Jalaini Abu Hassan: Catan Sopan is a modest book of poetry and paintings, published by RogueArt in 2022. While Jalaini, or “Jai” as he is more fondly known, has long been recognised as a leading painter and art educator, and also for bringing together narratives of the traditional and contemporary Malay world, Catan Sopan is the first publication of his poetry. Seven poems, seven canvas paintings, and seven watercolours by Jai are brought together in this bilingual book to produce powerful commentary on Malay politics and society now.

He describes this project: “As a hybrid form of expression, my new body of work called Catan Sopan (2022) combines poetry and painting using Malay fables and allusions in addressing contemporary socio-cultural, political narratives. As poetry, it functions in a variety of ways – as a form of storytelling, as social realist critique and expression, and as a reflexive monologue supporting the visual agenda of the paintings. It is directed toward a subtle criticism in the manner of the Malay sopan (courteous) approach.”

The poems, written in Malay, have been translated into English by renowned poet and masterful translator, National Laureate Muhammad Haji Salleh, to preserve the artistic/poetic essence of the work for a wider readership.