The Malaysian iconic rock singer Amy Search talks to theSun his business venture. Read the full story here
Headline : More Labels to His Name
By Bissme S
MALAYSIAN rock icon Amy Search will be strutting his stuff to a different tune come April 2 – and the singer is all excited about the upcoming event. Amy, whose real name is Suhaimi Abdul Rahman, will be taking to the catwalk at the Asia Islamic Fashion Week event at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. “This will not be my first time walking the runway,” says Amy who hails from Johor Baru.
In the past, renowned Malaysian designers had used this legendary icon to promote their clothes. But this event will be different for him as it will be the first time Amy will be showcasing his own label and wearing his own designs.
Four years ago, the singer took his first steps into the fashion world after noticing that vendors at the local night markets were selling replicas of the high songkoks that he used to wear in his concerts, and calling them Amy Search Songkok. That inspired him to start his own line of songkoks. Last year, he took an even bigger step by producing a series of jubahs which sold like hot cakes.
“It was not only the men who were wearing my jubahs,” Amy recalls.
“Even the women were wearing them! My jubah has become a popular [unisex] fashion wear. It was great to see people wearing the designs I had created.”
For the coming event on April 2, Amy will be showcasing seven different designs of menswear under his label, General Products by Amy Search.
“I have always had a passion for fashion and music,” explains Amy on his latest venture.
Now that he has realised his passion for music, he is happy to see his passion for fashion turning into reality with the launch of his clothing label. As he draws a lot of inspiration from Islamic design elements, Amy feels that the Asia Islamic Fashion Week (from March 30 to April 2) is the perfect platform to unveil his designs.
Some critics have accused him of putting too much emphasis on Arab elements in his designs to the detriment of Malay culture. But Amy insists he has not forgotten his Malay roots. In fact, he is planning to come out with a series of baju Melayus for the coming Hari Raya.
Asked if he is worried over the possibility of his designs being copied and sold at cheaper prices, Amy says: “Piracy happens in any business. You cannot avoid it. But I know my diehard fans and supporters will only buy my designs. Even those days when my albums were being pirated, many of my fans supported me and bought my original albums.”
Amy also has plans to turn another of his passions into a business. His love for coffee has pushed him to come out with his own brand called Phewiiit, which will be launched at the end of the year.
He has other business ventures in the pipeline as well, but will only reveal them “when the time is right”.
As for his music career, he admits it has taken a backseat in his life at the moment.
“I will perform whenever I am called upon to do so,” he adds.
But you cannot deny [that] the music industry is not as glorious as it was in the olden days. This is not only happening in Malaysia but everywhere. Even some big recording companies overseas are selling their assets, closing down and merging.”
As a result, Amy says singers have to venture into other businesses to survive. Next year, the singer will be birthday and he has expressed a desire to come out with an autobiography to mark his 35 years in the music industry.
“When I first started my career in the music industry, I never thought I will last this long,” he adds.
When asked the secret to his still youthful looks and spirit, Amy replies with a laugh: “I mix with younger people.”
Actually, it might have a lot to do with his philosophy: “You are never too old to live your life to the fullest.” Amy lives it, taking up skydiving and scuba diving recently, and climbing Mount Kinabalu last year.
Al Jafree Md Yusop talks to theSun about his experience of turning the famous play The Importance Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde into a Malay film. Here is the full story
Headline: Al Jafree on Being Earnest
By Bissme S
The first time Al Jafree Md Yusop read Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest was at the age of 15. He was immediately attracted to the material in this Irish playwright’s play, one of Wilde’s most witty and sarcastic works.
“That was the first time I realised that you can be critical and funny at the same time,” he says, adding that some of these great comedies have the ability “to make us laugh about ourselves without us realising it”.
Although Wilde wrote the play over a hundred years ago and it was first staged in 1895, it’s still relevant today, Al Jafree adds.
The scriptwriter then decided to translate Wilde’s play into into Bahasa Malaysia. However, it was only in 1991 that he was able to start work on the translation.
“[Wilde’s] play has a dry sense of humour,” says the scriptwriter-director.
“Everyone kept insisting that I would not be able to capture this essence in Bahasa Malaysia.
But I wanted to prove that Wilde’s work can be adapted into the Malay culture, in the Malay language, and in a Malay atmosphere.”
It took another 10 years before actor-director Adlin Aman Ramlie presented Al Jafree’s Bahasa Malaysia version of The Importance of Being Earnest on stage. The 2001 play received rave reviews and standing ovations.
Now, 16 years later, Al Jafree sees another of his dream finally coming true – a film version of the Wilde play based on his translated script.
“I wanted my script to reach a bigger audience, and I thought a film would be the apt medium to do that.”
This time, Al Jafree is the one helming the film, Mencari Rahmat which will likely open in cinemas at the end of the year. The film also marks his début as a feature film director. In the past, he has only directed TV dramas.
Mencari Rahmat centres on successful businessman Razak, the adopted son of a rich couple who died in a car crash, leaving him to look after his adoptive parents’ only granddaughter, his niece Ratna.
However, Razak is also a hard-partying ladies man, which he has kept hidden from Ratna. Whenever Razak needs to visit the big city for some wild party fun, he tells Ratna that he is going to see his troublesome younger brother Rahmat. In reality, Rahmat does not exist.
However, one lie leads to another, and Razak’s charade slowly gets exposed, culminating in a hilarious case of mistaken identity.
Playing Razak is veteran actor Namron. Others in the cast include Amerul Affendi, Nadia Aqilah, Sharifah Amani, Fauziah Nawi, and Azman Hassan.
As to the relevance of Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest in these modern times, Al Jafree says: “There is a saying that a man is born free but everywhere he goes, he is in chains. The play captures this saying aptly. There are a lot of things we don’t do because we are afraid society will judge us. Society is the worst prison known to mankind.”
Al Jafree cites the example of unwed mothers who kill their infants the moment they are born.
“The mothers kill their children not because they do not love their babies,” he says.
“[They] kill them because they are afraid society will judge them harshly.”
While the Bahasa Malaysia version of this play performed on stage was a smashing success, it might not work on screen.
Al Jafree is willing to take the risk, adding: “When a young filmmaker named George Lucas wanted to film his space opera Star Wars, not many peoplewere keen [on it]. In the end, he managed to
make the film with a modest budget. Now look at how Star Wars has grown.
“The same scepticism was shown to Steven Spielberg when he wanted to make Jawsand to Francis Ford Coppolla who wanted to make The Godfather
“Their films are now iconic in Hollywood. We need a certain kind of courage if we want to make positive changes in the Malaysian film industry.”
Al Jafree also points to directors like the late Akira Kurosawa who had adapted well-known plays like William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and King Lear into Japanese films. He adds that it is about time the Malaysian film industry follow suit
Malaysian director Rizal Halim has just directed an Australian suspense thriller, Lurking Woods and he speaks to theSun about his experience. The story was published in theSun today. Read the full the story here
Headline: A Dream Come True
By Bissme S
Malaysian director Rizal Halim has just directed his first feature film, an Australian suspense thriller movie titled Lurking Woods.
Opening in cinemas here on April 6, the RM1.2 million movie follows a group of six university students who are seeing each other again after a year apart. They then decide to spend a weekend in a cabin in the woods. Unknown to them, a masked man has been spying on them from the moment they arrive. One by one, the friends are slowly killed off.The movie stars Daniel Berenger, Hope Devaney, Troy Coward, Dominique Shenton, Kyle James Sargon, Chloe Brown and Michael Rainone.
Rizal promises plenty of twists and turns in the movie to keep the audience in suspense.
“I use the rustic landscape of Australia to add an air of eeriness to the scene,” says this actor-turned-director.
“The landscape is one of the attractions in the film.”
He also believes that since the movie is in English, he has an easier access to worldwide distribution. Rizal, who was born in Batu Gajah in Perak, attributed his interests in the arts to his parents.
“My mother was a teacher and she started a theatre club in the school where she was teaching and I was a student there,” he recalls.
The theatre club went on to compete in several performing arts competitions and he believes that was where he caught the acting bug. His late father, who was also a teacher, loved photography.
“I remembered he had many cameras,” says Rizal, adding that his father’s interest sparked a similar passion in him for photography as well as using the camera to tell stories.
Rizal went on to act in several Malaysian films and television productions. He even had a chance to appear in Hollywood movies such as Beyond Rangoon and Anna & the King. Over the years, he started writing film scripts and taking short courses in film
directing.
In the meantime, to support his passion, he took on other jobs such as a temporary teacher, a bank employee, a deejay in shopping malls and even as a manager of two cinemas.
“I was watching a lot of movies when I was managing the cinemas,” he recalls with a laugh.
“I remember watching Jurassic Park 76 times! As time passed, I realised that I did not want to just watch movies, I wanted to make them.”
In 2014, he co-directed with M. Jamil on the Malaysian cult movie, Dia.Then, he worked as a director of photography for the short film, Still Life,about a forced marriage.The short was shown at the Cannes Film Festival the same year.
His friend, Malaysian-born Rod Manikam who has a production house in Australia, heard of his small success at Cannes and wanted to watch the short.
“I met Rod for the first time 10 years ago when we were acting in a Malaysian Chinese-language film called Hired Killers,” says Rizal.
“We both played policemen and became friends after that.”
Rod was impressed with Still Life and the next thing Rizal knew, the two of them were in discussion to make a film together, which led to Lurking Woods.
Rizal is already working on his second film, again set in Australia, called Tainted Getaway.It also has an Australian cast. This romantic action film centres on a Russian girl who comes to the Australian city of Perth to suprise her boyfriend working there. She gets a rude shock when she learns that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. At the same time, a prison convict who is on the run after escaping from the police, takes the girl as a hostage. Slowly, a romance develops between the hostage and e kidnapper.
Things seem to be going well for Rizal but he admits: “My road to success has not been an easy one. There were a lot of disappointments, failures and obstacles. But you can’t let them break you. They are supposed to make you strong.”
In t
Today theSun published my interview with Bade Azmi who speaks about his film Sindiket that deals with the controversial topic of human trafficking
Headline: Trafficking In Pain
By Bissme S
Director Bade Azmi daringly tackles the dark and risky topic of human trafficking in his latest film, Sindiket .
“A lot of Malaysian police action movies feature the subject of drugs,” explains the 52-yearold.
“I wanted to be different.”
Opening in cinemas on April 6, the RM3 million movie centres on Inspector Rudy (played by Sharnaaz Ahmad) and Inspector Sabrina (Daphne Iking), who are trying to bring down a crime organisation under the evil Galang (Rashidi Ishak), who specialises in human trafficking.
At the same time, the film depicts what happens to the victims of human trafficking, by following two college girls Amira (Sharifah Amani) and Noreen (Liyana Jasmay), who are kidnapped and lured into prostitution.
Before writing the screenplay, and as a part of his research, Bade (right) watched many documentaries and read a lot of reports on human trafficking.
“From my research, I learned that human trafficking is the second highest crime committed, after drug trafficking, in the world,” he says.
“There is a lot of money to be made from human trafficking, and that motivates many crime organisations to get involved. I would not be surprised that in the future, human trafficking may even [overtake] drug trafficking as the most committed crime.”
While it is a major part of his film’s plot, Bade explained that he wants to dispel the commonly-held view that human trafficking is all about kidnapping young girls and forcing them into prostitution. “Human trafficking is more than just about young girls being duped into prostitution and sex,” he says.
“Sometimes, people of all ages, including children, get kidnapped and killed for their organs. Some are forced [into slave labour].
“Human trafficking is a painful subject. People are forced to do things that they do not like. The way I see it, human trafficking is modern-day slavery.”
Despite tackling such dark themes, Bade has made sure Sindiket has enough fast-paced action scenes to keep the audience entertained.
“I want my audience to be aware of this issue, but I also want them to enjoy the film,” he says.
“I do not want to present a documentary. I have to balance the seriousness of the subject with the entertainment value.”
Bade is more than familiar with what it takes to produce a good action film, having helmed acclaimed productions such as KL Menjerit (2002), Gangster (2005) and Castello (2006).
He says: “Some people have the impression that when you make an action film, you do not
[that] all you need are fast-paced action scenes.
“Let me tell you that they are wrong. Good movies are all about emotions and the only way you can stir emotions in your audience is if you have a strong storyline. If you look back at my movies, you will see that I always have a strong storyline [in them].”
Bade also talked about another one of his films, which is currently showing in cinemas – the historical biopic Kanang Anak Langkau, The Iban Warrior. This film is based on the true story of decorated war hero and Iban warrior Sergeant Kanang Anak Langkau, who bravely fought the communists during the insurgency period from the 1960s to 1980s.
“All my previous films are fiction except for this one,” he says.
“I have to make sure I do not run away from the facts. The last thing I want to do is to bastardise history.”
Bade wishes he could have spoken to Kanang himself as part of research for his movie but unfortunately, the warrior passed away in 2013. Bade instead did the next best thing, and interviewed some of the soldiers who served under Kanang’s command. He even spoke to the late
sergeant’s family members.
“I wanted to get an [idea] of what this man was like,” he says.
Bade even managed to persuade the war hero’s youngest son, Corporal Langgi Anak Kanang – himself a soldier – to play his father in the film. Others in the cast include Adi Putra, Johan Asari, Zach XFactor, Adam Shahz, Livonia Guing and Ruzana Ibrahim.
“This movie is about people who made sacrifices so we have a safer nation,” he says.
“Only when we have a safe nation, we can progress, and we can have development. We must never take our safety and our freedom for granted.”
Yesterday theSun published my interview Deborah Chan who had give up her high paying corporate job to help the needy. Read the full story below
Headline: Giving Up For The Needy
By Bissme S
In 2014 , Deborah Chan and husband Terence Ooi left their high paying corporate jobs and cozy lifestyle in Kuala Lumpur and, together with their one-year-old son Seth, moved to the rural countryside of Battambang in Cambodia.
“My husband and I wanted to take a year off from our jobs and make a commitment to philanthropy,” says Chan, 35, who was in the tourism industry, while her husband, 34, was with an IT company.
Partnering with an international NGO in Cambodia, the couple decided to help build four literacy centres for village children who otherwise would not have a chance to be educated. The project was supposed to be for a year, but the couple extended their stay for another year.
“What we did, did not make sense to a lot of people,” says Chan, who studied for a degree in journalism in Perth, Australia.
“We were making good money and climbing the corproate ladder. We had just become parents. Most people in our shoes would probably stay on with their corporate jobs and enjoy the benefits. But our need to contribute, to make society a better place, was far stronger, so we took the risk to come out from our comfort zone. You do not have to wait until your hair turns grey to do good things.”
Chan, who has over 12 years of experience in community development projects and mission works, knew she would meet resistance from friends and family.
“But in the end, I received more support than resistance,” she says. Adjusting to life in a foreign land – and to their roles as philanthropists – was not easy. They had to go through many lifestyle changes. For starters, they had to use motorbikes and bicycles to get around, instead of the cars they were used to driving.
“Grocery shopping felt like a chore, and I often returned home sticky, sweaty and covered with dust,” she recalls.
There were also issues with the house they rented in Cambodia. It was vacant a year before Chan and her family move in, and as a result, creepy crawlies had taken residence.
“There were giant spiders the size of my palm, and snakes and scorpions in the garden,” she says.
They could not enjoy any privacy in their own home either. They had to open their doors to visiting volunteers from overseas. In the end, they got used to sharing their home with total strangers. “When you open your world to many people, you will have many meaningful friendships and conversations,” she says.
In the end, all their sacrifices were worth it, when they saw their work had brought tremendous joy to the children. Now, Chan and her husband are back in Malaysia, where they were supposed to resume their professional careers. But that did not happen either. They have embarked on yet another philanthropy project. Based in Kota Kinabalu this time, they are working with NGOs to educate and mentor children and youths in rural areas.
Chan explains that most of the children do not live near their school, and they would spend two hours to travel to school, and another two hours to get home. So they decided to raise funds to build a hostel near the schools for the children, who will only return home on weekends.
“For those parents who cannot afford to pay [the hostel fees], we have a barter system with them,” she says.
“Since most of them are farmers, they will give us what they plant. For those parents who are not farmers, they can offer their services to the hostel, such as cooking and cleaning.”
Chan has set down all their experiences in a memoir, Live to Last. Describing the reason for writing the book, Chan says: “My memoir describes the life lessons I have learned. I believe in the power of storytelling, and its ability to inspire people.
“I hope my memoir will inspire readers to learn [from] my life lessons and craft their own journey with less U-turns.”
An interesting chapter describes one experience when she was 18 and an intern with an organisation called Metro Ministries International in New York, which provides education to troubled street children. It was 2001, and she was a witness to the collapse of the World Trade Centre on 9/11.
“I was at the World Trade Centre just a week before the tragedy, as a tourist and snapping pictures,” she recalls.
She has not forgotten the nightmarish scene, and believe life has given her a second chance. Hence, she wants to dedicate herself to help and inspire others.
When asked who inspired her, Chan cites her late grandmother Ruby.
“She loved telling me the stories of her life. She was a midwife who would travel from one village to another to deliver babies. She would give her services for free to those who could not afford to pay.
“I will always be indebted to my grandmother for her kindness, and her passion for telling stories."
Footnote : Live to Last is available at major bookstores at RM35.90
The well known Malaysian actor, director and producer Jins Shamsuddin passed away recently. As a tribute piece to the legendary Jins Shamsuddin, I have reproduce an interview I have done with him years ago where he talks about his experience making the historical epic Bukit Kepong.
Headline:A Warrior of a Man
By Bissme S
On March 1, the Malaysian movie industry lost a talent who had beensynonymous with modern films –Tan Sri Jins Shamsuddin, who died age 81.
A veteran actor of nearly 50 films and director of 10, Jins is best
remembered for his 1981 iconic film, Bukit Kepong, that was based on a true event that took place during the Malayan Emergency.
On Feb 23, 1950, some 180 members of the Malayan Communist Party attacked a police station in Bukit Kepong, Johor, manned by 18 policemen who defended the station and the civilians until the end.
Jins not only played the leading role of Sergeant Jamil Md Shah but also directed and produced the film, which went on to win eight awards at the third Malaysian Film Festival, including for best film, best director and best actor. The film has since been remastered into high definition in 2015.
Years ago, I managed to get Jins to share his experience on his epic
movie in an interview published in theSun on Aug 30, 1999.
To me, what he said about his experience acting, directing and producing Bukit Kepong summed up the man that he was and the legend he would become.Here is an excerpt of that interview in Jins’ own words:
“For six years, the script by the police authorities was floating around. No producer dared to take on the project. A big budget was required for the movie and there was no assurance that it would
succeed at the box office.
“The then Inspector of Royal Malaysia Police (Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar) approached me. I had been making family dramas such as Menanti Hari Esok, Tiada Esok Bagimu, Esok Masih Ada, among others whose successes led other producers to jump onto the bandwagon.
“Eager to set another trend, I agreed to make Bukit Kepong. Filming began in 1980. The cast and crew of more than 400 people spent more than six months at Bukit Kepong. I was the first to arrive and the last to leave.
“During those days, there were no hotels around the place. Everybody stayed at the mosque and in private houses. I turned the Penghulu complex into a big office where I stayed and worked.
“The budget for the film was RM1.3 million. It was a huge budget in 1980. I had to take a loan from the bank. To rebuild the whole village for the set alone cost RM80,000. I was taking a huge gamble.
“Luckily, the movie collected more than RM1.7 million at the box office. Many people returned for a second viewing. It also attracted the non-Malay crowd.
“The police were very supportive and supplied 40,000 blank ammunition and 400 varieties of guns for the filming. They even assigned 180 Chinese policemen to act in the movie [and] provided security arrangements for the film crew.
“But I had difficulty getting Bukit Kepong’s Chinese residents to act as extras.They felt the movie would be a negative portrayal of their ancestors who had helped the communities under threats of death.
“I played the part of Sergeant Jamil and suffered a scar across
my stomach from some blank bullets. My mother passed away during the filming so I had to rush back to Taiping for the funeral.
“I also had problem with the censorship board. They did not like the idea of Malay and Chinese at war and suspended the film.
“My office in Kuala Lumpur was located at Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, near the golf course where the [then] Yang DiPertuan Agong [Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang] played. The Agong used to drop by my office. I took the opportunity to mention the Bukit Kepong suspension.
“Upon his Majesty intervention, the Home Minister agreed to release the film on two conditions.The first was the inclusion in the film a preamble by a notable figure to talk about the incident. I managed to get our first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman to do it.
“Second, the movie must only be shown after the elections. Bukit Kepong was completed in 1980 but only hit the cinemas in 1982. After the movie was completed, three surviving policemen confirmed it was a very accurate portrayal of the event.
“I wanted it to be screened in the Asia Pacific Film Festival. But the jury thought it was unsuitable.”
Jins had intended to make another patriotic movie, Pasir Salak, based on the murder of the first British Resident J.W.W. Birch in Perak.
According to him, most of our history was written from the British
point of view and he wanted to show this incident from our local viewpoint.
“The Pasir Salak Project faced many hurdles along the way. One of the biggest was the budget. Some British producers agreed to pump in RM120 million but they wanted a change the storyline.
“They wanted to portray Birch as the hero and the Malay community as barbaric. I disagreed and even threatened to sue if they went ahead and made the movie based on my script.”
Sadly, Jins was never able to turn his Pasir Salak Project into a reality.Nevertheless, his contribution to the Malaysian Film industry will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, Jins.
