Unspun

It’s heartening to read about the courage of Malaysia’s new crop of film makers in tackling the issue of interracial relationships in the country, as reported by AFP (read the rest of this posting for the AFP report).

Love and relationships between races happens all the time and we can discuss about the issue or live in denial. Unspun, however, is intrigued by those Malaysians who criticize these film makers. It would seem that they protest too much.

Perhaps Malaysia can learn from Indonesia where there is much, much more racial tolerance, especially when it comes to interracial relationships. Sure, there are all sorts of laws and religious caveats about who should or shouldn’t do what but most Indonesians just ignore them and get on with living life.

Unspun thinks that this is because, compared to Malaysians, Indonesians are culturally secure. When you’re secure you do not need to scream and shout and feel threatened every time someone touches on the issue of your race or culture. But Unspun has been away from the homeland for many years and may not have his perspective spot on. What how other Malaysians stand on this subject?

AFP report below:

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Interracial romance has become increasingly taboo in multi-ethnic Malaysia, so a rash of films exploring the issue has touched raw nerves and triggered a debate rarely seen in the mainstream media.

A new set of independent film-makers say they are intent on portraying true-to-life Malaysian love stories, instead of the cliche-ridden homegrown films aimed at mass audiences.

Chief among them is “Sepet,” which made waves when it premiered in 2005 by portraying a mixed-race romance, and having its characters speak English in the typically Malaysian style often termed “Manglish”.

“Sepet,” which means “narrow eyes” in reference to the ethnic Chinese who live alongside Indians and Muslim Malays here, explores Malay-Chinese race relations and the issue of nationhood, all woven into a moving tale of young love.

It was a heady mix for audiences in Malaysia, where relations between the races have soured in recent years and ethnic Chinese and Indians complain of a growing “Islamisation” of their country.

Critically-acclaimed director Yasmin Ahmad was soon fending off a slew of criticism from film industry leaders who said the movie threatened Malay Muslim culture and could corrupt Muslim audiences.

There were howls of outrage not only about the romance, but also scenes such as one where the lead actress, a Malay girl, walks with her Chinese boyfriend into a restaurant which sells pork — a forbidden food for Muslims.

“It wasn’t some big crusade against racial segregation at all. It just starts with these two kids being different races and then they fall in love,” Yasmin told AFP.

“I was a bit frustrated that most movies about young romance made here often insult your intelligence,” she said.

“Sepet” was awarded Best Asian Film at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2005, and took several honours at home.

“There has been a proliferation of these types of movies, but I think these are stories about people and not so much about the race. These new producers are setting new standards,” Yasmin said.

In the 1960s golden era of Malaysian movie-making, films were largely influenced by South Indian and British cinema, and featured the different races and cultures in a colonial setting.

However, in a shift that some say is tied to the rising influence of Islam, production shifted to more mass-market fare skewed to Malay culture, with ethnic Chinese and Indians often reduced to mere stereotypes.

Movies which did not toe the line by solely using Bahasa Melayu, the national language, or were deemed culturally subversive would often fail to qualify for government financing and be left out of local awards.

But undaunted, the new rash of films include “Gol and Gincu” (Goal and Lipstick) and “Goodbye Boys” which both explore budding romances and friendships among the races, as well as cultural clashes.

“The Big Durian” is another controversial feature which indirectly questions government policy on race and religion with its look at a 1987 incident when an army officer ran amok and shot Chinese and Indians in his neighbourhood.

Last year, independent film-maker Arivind Abraham wrapped his first feature film “S’kali,” a tale that touches on mixed-race relationships, alcoholism and friendship.

“People tend to think that there are no problems these days with regards to interracial relationships but that’s not entirely true,” said 23-year-old Abraham. “There are a lot of problems behind closed doors still, and there seems to be this assumption that that’s the norm.”

“We are allowed to work together, be friends together but when it comes to going beyond that, it is going to be a huge problem.”

Ahmad Izham Omar, chief executive of 8TV which draws an educated, urban viewership, said the new movies reflected a modern society where young people are interested in exploring such issues.

“It is a huge leap forward for society as a whole to be able to talk about these issues without being afraid to tread on sensitive toes,” Ahmad Izham said.

“Movies like “S’kali” and “Sepet,” they target the urban, more broad-minded people in Malaysia (who) are not too worried about interracial relationships.”

Ahmad Izham said most mainstream movies were made for the mass market which translates to the majority ethnic Malays.

“There you would have a Malay hero with his Malay girlfriend in a typical love story but that is not the real Malaysian society,” Ahmad Izham said, adding that even commercials “pigeon-holed” consumers based on their ethnicity.

In “S’kali” pressure from parents and strict cultural mores eventually causes the couple to split.

“In the end the reason they break up is that they suddenly realise that all the prejudice they thought they were fighting against was actually within the both of them. Despite them thinking it’s not there it suddenly pops out,” Abraham said.