Institut Teknologi Bandung

Leila began her presentation by conveying her perspective and view on the history of the New Order period. According to her, ITB itself has an important role in the upheaval of the New Order. "This 'Laut Bercerita' novel is a reality which then interpreted into a fiction," began Leila.

This novel is a new universe that was inspired by a true story. She then continued to tell the snippet of a conversation that happened between two of the characters in her novel, that is the message from Kasih Kinanti to Biru Laut. It is said that Biru Laut is a student who has just been tortured and arrested during an intense period. This event is his first experience. At that point, Kasih Kinanti tells Laut that everything we do for this nation is very important, even if it is only one or two steps. That sentence itself is a very memorable thing for Leila.

As a generation that doesn't have a firsthand experience of the New Order, she advised the students to try to understand this era by reading her novel. This is important to make sure that the same thing would never happen again. As said before, this novel is inspired by a true story. The characters and its plot came from real people who existed during that era. "I then mashup this into a new universe," she added.

This novel, said that Trent University graduate, also tells a story of when the activists were being arrested and tortured. The root of this problem is also told in her novel as a flashback. During the PDI conflict in the year 1996, some students who were members of the PRD became the scapegoats for the 27 July attack on the PDI office. Some even became a fugitive and only got arrested in 1998. She did not write the exact chronology, but only the background on this issue.

"Laut Bercerita" started with the birth of Biru Laut. In 2008, Nezar Patria, an alumnus of Law Faculty UGM wrote his detailed testimony on his kidnapping and arrest. His writing was published in TEMPO magazine in February 2008, this event prompt Leila to write this novel. This Biru Laut character is a fictional character based on the story of Nezar, Waluya Jati, and her imagination.

This writing process continued to 2013 after she released another novel, "Pulang", in 2012. She also interviewed Nezar multiple times. Not only Nezar, but she also interviewed other arrest victim such as Mugiyanto Sipin and Rahardja Waluya Jati. In her interviewing process, Leila realized that the victim's family was also impacted by those arrests, so Leila also interviewed some of the family victims. In addition to that, she also interviewed the Head of PRD at that time, Budiman Sudjatmiko.

The intense pressure during that period made Leila uneasy when writing this novel. To handle this, Leila sometimes slips humor in her writing, even when her humor is often dark. During the writing process, Leila admitted that it is very hard to write the family part. The 'motherly nature' that she has makes writing this novel difficult.

"Laut Bercerita" itself has been made into a short movie. This short movie was produced by Dian Sastrowardoyo Foundation and Cineria Films. This movie was directed by Pritagita Arianegara. In ending her presentation, Leila quoted a line from Sutardji Calzoum Bachri poem, "Matilah engkau Mati/Kau akan lahir berkali-kali". This line is the core of this whole novel. From the beginning of the novel, Biru Laut – in line with his name, is a character who was sunk in the bottom of the ocean, but until now we still hear his voice and the voices of his friends.

Reporter: Kevin Agriva Ginting (Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering ITB, 2020)
Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)