In The Tower (Menara in Malay), Isa Kamari, a modern Singaporean novelist writing in Malay, explores the postcolonial and cultural dimensions of identity within the Malay ethnic group in Singapore. Using magical realism, the novel delves into the ethnic dilemmas faced by Malays in a multicultural society, framed by the tension between the ‘Ethnic Group’ and the ‘State’. The core of the narrative is the architect's internal journey with his creation, the tower, which becomes a symbol of his vision, conflict, and eventual collapse. The concept of kampung represents the impact of material progress on spiritual and cultural values. Politically, the ‘flower of evil’ (defective governance) exacerbates conflicts between ethnic and political beliefs. In postcolonial terms, the clash between mainstream ideology inherited from colonial rule and the individual yearning for cultural autonomy plunges individuals into existential division, prompting a re-examination of the self. This study examines how Kamari re-imagines architecture as both a material and psychological construct, with the architect's creation symbolising internal and cultural conflict. Drawing on postcolonial theories, in particular Ashis Nandy's ‘internalised’ colonialisation and Homi K. Bhabha's ‘hybridity’ and ‘third space’, the research highlights how the mainstream ideology takes over ethnic traditions, contributing to spiritual struggles and reflecting broader postcolonial tensions. Through textual analysis, this study demonstrates how Kamari, by the architect's creation of the tower, explores metaphors of spiritual existence, cultural negotiation, and the pursuit of authentic self within modern political framework. Ultimately, the novel suggests an unresolved existential question — ‘To be or not to be?’ — as the postcolonial dilemma in contemporary Singapore, seeking reconciliation between space, ethnicity, politics, and identity.
Wang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.