RIFLE RANGE BOY

Tiger Stripes (2023) Written and Directed by Amanda Nell Eu This movie reminds me of P Ramlee's not-so-famous film, 'Sitora Harimau Jadian'. Sitora was 1964 Malaya's answer to the European folklore of werewolves. Instead of werewolves, he created a story about a were-tiger. Made in black and white with a limited budget for the make-up department, it failed both in awe and in its gore aspects. 'Tiger Stripes', on the other hand, is not much of a scary movie. It is more of a social commentary. It highlights bullying in schools, the confusing hormones-laden pubertal era, the uninspiring methods of teaching, and maybe many more. International viewers will wonder why girls in that all-girls school suddenly go haywire, shrieking and falling down simultaneously with jerky hand and body movements like a person possessed. Yes, the film also showcases the problem of mass hysteria, a peculiar phenomenon that is seen in many all-female Malaysian schools and hostels. Another...

La Luna (2023) Director:  M. Raihan Halim It is not just confined to one religion; it so happens that Islam is the reference in this film. Leaders of any religion, way of life, or cult take it upon themselves to be the de facto spokesperson on how the religion should be practised. They want to have the final say as if they had an audience with the Almighty, who whispered the secrets of life in their ears.  To the young and restless, they give the impression that their lifelong purpose in life is to screw up everybody's happiness. Just to show who is the boss.  Take this example. Occasionally, at the temple I sometimes frequent, there will be public service announcements of some good news or achievements. Naturally, the congregation would display their pleasure and admiration by clapping. That was the most natural thing for us humans to do. "But no!" said one elder, who raised his hands angrily to stop them from clapping. Strangely, a few minutes later, everyone was seen e...

At a time when tranquillity is a distant memory and race politics is rearing its ugly head, it is only appropriate that we re-evaluate our stand on what it is to be a Malaysian. Does it encompass only the majority of people of a particular ethnicity who dominate most fields, as determined by the country's social engineering policies? Does it refer to the earliest occupants of the country? Does being a Malaysian mean being a Muslim only? What happened to all the people who sacrificed their hearts and minds for the nation all this while? Their  “blood, toil, tears and sweat” mean nothing? To the pea-brained who insists that Malaysia is only for Malay-Muslims and the rest are most temporary occupants of the land who should be thankful for their temporary occupation, read this. The Dass legacy: Soldering on By Adrian David June 14, 2021, New Straits Times.   Flying Officer (Rtd) David Samuel Dass in his Royal Air Force uniform during War War I. - Pic courtesy of Brig-Gen Dr Alexan...

Crossroads: One Two Jaga (2018) Direction: Nam Ron It is easy to form an opinion on people just based on a cursory look at them. The problem with this is that our judgement is clouded by our prejudice and our ignorance. We are all guilty of hating people that we have not seen what more interacted. Walk a mile in their shoes, and we will realise the things they do. We may even understand that the 'other' whom we hate so much are no different from us. This excellent Malaysian movie illustrates just that. It tries to point out that people do the things they do because of circumstances, which may appear wrong from the eye of the human-made law or divine decree. For them, it is a matter of survival or to do what is best for the betterment of loved ones. It tells the story of a veteran police officer, Hussein, with an idealistic newbie officer, Hassan, as they go on their rounds. Hassan thinks that law must be enforced as it is their job. Hussein, however, thinks their jo...

Fly by Night (Malaysian, 2019) Once a while you get a good Malaysian movie without the usual ridiculing of races or filled with simpleton slap slick comedy. This is it. There are no attempts by the moviemakers to ensure that the characters are overtly different. They are who they are, Malaysians, and they act their roles. They switch between Malay, English and Cantonese seamlessly, with no demarcation of us and them. Every scene springs familiarity as the background has been seen in real life many times before. The settings are authentic, like the back lanes and the interior of a typical working-class Chinese family. The film centres around a band of brothers in a small family business of extortion and trickery. They use their city taxis and the airport terminal as their fronts for their nefarious activities. Their quiet business becomes a mess as their firebrand youngest brash family member spring wings and wants to explore greener pastures. A scorned mistress who is hel...

Echoes of Silence (1994) Author: Chuah Guat Eng It is long overdue, but it is never late than never. For many years, Malaysians have been writing novels in the English Language. Sadly, their following is few and far between. Through my association with a group of up and coming writers and with the power of social media, it has come to light on the treasure troves of writings of Malaysian writers in the lingua franca left by our colonial masters. I am not just referring to authors to the likes of Tan Twan Eng, Rani Manicka and K.S. Maniam. Do you know that periodically Malaysians do hit the headlines for the right reasons, literary awards being one? Guat Eng is hailed in the local literary circle as a 'Godmother' of sorts. She has been an active participant in the writing scene and was in the advertising field. In this story, which is set around the early years of Malaya, though the World War Two, we are ushered into a fictional world of how Malaya used to be and a peculi...

The Return (1981) Author: K S Maniam A plethora of emotion flowed through as I perused through this book. The memories of yesteryears, of the dilemma in wanting to retain the Indian identity as well as knowing that Indianness was taking me nowhere. The perplexity of needing to get out the rut of being born in the lower class of society as well as not wanting to be one to forget his past. The predicament of not wanting to speak the Tamil language so as not to attract the wrong crowd but to converse in English, which in my mind, was the language of knowledge. Enduring the insults of being 'white-assed' for pretending not to understand the language whilst living in a place equivalent to a ghetto. Of being embarrassed by the fiasco of the Indians in the neighbourhood as if I was the bearer of everything Indian. This story also reminds me of all the people in my life who work hard as if it was the last thing they need to do but lack the foresight to prepare for th...

The Rice Mother (2004) Author: Rani Manicka History is written by victors said Walter Benjamin. History is a set of lies that people have agreed upon according to Napoleon Bonaparte. History will be kind to me as I intend to write it, asserted Winston Churchill. These statements just show us how the real narration, the truth can and will be manipulated by the people in power to set forth their personal agendas. Of late, in Malaysia, there is a concerted effort to erase the contributions of particular communities in the development of the country. History is altered and churned out as they like as if it is a fictional writing to bring out a happy ending that suits the flavour of the month. Like the Ministry of Truth in Orwell's 1984, they churn out lies after lies to suit their game plan. They know well that one who controls the past controls the future and he who controls the present controls the past. Talk to any Malaysian family. They all have a tale to tell about the...

Absent Without Leave (2015) From the outset, you know why this documentary film was banned in Malaysia. The background musical score, songs at the opening and closing credits were all variants of 'Terang Bulan' or 'Mamula Moon'. As it is commonly known, it is the precursor to our National Anthem. Legend has it that Sultan Abdullah, after being exiled in Seychelles Island in 1877 for assassinating JWW Birch, first came in contact with this tune was played by a French band there. After completing his sentence, upon his return to the State of Perak, he penned the State Anthem with that melody. When his successor made a trip to England in 1888 to attend Queen Victoria's inauguration, this song (Allah lanjutkan Usia Sultan, it was named), was played at his arrival in Southampton port for the first time and became the de facto anthem of the Malay states. In the 1920s, the tune became a popular hit with a Hawaiian twist, played by many musicians in the Malay Archi...

Jagat (Trilingual Malaysian; 2015) History has taught us again and again that the fate of a tribe/community/race is so dependent on the foresightedness of its leaders. Many civilisations soared to great heights or conversely disappeared into obscurity due to lack of direction, all because of the presence of a capable or weak leader respectively. A leader is the one who foresees any untoward incidents that may come the way of his flock so as that he can pave a safe path. His mission is to serve his kind to ensure their continuity as a formidable group. For this task, the leader is accorded certain privileges which the society can withdraw at any juncture they feel apt. When the followers continue to follow blindly to the tricks of the sycophantic leaders and play doormat to their demands without batting an eyelid but wallowing their misfortune in fate, they truly deserve the leaders they get. Instead of the politicians working towards the well-being of the plebeians, looks like th...

Letters to Home (2016) Young Malaysians write back Edited by Ooi Kok Hin, Aish Kumar, Nik Mohamed Rashid Nik Zurin Just when you had heard enough of whining, ranting, hurling of brickbats at the pathetic state of affairs that the country and possible failed nation status that we may plunge, out comes a book which tries to paint a blue sky, a new dawn and words of hopefulness. At an instance, when most disillusioned Malaysians are leaving our shores to graze upon lush greens elsewhere and when overseas-trained graduates find their comfort zone their Newfoundland, this book gives a glimmer of hope. It tells us that life in this country in the future may not be all doom and gloom. This 234-paged book is a collection of over 30 authors who contributed to this uplifting experience. The writers are mainly millennials who were privileged enough to spend some time overseas in their pursuit of academic excellence, some through state scholarships. Many of them are envious of the ongoing p...

DUKE Inspector Mislan & the DUKExpressway Murders By: Rozlan Mohd Noor Met Rozlan at a book reading event and was convinced by him to give a go at his brand of Malaysian crime pulp fiction. After leaving the police force, one of his lifetime ambitions was to write ten books. Apparently, he has almost filled up with bucket list; two more to go!  He mirrors his protagonist after Horatio of CSI Miami, the mysterious cop with many hidden things in his closet. He juggles life as a single parent of a preteen and his demanding job of busting crimes in the city of Kuala Lumpur.  A car crashes onto a divider in the DUKE highway. Initial investigations soon reveal the victims to be business colleagues and lovers. What is initially reported as a suicide-murder becomes murky as the investigating officer, Inspector Mislan Latif, finds more and more loose ends that do not fit. The case becomes hotter as many people from the top, his superiors and politicians, hellbent ...

There must be something wrong with our top down approach in teaching History to our young ones. And what do you expect from the politicians who always keep changing the origin and the course of history as they fancy to befit their bedevilled agenda? The real history of a civilisation and a nation should be rightly learnt from a ground-up manner. The real story lies hidden amongst the many untold narrations of the little people, the fabric who make the nation, not the generals and warlords who look at events of the day through their rose tinted glasses who would want themselves to be portrayed in Annals of times as heroes. Many such stories of the ordinary people remain untold in this country. Their viewpoints had never been seen as sexy or newsworthy. After all, they are just economic migrants in pursuit of survival from a land already in ruins. What do they know? They are sometimes viewed by the earlier dwellers as just snatchers of the country's wealth to send it...