wijaya repeated the complaint to the Sultan of Melaka.

I do not have access to Manuscript 23 but the sister copy of the University of Library manuscript can be accessed easily since it has been digitized by the British Library, and the relevant passage is shown below: