Name: Mahat A/L China
Nick Name "Akiya"
Email: arekiya@gmail.com
Job Information
Address Institution/
Organization / Department of Broadcasting Organisasi/Jabatan Jabatan Penyiaran Malaysia.
Experience in Department of Broadcasting * as Radio DJ, Radio Producer Programe / Disc Jockey [DJ], Penulis Script Writer [Radio Drama] & News Presenter.
Mahat Biography Synopsis
Deep inside the cool, dark jungles of Perak in the year 1953 was born to an Orang Asli couple a first child who was destined to carry the message and banner of his people in ways yet unseen. They named him Mahat China but friends later gave him the nickname “Akiya”. As a child Mahat grew up with great responsibilities: being the eldest of a growing family, he was obliged to work in the rubber fields and collect rattan as well as assisting around the house with household chores and all sorts of sibling burdens which naturally go with the honor of a first born.
Due to these heavy family obligations, Mahat was not able to attend public school until the age of 10. But during that first decade, he was given the advantage of experiencing nature and survival techniques in a small village of an aboriginal tribe, The Semai (which is actually the largest Orang Asli Tribe in all of Malaysia). He learned the many survival skills of the laboring adult male members of the tribe and – at the same time - grew to appreciate the heavy burden of the Orang Asli women at home. However his broad background and early observations were even more impacted by stories……the stories his mother masterfully would recite to her children (and others) who discovered and enjoyed her ability at storytelling. She was one of the last expert “cermors”……. knowing the old tales, fables and myths of the aboriginal world and gifted to relay those in a compelling way to the new generation. Mahat was deeply touched and effected by the telling of these stories. He never forgot them and later would write them all down to preserve that tradition in a permanent form.
At the age of 16, in 1969, he entered secondary school; thus, moving his educational setting out of the jungle and into the town of Tepah where while attending that secondary school he was able to meld the inspiration of his mother’s “cermor” with the great influence of one of his Literature Teachers whose creative teaching brought to Mahat a lifetime interest in reading.
So with the storytelling influence now mixed together with the intense interest in literature and reading , Mahat began to wonder “WHY should outsiders be telling the stories of the Aboriginal (Orang Asli)……their lifestyles; their issues; their struggles; their history; their accomplishments……
He looked around; he read the published stories of His People…..but nothing seemed authentic, truly REAL. Over decades he searched for a voice which touched the core of Aboriginal Truth and spoke the Story of His People genuinely………..
And he found just that voice:
Mahat, himself, would be the VOICE for his People
….and this became a fundamental theme of his work and his life: the expression in story AND poetry of the Aboriginal People.
In fact Mahat has published books of short stories as well as poetry……..all speaking of the lives, trials, tribulations, achievements and survival of his people through so many centuries.
But along with his yearning for verbally expressing the “causes” of His People, he found in the year 1976 a couple additional passions: First was his marriage that has brought him much happiness and four wonderful children; the second passion he found in that year was photography.
In the ensuing timespan, Mahat has become an avid collector of photographic equipment and also a taker of photographic “moments”. He has been there at events of Orang Asli tribes and Orang Asli Families; he has pictured ordinary daily activities, ordinary living spaces, human tragedy, joy and celebration. He has become a master at capturing the whole Aboriginal Experience on film. He brings these to life for exhibitions beyond the Tribe, so that the outside world can view the truth and beauty of his personal life’s journey among his own.
Mahat is now retiring from his chosen field of Radio Broadcasting which he has enjoyed over 35 years……..speaking in his native language to uplift and educate so many Orang Aslis on the world outside as well as on events and happenings of a more local interest. At last he is free to write and “click” in celebration and loving portrayals of those places and those people of his heart…………always creating and always making the outside world more aware of Aboriginal Life and Aboriginal Issues.
Mahat likes to quote a wonderful saying; “WE MAY SEEM TO BE INDOLENT, LAZY, STUPID, IGNORANT, UNMOTIVATED AND MANIPULABLE…….BUT IN REALITY WE ARE SMART, INTELLIGENT, CAPABLE AND FULLY AWARE”
It is the mission of Mahat China aka Akiya to spend his life in the educating of the outside world on the Beauty of his People and in so doing to ensure the survival of his culture, language, history and traditions………….
Read him and understand; Listen to his poetry and feel his emotion; Look into the eyes of those he has photographed and see the deeply moving story of a People so Deserving of our Respect, Attention and Love………………
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth: 02 Januari 1953
Place of Birth: Kg.Erong, Ladang Ulu Bernam, Perak
Age: 58 year old
Orang Asli ( Semai Tribe) Male
Religion: None
Malaysian Citizen
Status: Married
Address:
41 Jalan PJU 8/7, Damansara Perdana, Desa Temuan
Bukit Lanjan, 47820 P.Jaya, Selangor, Darul Ehsan.
Bandar Petaling Jaya
Poskod 47820 Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Darul Ehsan.
No.tel. (Office) 03228827291/7802
No.tel. (Mobile) 0176783753
PUBLISTMENT
Name of the publisher
Group of Short Story of Orang Asli : Tuntut
ISBN 983-62-7243-7 DBP 2001
Perang Sangkil (Novel)
ISBN 983-192-1050 Fortuna
PTS, 2007
Perjuangan Warisan Orang Asli
Suara Dari Dalam (Poetry Book)
ISBN 978-967-5227-19-6 LESTARI
UKM 2009
