The Native as Detective
A Yellow Sleuth. The Autobiography of Nor Nalla.
1.r is sufficiently remarkable to find an Oriental native of t he humblest origin writing a book in English ; all the more so, therefore, when it displays such a sense of narrative and virility as does this autobiography. The now de plume under which the author writes will be acknowledged as apt by all who speak the language of Malaya, and, although he has obviously been assisted in the literary part of his task by an Englishman, his stories arc told in language so extravagant its to leave no doubt in the mind of the reader as to their Oriental origin. Writing of a London restaurant, for example. lie says : "I had, of course, seen such places before, though none perhaps so blatantly bedizened with exotic ornamenta- tion, but this was the first time I had ever entered one as a customer. . . ." He also uses such words as "onoma- topoeic," although for this he surely must have been indebted to his - English adviser.
The story of his life reveals the author as a man with an uncanny flair for the detection of crime and the unravelling of mystery. Born of a Malay father and a Sakai mother (the Sakais are forest-dwellers, and one of the lowest living races in existence—even the Malays call a Sakai an Orang Utan, or forest man), he managed in the first fifteen years of his life to mix with and to assimilate the language of Malays, Sakais, Chinese, Javanese, and Tamils, and appears to have been able to pass for a member of any one of these peoples at will. It is not surprising, therefore, that he found his metier in the Detective Branch of the Federated Malay States Police, and the account in this volume of some of his experiences is a most thrilling and original narrative.
Some of the adventures appear to be so far-fetched as to be impossible ; that, for instance, of the man who was seized by a crocodile in mid-stream and taken in its mouth to its lair—but who managed to escape alive ; nevertheless we believe it is entirely true. The author's exploits extend not only to Malaya, but to France and England, and from our knowledge of all three countries we can say that his details, as to places, countries and peoples, cannot be questioned as regards accuracy.
Previous page
