Sasterawan Negara : Baha Zain

I had the opportunity to interview the recently elected Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate). He shares his views on the Malaysian literature scene and The Malaysian National Language. This article appeared in theSun newspaper on Wednesday April 3. Here is the full article.   

Writing for unity
By Bissme S 

DATUK Baharuddin Zainal, better known as Baha Zain, was recently honoured as the 12th Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate). Prior to this, the 74-year-old poet, short story writer and literary critic has been the recipient of such prestigious awards as the SEA (Southeast Asia) Writer Awards in 1980 and the Anugerah Penyair Gapena (The Federation of Malaysian National Writers Associations Poet Award) in 1988.
In this exclusive interview, Baha Zain talks about the recognition bestowed upon him, the literary scene in the country today and what inspired him to become a writer.

* What was your first reaction on being named Sasterawan Negara?

"I was grateful to God. My generation is different from yours. All we wanted to do was to contribute without expecting anything in return. We wanted to enrich the national language and the Malay literary scene. However, if the title was given to me five years ago, I would have rejected it.”

* Why is that? 

“I was against the PPSMI (the teaching of Science and Maths in English). I am not against the English language. If I was, I would not have sent my three children to further their studies in England. 
“I just want to develop the Malay language as a language of knowledge. If you do not teach Science and Maths in Malay, how do you expect the language to be developed as the language of knowledge?  
“Japan and Korea are so much more advanced than us and yet they do not teach Science and Maths in English. If you want Malaysian students to master the English language, this is not the way. 
“I’m happy to see the government has decided to have Science and Maths taught in Malay, again. 
“I will not deny that a lot of scientific terms in Malay are borrowed words. But even in English, there are many borrowed words from the French and German language. There is nothing wrong in enriching the vocabulary by borrowing words.”  

* No women writers have won the Sasterawan Negara title. Do you think there is a Malay male dominion for the award?  

“I was on the selection panel for the candidates for this award for several years. We did not base our selection on gender or race. We looked for candidates who have contributed significantly not only towards the development of the language and literacy but also towards society.   
“For example, Keris Mas, Arena Wati, Usman Awang, and A. Samad Said were journalists who fought for independence through their pen. 
“They should not be spending all their time in the library, living in their own world and forgetting about the society around them. They should be socially-committed writers. They cannot just write about nostalgia. Their works should spark critical thinking. As a writer, you need to be connected with the society. You write because you want to express yourself.”

*Some people think you do not deserve this title. What are your comments?    

“I can be equally cynical and hit back at my critics but I will not do so. It can be counter-productive. In Islam, you are encouraged to be patient. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.”   

*What changes would you like to see taking place in the Malay literature scene?  

“We should find ways to incorporate more non-Malays in the Malay literature scene. The national language is no longer the language for Malays. I am happy to see that Karim Raslan (who usually writes in English) is now contributing to Dewan Sastera (a leading Malay literary magazine). 
“In the 70s, there were conscious efforts among artistes of different races to use the national language in literature to cut across the racial barrier. If you read Dewan Sastera in those days, you will find many non-Malay artistes like Krishen Jit and Redza Piyadasa contributing articles in Malay. In fact, a handful of non-Malay artistes have translated my poems into visual form. But today, I see less of such collaborations between artistes of different races.”  

*Why do you think there were more collaborations between artistes of different races back then?   

“The May 13 incident (1969) just took place, with the whole nation confronted with the tragedy. Artistes of all kinds, from writers to painters, believed they should come together and use their art to promote unity … to understand each other. Today, we have taken our peace for granted. What’s happened in Lahad Datu (Sabah) recently could be a wake-up call to teach us not to take anything for granted.”   

* What do you see lacking in our society today? 

“Our moral and ethical development are not on par with our physical and economical development. For example, we will not think twice about throwing rubbish on the road, polluting rivers, cutting down trees that provide oxygen, etc.” 

*What inspired you to become a writer?  

“I was born in 1939. I have lived through the traumatic times in our history – from the Japanese Occupation to the communist and Emergency period, right through the racial riot of May 13, 1969. 
“I had experienced eating rice only with potatoes and bananas. I did not have running water in my house. Poverty was everywhere. 
“I wanted to write about these difficult times to create an awareness. I wanted to tell people not to take our peace for granted and be grateful for what they have today. 
“But today is not the era of literature. People do not give importance to literature – they are too busy chasing wealth. One must remember that ultimately, it was literature that made us human.”

Liew Seng Tat

Liew  Seng Tat is a passionate film maker whose his first film has won many awards. Now he is working his second film  and recently he talked to thesun about this film  project. This article appeared in theSun on Friday March 1. Here is the article 

Headline : Perseverance pays off 
By Bissme S 


LIEW Seng Tat’s debut film in 2007, Flower in the Pocket, swept up multiple awards and prizes in international film festivals such as the Pusan, Rotterdam, Fribourg and Pesaro.
But that had not made it easy for him to get his second film, In What City Does It Live (IWC), off the ground. Liew devoted four years of his life – from developing the script to getting the funds – to make this film.
Shooting for the film was recently concluded at the cost of RM2 million. The film will likely open in cinemas at the end of this year.
Liew says his biggest challenge was securing the funds he needed for IWC. But with persistence, the filmmaker managed to garner support from a number of well-known international sponsors.
They include Sundance from the US; the Netherlands Film Fund, Hubert Bals Fund and Prince Claus from The Netherlands; the Torino Film Lab from Italy; the Fondation Groupama Gan pour le Cinema from France; the World Cinema Fund from Germany; and Vision Sud Est from Switzerland.
“I would like to tell young filmmakers out there to never give up on their dreams,” says the 33-year-old film director. “If I had given up on mine, I would not have gotten all the funding for my project.”
“Nothing is impossible if you are willing to work hard. My advice may sound cliché but there is truth in it.”
Liew recalls working with his producer, Sharon Gan, to send out countless proposals and attending endless sales pitches to prospective sponsors in their quest.
He says they had to compete with many talented filmmakers from different countries vying for funds from the same sponsors.
“We were nervous each time they (the sponsors) announced the name of the successful recipients,” Liew recalls.
The amazing portfolio of foreign sponsors also managed to convince our Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture to offer partial funding through the Creative Industry Grant scheme.
“Although we did not come out with any money [of our own] for this film, we’d put our youth and a huge amount of our effort into making it,” says Liew. “If you were to convert that into cash, it would add up to a big sum.”
IWC centres on a man named Pak Awang who wants to give a house to his daughter as a wedding gift. Unable to afford a new house, he comes up with the brilliant idea of restoring and relocating an abandoned old house.
Despite rumours that the house is haunted, he manages to convince his fellow villagers to help him physically carry it back to the village.
At the same time, a street pedlar named Solomon, who is an illegal Nigerian immigrant, runs into trouble and has to lie low. He decides to hide out in the very house that Pak Awang is in the midst of relocating back to his village.
One night, one of the villagers sees a shadowy figure in the house and tells everyone that it is haunted. The villagers decide to abandon the relocation project despite Pak Awang’s pleas.
Playing the lead role of Pak Awang is veteran actor Wan Hanafi Su while Solomon is played by Tanzanian student Khalid Myboyelwa Hussein. Others in the cast include Harun Salim Bachik, Soffi Jikan, Jalil Hamid, Normah Damanhuri and Azman Hassan.
“I’m dealing with identity and perception here,” says Liew of his plotline. “I could have easily written the character as a Burmese or a Nepalese immigrant but I didn’t want to play with everyday stereotypes and wanted to go to the extreme.”
One of the challenges Liew faced on the set was building and moving the kampung house from one location to another.
“We selected three abandoned kampung houses, tore them apart, and rebuilt the kampung house we needed for the set,” says this director who likes doing things out of the box.
They then had the task of literally moving the house as per the traditional way. “The ground was not even and we had to cross a little stream. We even had to chop down some trees along the way,” Liew recalls.
He says that initially, the owner who leased the land for the location shoot was quite particular that none of the trees be damaged.
But as the shooting of the movie progressed, the owner got enthusiastic about what went on behind the scenes and even became one of the extras.
With the impressive list of sponsors backing the film, Liew says he is trying his best not to let the pressure or high expectations get to him.
“I will just follow my instincts as something good always comes out of things when you follow your instincts.
“There will be people who are bound to dislike the film and others who like it. You must understand that you cannot please everyone.
“I shall take all the negative comments in a positive way and use them to improve on my next film.”

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Three years ago, in 2010,  I also interviewed him about an interesting project where a kampung house was literarily moved from one location to another…. Read more here 

Headline : Literally moving House 
By Bissme S

In the  old days, whenever a villager wanted to shift to another location, it was common for fellow kampung folk to rally together and literally carry the entire house to the new place.   
Over the years, this practice of moving houses has slowly died out. 
But filmmaker Liew Seng Tat, who is also the co-founder of independent production house Da Huang Pictures, hopes to revive interest in this practice through his latest project called Projek Angkat Rumah.
Collaborating with local theatre company, Five Arts Centre, Liew is inviting members of the public to participate in a special event tomorrow which will see a typical Malay kampung house, built specially for this event, being carried and moved to a new site.
The kampung house will be moved from its present site at SK Sentul Utama to its final destination at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) in Sentul.
Members of the public are invited to assist in carrying the house or join in the festivities by walking alongside and cheering those carrying the house. The event will start at 9am and is expected to end at noon. 
At its new location in KLPac, the house will double up as a stage on that day for those who want to sing, dance and perform. The festivities will last till late in the evening.  
Liew says the idea for this project was partly inspired by a photograph that appeared in a local English daily in August 2007 during the 50th Merdeka anniversary celebration.  
The photo caption told of how a farmer, Abu Hassan Ahmad, decided to move closer to his mother-in-law in order to care for her poor health.  But he was reluctant to move into a new house.
As a result, 150 villagers helped him carry his house to the new site, which was half a kilometre away.   
“The idea is to get everyone come out and do something together,” Liew says. “This way, we can relate to the gotong-royong spirit again. We’re spending far too much time in front of the computer or television.”  
Sharing the same view is June Tan, a member of the Five Arts Centre and co-producer of Projek Angkat Rumah. 
“Our neighbourhoods have now become gated communities,” says Tan, a producer of plays such as Cuckoo Birds (2009) – a theatrical performance dealing with crime and violence, and That Was the Year (2007) – a musical examining the racial riots of 1969. 
“This project (Projek Angkat Rumah) is borrowing the spirit of a bygone tradition and it is supposed to be fun, exciting and a vibrant event.” 
Yet, there will be some who will criticise Liew for using a Malay traditional art to gain publicity and, perhaps, even bastardising it. 
“I could have done something that I’m familiar with,” counters Liew. 
“I could have made a movie or even a stage play. I wanted to do something that was out of my comfort zone … something I’ve not tried. I’m not trying to be superficial here. It’s also my way of understanding other people’s culture and art.”  
Liew is using this project to explore the theme of togetherness and trust.  “To carry a house from one place to another, the people involved need to trust each other.”   
He is also planning to make a film that touches on a similar topic next year. 
It will centre on a father who wants to give a house to his daughter who is getting married. But he cannot afford a new house, so he entails the help of his fellow villagers to move an abandoned house to a better location. 
Incidentally, the prestigious Torino Film Lab in Italy has expressed an interest to invest in this film. 
Liew’s first feature Flower in the Pocket was a favourite in the international film festival circuit in 2008, picking up awards in Pusan, Rotterdam, Fribourg, Deauville, Pesaro and Toronto, among others.  
Dariush Mehrjuim, head of the jury panel at the 12th Pusan International Film Festival, in a commentary after awarding Liew the New Current Award for Flower in the Pocket, said that Liew has created “a touching and humanistic story that tells the story of a neglected father-and-son relationship with a sense of humour, while using a beautifully composed cinematic style”. 

Harry Fear & Palestine

Recently I had a chance to interview Harry Fear, a British Journalist and documentary maker who have covered the war  that  is taking place in Palestine. This interview appeared in theSun on Wednesday Feb 27. Here is the story

Suggested Headline : Fear-less pursuit of Truth
BY Bissme S

HARRY FEAR is an independent British journalist, documentary maker and human rights advocate. His live reports on the carnage meted out by Israelis against the Palestinians has attracted a large following in the social media. Highly respected for his honest reporting, he is known to flesh out poignant insights that take place in war-torn Gaza.
Recently, Viva Palestina Malaysia, a local non-governmental organisation, invited him here to give a talk. Fear took some time from his busy schedule to answer questions from members of the press.

What is the greatest misconception Malaysians have about the war in Gaza?

That it is a religious conflict – which is a terrible misconception. Many of the Palestinians are Christians. When you to go to Gaza and you speak to Christian Palestinians, they just resent the identification as Christian Palestinians. They will just say ‘I am just Palestinian. It is a political conflict which started 65 years ago. It started between an indigenous population and a settled colonial population. It is really about land theft. Today, Palestinians are only living on 13% of the land that they were living on 65 years ago.

Do you think there will ever be a peaceful solution to this 65-year-old war?

Yes. There are reasons to be hopeful. If you look at the civil society of the world, people are increasingly fed up (with what’s happening in Gaza). The world is increasingly united and willing to do something and not just be sympathetic.

What motivated you to report the situation in Gaza?

The main reason is because I care. I do not want to die not having done anything. If you don’t do anything and when you look back at your life, you will say that you have wasted your life. And I do not want to waste my life. I feel personally motivated by my moral responsibility to bring some justice to the people of Palestine. The reason why Israel can kill 62 Palestinian children in two weeks is because people don’t do anything.

Does the situation in Gaza depresses you about life in general?

I am able to deal with the pain. In the situation of such pain, it can go two ways. It can go up or it can go down. In Gaza, it goes up and it is very hopeful. The people are unbreakable and if the people are unbreakable, then Israel cannot win. And that is very inspiring.

Do you think your work gets a lot of attention because you are a white man reporting on this war?

I get upset when people ask me about my race. In a lecture at The Hague, a young academician asked me whether I have ever thought about the effect I have as a white journalist. The way she put it was quite cynical. I was honest with her and I told her that I find her question
offensive.
I’m a young white man, fairly intelligent, fairly well educated, fairly articulate, who has gone to Gaza and I know this combination of my identity is what most people see me as, as a journalist.
Of course, I exploit this for the benefit of the Palestinians, using my skill as a journalist. Do I exploit my race? No, I don’t.
I never think of my race, especially when I am in Gaza [which] is the least racial orientated place I have ever seen. The Palestinians are ethnically mixed. It is not relevant whether I am white or not.
The reason we are having this interview is not because I am white. It is because I am fairly articulate. I am able to explain the situation (in Gaza) fairly well to the people.”

Are you a Muslim?

No. I believe in God but I am not a religious person. This is not a religious conflict. It is a political and humanitarian issue. It doesn’t matter what my religion is. In every single religion, there is a responsibility to help people.

What is the greatest misconception people have about you?

Some people who hate me are ignorant. Some of the reasons they hate me is because they think I’m rich. But I am not. My family is not rich, too.
People say that I’m a white saviour and I’m the voice of the Palestinians. But I have never claimed to be the voice of the Palestinians. I only represent myself.
I went to Gaza as a people’s journalist. I report what I see. I want the killing of the Palestinians to be stopped. I want the Palestinian children to be given a chance to live. I want Israel to stop shooting people in the head. I want the war to end.

Some documentary makers make films on the future. Do you have similar goals?

I am not interested in fiction. I have never appreciated fiction even as a child. The reality is richer than fiction. I became a documentary filmmaker because it is a powerful way to communicate with people – to get them to understand and feel (about the issues presented) and then do something about it.

Do you think documentaries can effect change?

In this 21st century, many films are made to entertain … just to give people an emotional ride. They lack political and moral context. You have a good cry in the cinema, you go home and you do not know what to do next, so you can forget about it. That is not good enough. You have to leave people with a sense of hope. You have to leave people with a sense of action, of what they can do next. Otherwise, what is the point of documenting the suffering?

A biography on Rose Chan

Today theSun published  my story where the  award winning poet Cecil Rajendra talks about this latest project. He has just written a biography on the life of the Malaysian queen of striptease Rose Chan . Here is the story.  

Title: Stripping bare The Rose

By Bissme S

Award winng poet Cecil Rajendra (below)has just completed a biography, entitled No Bed of Roses, that would likely raise a few eyebrows. The biography focuses on the late Rose Chan, Malaysia’s queen of striptease. 
Born Chan Wai Chang, she started her career as a cabaret dancer. The turning point in her career came when she was 27. Due to a ‘wardrobe malfunction', her brassiere snapped while she was dancing. 
She received thunderous applause from her audience, some of whom thought it was part of her performance
Seeing that the crowd loved it, she repeated this on a regular basis and eventually was bestowed the title’ of queen of striptease. The book is now in the hands of publisher Marshall Cavendish in Singapore and  is expected to hit the shelves before the year is out.
To date, the Penang-born poet has written 21 collections of poetry, published across 50 countries and translated into German, Japanese, Swahili, French, Chinese, Tamil,Bengali, Thai, Spanish, Malay, Dutch, Danish and Urdu, among others.In this exclusive interview, Cecil shares his thoughts on his new book.

* What we can expect from this book?

The initial title was The Last Days of Rose Chan but during the writing, I realised that in spite of all the glamour, Rose had a very tough life,  starting from her early childhood years – forced into wedlock at the age of  16, five failed marriages, hounded by the authorities, and finally falling  victim to the dreaded cancer. Her life was certainly No Bed of Roses!
No aspect of her life is left unturned – from her dancing, her strip shows,her husbands, her court cases and her sex secrets. Chan was also a great cook, accomplished ballroom dancer and philanthropist. I consider her to be our country’s first feminist – she could stand up to any man! What I admired most about her was her fearlessness and her fierce independent spirit.

Did you ever met Rose in person?

Rose Chan had been part of my schoolboy fantasies for decades, but I never got  to see any of her shows. In the 50s, a group of us tried to sneak in to watch  her perform. But we were caught and the security guards threw us out. The first time I met her was in 1980 when she came to Penang to spend her last days. She had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was given six to 18 months to live. But she lived on for another six years.I was first hired as her lawyer.Later, she asked me to write her life story. Over the period of five years, we met frequently. Her narrative was never linear but always episodic – preferring to jump from one event to
another … as the mood took her.
I have spoken to dozens of people who had seen her shows but they only knew her as a striptease queen, but nothing of her private persona. Though there was one gentleman who claimed to have leapt on stage and help  extricate Rose from her python which was strangling her.” (One of Rose’s famous acts involved her wrestling with a python.)

What is the common misconception about Rose?

That she was a mere stripper, performing unsavoury acts and breaking the law  in the process. Nothing could be further from the truth ... up to her  retirement in the 70s, every one of her shows in Malaysia and Singapore was performed with a permit.
In 1959, a group of moralists petitioned the Ipoh Town Council not to issue  Rose a permit to perform. The acting chairman, Dr W. Holmes, brushed their  objections aside, saying:‘There is a tendency in every male to be something of  a peeping Tom. It is perhaps better that we issue this permit for a striptease show, than to have people peep into your bedrooms at night 

What kind of reaction do you think the book will receive?

I don’t know what sort of reaction the book will provoke ... but no matter what, it is bound to kick up a storm in these hypocritical ‘holierthan- thou’ times where there is far more censorship than in good old Tunku’s days

Marina Mahathir: Telling It Straight

Marina Mahathir has just came out her latest book Telling It Straight. Her launch took place at the Borders The Garden Kuala Lumpur. This article appeared in theSun on Nov 28. 

Caption : From left : Ineza Roussille ( Marina's  daughter), Tun Dr Siti Hasmah ( Marina's Mum), Marina and Shaista Mayada Sosrowardoyo ( Mariana's daughter)  

Headline : Making A Difference 
By Bissme S 

DATIN Paduka Marina Mahathir has been commenting on the political and social affairs of this country through her column in an English daily for the past two decades.
Recently, she decided to compile 90 of her best pieces of writing covering a wide range of topics like gender equality, politics, religion, HIV, education and free speech (some of which have never been published before), in a 264-page book entitled Telling It Straight (Editions Didier Millet/RM39.90).
At the launch of the book at Borders The Gardens in Kuala Lumpur, Marina sat down to talk about her work.

* What makes your book stand out from other compilations?

"I have no idea really. Maybe because my column has been around for so long. And perhaps because I'm a woman writer and there aren't that many books on popular social commentary by women in our country."

* Why is that? 

"Probably because people generally don't take women seriously. Women writers have to write novels, preferably on romance because apparently, that's all we think about.
"And we are not allowed to write about current affairs unless we're academics, in which case, nobody reads us anyway.
"Men churn out books on social and political commentary all the time. But not all of the books are good, yet people still read them because they think men, by virtue of being men, have the authority to talk about these things while women don't."

* Some believe books have lost their power to change society. Do you agree? 

"I think the power of ideas will always be strong and this power is conveyed through words. In the end, an idea has no power if it is not accepted by a lot of people.
"So how would they find out about this idea except by reading? Surely, this is one reason why people love putting quotes from public figures on their Facebook or in whatever they write.
"I do think writers play an important role in conveying these ideas to people.
"Many ideologues have written books and these books have been powerful, for example, Karl Marx's Das Kapital or Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. They get lots of followers this way.
"Similarly, with the words in the Quran or the Bible, beautiful and powerful words conveying ideas about justice, morality, etc are conveyed. So yes, books can change the world."

* What do you think about censorship in the mainstream media? Do you see yourself writing for online media where you can express yourself better without censorship?
"I think censorship is unfortunate and no media can truly call themselves credible if they insist on censoring, especially when there are alternative media around these days.
"It's frustrating for writers but our job is just to write, not to practise censorship on ourselves. Self-censorship is really the most insidious form of censorship.
"I have my blog, Facebook and Twitter, so I don't really need to go to any online media just to get my opinions published.
"That's the beauty of the internet today. Anyone can publish their own opinions.
"Then it's left to the discerning readers to decide which opinions are credible.
"And by the way, I don't know if it's true that online media never censors anything. When you select what you want to publish, you are already exercising a form of censorship."

* What are some of the changes you would like to see taking place in our country? 
"I'd like to see more openness in government and among people in general. People are so used to thinking in one way that they aren't aware there are other ways of thinking and seeing things, and therefore, find it discomfiting, even frightening, when a different point of view is put forward. The openness can only happen when all points of view are given equal airing."
  
* Some people think reading is a dying art form in Malaysia. Do you agree?   

"I don't think reading should be thought of as an art form because that immediately makes it elitist and inaccessible to most.
"It amazes me how many large bookstores we have even when we're being told that Malaysians don't read much.
"They are reading something but we need to see what it is that they are reading. Are they stretching their minds when they read?
"There is no other way to encourage people to read than by getting interesting books published. If we encourage good writing, then people will read.
"Just look at how Harry Potter made so many children read."
"I was just at the Singapore Writers Festival and was amazed at what an interesting event it was with so many different authors and genres of writing, in different languages.
How come we don't have something like that in Malaysia?"

*What are the biggest misconceptions people have about you?

"That I'm hard-working. But actually, I'm very lazy and procrastinate all the time."


************

Because of space constraint, there were some questions that I asked Marina Mahathir was not published in the interview that appeared in theSun newspaper. However I take the opportunity to put the extra question this blog.   

*Most people have the impression compiling your columns into a book are an easy task. Do you agree?  

Most people think that because the columns are already written.  But they forget that I write 24 or 26 columns a year and I've been writing for some 20 years, so there are about 480 columns we have to choose from because obviously we can't put every single one in the book. That's the tough part, the selection. Luckily my editor does that because I can't. Once they are selected, it's a matter of grouping them according to themes and writing some introductions for them.

* What are some of best compliments and worst criticisms you have received about your writing? 

The best compliment is probably when people say that I put into words what they think and feel. I don't pay much attention to criticisms  so I wouldn't know what the worst ones are.

* You have been writing for more than 20 years. Do you ever face a burn out? 

No I don't actually. In fact I think I should write more but I am so busy that I don't really get to. Actually I write much more than my columns because I give a lot of talks and I write my own speeches. I have my favourite themes but there are never-ending subjects to talk about so I never feel burnt-out. I feel more burnt-out with the state of things in our country but I do think writing is one way of getting different perspectives across.

*Tell us something about your childhood years that have a big influence on you as a  writer?

I always loved reading and writing in my childhood, something which my parents always encouraged. My favourite and best subject in school was English. So I knew I would be a writer of some sort, possibly a journalist. And that's exactly what I became for a while until I realised that there is more to writing than just reporting.
My parents always also encouraged me to be aware of what was happening in the world and I realised as an adult that I could combine that with my writing skills to convey certain messages to whoever reads me. Communications is about being able to convey complicated ideas and events in a simple way. without compromising the integrity of the information. That's what I try to do.


* What is the biggest challenges  you faced as a  columnist in Malaysia?

Trying to stay current is always a challenge. My column comes out once every two weeks so I have to keep in mind that I'm not talking about something which is already stale. Sometimes things just don't happen within the week I have to submit my column so when it does appear, it can seem a bit out of synch with the topic of the day. I can't help that and I certainly don't want to change to a weekly column because it's hard enough trying to keep up with a fortnightly one.


* What is your advice to budding writers out there? 

If you feel an urge to write, then write. Like everything else, writing takes practice so you just need to start writing and not worry if you're writing well or not. Eventually you'll find your unique voice and that's really what people want to read. Blogging is good because it gives you feedback and I've discovered so many good writers through reading blogs.  

The Story Of Deepavali

Deepavali had just passed. To celebrate this occasion theSun run picture story on one of the mythologies behind the celebration. On the front page of the Sun, on the eve deepavali ( Nov 12), we had a picture of a dancer in a multi exposure. ( like below) 

Then on the page 19, we run a picture story of how the evil King Narakasura was defeated which also marks the triumph of good over evil ( like below   

  

I would like to thank The Temple of Fine Arts for agreeing to do this photo shoot. Many thanks to the sun photographers Syed Azhar Syed Osman and Norman Hi who put their sweat and blood into this project. Now for the full story 

Headline: The story of Deepavali 

By Bissme S 

PIX BY SYED AZHAR SYED OSMAN AND NORMAN HIU/THE SUN

TOMORROW, Hindus all over Malaysia will becelebrating Deepavali, also known as the Festival of

Lights. There will be rituals to follow such as taking an oil bath, prayers to be said, putting on new clothes and preparing delicious food like ladoo, jalabi, murukku, mysore pak and adhirasam to be served to family, relatives, friends and guests who will be visiting them.

To celebrate this festival, theSun invited five dancers from the Temple of Fine Arts to tell in dance form the most popular mythology associated with the origin of this festival – the tale of King Narakasura who was corrupted by power and was in the end defeated by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama in a

triumph of good over evil.

Scene 1

King Narakasura (played by PremSagar Krishnan, 23) has been praying and meditating for many years.

Scene 2

From heaven comes Lord Brahma (Nageshwaran Ramachandran, 13) to bless King Narakasura. Lord Brahma says to him: “I am impressed with your prayers. You can ask me for any thing you want.” Narakasura asks that no one can kill him except his mother,

Bhuma Devi (Printha Selvadurai, 20).

Scene 3

Knowing that no mother can kill her own flesh and blood, Narakasura becomes corrupted by absolute power. For years, he rules his kingdom with an iron fist bringing terror and misery to the people

Scene 4

Up in heaven, Lord Krishna (Pankhuri Agrawal, 21) and his wife Satyabhama (Swathi Sivadas, 21) hear the cries of the people. Lord Krishna says: “I have to save the people.” So war is declared between Lord Krishna and King Narakasura.

Scene 5

Lord Krishna is wounded in the battle. Satyabhama is furious and vows to kill Narakasura, who replies arrogantly that no one can kill him except his mother.

Scene 6

Satyabhama manages to defeat Narakasura who begs for his life. But she shows him no mercy and kills him.

Scene 7

Narakasura realises that Satyabhama is the reincarnation of his mother Bhuma Devi and that’s why she could defeat him. He breathes his last on his mother’s lap. He tells Satyabhama: “Do not cry mother. You have done the right thing to kill me as I have been evil. I’m glad to have you as my mother.” Showing regrets for being an evil king, Narakasura says that his death should be celebrated as a victory of light over darkness and the triumph of good over evil.

Scene 8

Because Narakasura has repented forhis evil deeds, he becomes a celestial being after his death. He then seeks blessings from both Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama.

NADIRAH

The stage play Nadirah  directed by Jo Kukathas and Asmalan Doraisingam  and written Alfian Saat is currently playing at KLPAC. The play has been getting some positive reviews. 
The Sun carried two articles on the stage plays. Both has been interesting interviews. The first article appears Aug 31 where I interview the director of play Jo Kukathas.  
The second article appears Nov 1 where I interview the lead cast Patrick Teoh and Neo Swee Lin.  In both of the articles the cast have said something very interesting.  I have posted both of the articles here. 

THE FIRST ARTICLE IN THE SUN ( AUG 31) 

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Jo Kukathas  from the Instant Cafe Theatre Company (ICT) has directed compelling theatre productions such as Air Con and Parah in the past. Her latest play, Nadirah, to be staged at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) from Nov 1 to 11, will be another eye-opener for theatre fans.
The story takes place in Singapore and centres on university student Nadirah who is a product of a mixed marriage. Her father is a Malaysian Malay and her mother, a Singaporean Chinese who had converted to Islam.
After her parents’ divorce, she lives with her mother, Sahirah, in Singapore. Both mother and daughter share a close bond.
But then, the relationship hits a rough patch when Nadirah finds out, to her dismay, that her mother is considering getting married to a Doctor Robert, who is a non-Muslim.
In Singapore, a Muslim can get married to a non-Muslim under civil law, with each spouse maintaining his or her own religion.
Will religion cause friction between mother and daughter? Will love or faith prevail?
Written by Alfian Saat from Singapore, the cast comprises Neo Swee Lin (as Sahirah), Ani Juliana Ibrahim (Nadirah), Patrick Teoh (Robert), Redza Minhat (Farouk) and Farah Rani (Maznah).
Having watched a rehearsal of the play, it is quite clear to this writer that Nadirah will touch the hearts of the audience and even stimulate their minds into having interesting discussions. This play is another winner that can be added to Jo Kukathas’ belt.


* What attracted you to direct Nadirah?

“The story draws inspiration from the Maria Hertogh case (which took place in Singapore during the 1950s). Maria’s Dutch parents were involved in a custody battle with her adoptive Malay mother.
“There was a public outcry over the case, not out of love for Maria but out of moral righteousness, and there was tension in the country.
“In Malaysia, we have our fair share of such stories and our hearts go out to those whose lives are suddenly turned upside down simply because they dare to love.
“Nadirah tells how the love between a mother and her child is tested by their different beliefs and the beliefs of those around them. So, the dilemma faced here is whether we follow the path of love or the path of religious conviction.
“Nadirah is part of a trilogy written by Alfian as a tribute to (the late) Yasmin Ahmad. Nadirah pays tribute to Yasmin’s film Muallaf in a very essential way.
“The tag line for that film was “It is in forgiving that we are forgiven’. I think now in Malaysia more than ever, we have to return to compassion, forgiveness, love and humour. If not, we are lost.”

* What is your favourite scene in Nadirah?

“It’s the scene between Robert, who is the doctor Nadirah’s mum meets and falls in love with, and Farouk, who’s Nadirah’s classmate and love interest.
“These two men meet to talk over some very difficult and personal issues of love and faith. But they also end up talking enthusiastically about football.
“And through this very human and warm interaction about that ‘beautiful game’ they love, the audience get to see their common humanity.”

* What are some of the biggest challenges you faced in directing this play?

“It’s a sad fact that my company and other theatre companies are unable to find funding to do even one play a year. I’m forced to work in Singapore and it’s out of necessity.
“I would really love to direct more plays in Malaysia but I believe there is still a lack of political will to support the local performing arts. If indeed there’s funding from the government or other agencies, it’s not clear where it is going to.
“The lack of funding is one of the reasons the performing arts scene in Malaysia is not developing. We have lagged far behind our Singaporean, Thai, Indonesian and Cambodian
neighbours. You can say our arts scene is in financial doldrums.”

* How do you overcome this?

“Our funds have always come from individuals who felt a strong link to our work as a different artistic point of view and also a much needed voice for urban Malaysians.
“Our previous production Parah is a prime example of the deep personal relationship we have with the audience.
“The conservative corporations and government bodies felt Parah was not a great fit for them to support financially.
“But thanks to great individuals who stepped forward (such as Instant Cafe Theatre Angels) and independently helped to raise funds for the production, we were able to stage Parah and get a wide section of urban Malaysians to watch it. We had a completely sold-out production.
“If you believe in plays such as Parah and want us to bring more good theatre to the stage, then sign up to be an Instant Cafe Theatre Angel.
“You can be a Bronze Angel for RM500 or a Blue Sapphire Angel for RM9,999 and above. Every ringgit counts.
“If you want to support us and be an angel, email to admin@ instantcafetheatre.com for details.”




THE SECOND ARTICLE IN THE SUN  NOV 1 
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Suggested Headline : Love Story 2012 
By Bissme S 


A Singaporean Muslim convert and divorcee, Shahirah, and a Christian widower, Robert, fall in love and plan to get married. In Singapore, a Muslim can marry a non-Muslim under civil law, with each spouse maintaining his or her own religion.
But Shahirah’s university-going daughter Nadirah disapproves of her mother’s relationship with a non Muslim. Can this love story have a happy ending?
This interesting plot is being tackled in a theatre production entitled Nadirah. Written by Alfian Sa’at and directed by Jo Kukathas and Amsalan Doraisingam, this play will be staged at klpac (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre) from Nov 1 to 11.
Playing the forbidden lovers are 49-year-old Singaporean award-winning actress Neo Swee-lin and 65-year-old Malaysian actor and former radio personality Patrick Teoh. Others in the play include Redza Minhat, Farah Rani and Ani Juliana Ibrahim.
In this exclusive interview, Neo and Teoh share their views on the play and how they fell about working in Malaysia and Singapore.

* What attracted you two to the roles in Nadirah?   

Neo: “This is my first role playing a Muslim. The gift of theatre is that you can lead other lives that you will never be able to discover otherwise. What I like best is when my character fell in love with a man of a different faith, she believes it is possible that they can be together and still hold on to their different faith.
“It is so cute and touching to see this middle-aged couple, who are close to their 50s and who have already lived lives and had relationships with other people, falling in love and behaving like teenagers. What makes us think falling in love is only for the young?
“The play doesn’t provide solutions but it does ask questions. In theory, it will be great if everybody has one religion. But we do not. We are a plural society and we should celebrate the diversity of it.” 

Teoh: “I am not a method actor. I play a doctor here but you will not see me in a doctor’s office to find out what goes on there. I depend very much on the director and the words and situation the writer gives me. I strongly believe an actor is only as good as the material that he has to work with. 
“When I do theatre, which is not very often, I only work with people I know. It will take a lot from me to accept a role with a director I’ve never worked with before. When you work with strangers, you have to deal with egos. 
“Nadirah is a timely play for us in Malaysia. We are living through inter-religious and inter-racial tensions every day of our lives. This play is very relevant to what’s going on here.”

* How will you react if you were in the character’s shoe in real life?  

Neo: “I cannot speak as a Muslim because I’m not a Muslim. But as a Catholic, I married a man who was a free thinker. Suddenly, after 15 years of marriage, he wanted to convert to Catholicism. I did not force him, neither did my family. Even my mum told my husband that he should do it for himself, not because he’s married to me.” 

Teoh: “I’m one of those people who will jump into the relationship if I was attracted to a woman of a different faith. I will fight whatever problems I might face in the future. Religion has always been manipulated to divide people.”  

* You two have worked in both the Malaysian and Singapore entertainment scene. What is the biggest difference and challenge you find?  

Neo: “People in Singapore are very much into goals. I do not feel very stressed when I was in Malaysia for my theatre rehearsals. They do not fine you or lock the doors if you are five minutes late. Discipline is important but once you start going crazy over it, you are creating a negative environment. I guess I like the organised chaos here.
“The only thing that is not so nice here is that you can only rehearse in the evenings because most of the actors are not full time. In Singapore, that is not the case but the problem there is that the actors take on too many jobs and by the time they come for rehearsal, they are drained.”


Teoh: “In Singapore, I have only worked for television shows. Everything is orderly. Everything starts on time. In Malaysian television productions, you are eating all the time. Personally, I like the relaxed atmosphere here. But it must not affect the work we are doing.”