Wednesday, September 5, 2007

10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka


Last night, a very good pal of mine invited me to see his new movie-documentary. The title of that movie is as above. I saw it at the Central Market Annexe... a really cool place... and the movie will be screened again during the Freedom Film Festival also at CM next weekend, 14-16 Sept.

We MUST go see this movie. Or alternatively, we must bring this movie to UTAR. In fact, we should do both, in my opinion.

I LOVED the movie. I loved it because it was excavating a part of Malaysian history--the Malay left progressive movement led by PKMM and PUTERA-AMCJA--that few of us know. I have to admit, I was woefully ignorant until I saw this movie by Fahmi Reza.

The movie made me think. Made me question. Moved me. Made me laugh. Made me sad. For a first-time filmmaker, Fahmi did a simply astounding job bringing to the screen something so important.

Did you know that on 20 October 1947, there was a nationwide strike to protest the British-proposed and elite-Sultanate-UMNO-led Federal Constitution?

Did you know there was actually a People's Constitution that was drafted by the people--not the rich, the elite, the sultans, UMNO--but by ordinary Malaysians of all creeds and colours?

Did you know the British declared darurat because that was the only way they could capture and suppress the people's movement? The Communists were used as the eternal bogeyman for the colonial powers.

Did you know...
Did you know... This was what I felt when I watched this documentary. And to think that Prof Khoo Khay Kim said in theSun that there is a possibility the MOE is thinking of not offering history as a compulsory subject for primary and secondary schools.

NO wonder... look what history they are teaching us!

We have to watch this movie. We owe it to ourselves.

Check out the film's website at http://10tahun.blogspot.com/ and click on all the links for this post for more information.

15 comments:

amy2kyo said...

I raised my right hand. I want to watch it. :P

Harwina said...

Hi Dr Carmen,

For you the movie made you think but for me your post itself got me thinking..

The most amazing thing is that, people like Fahmi Reza has started to think beyond what has been taught and also have realized that media is the best way to convey their knowledge or whatever he wanted to reveal.

When you start questioning 'Did you know...' us, it shows that you know that we don't know most of the facts in that movie and this itself proves one fantastic point that UNKNOWN or UNREVEALED facts can be brought to light with proper channeling and method.

Until and unless i watch the movie, i doubt that i will ponder on anything else except on how some Malaysians are starting to think out of the box, how they use the media to convey their thoughts and how effective is this this method.

In this case, i think you must be right that we should watch this movie and all other movies of this kind and i bet that this will bring us and other Malaysians out of their small knowledge cocoon that their in now. I wont deny the fact that i hate history but looking back at what our country is made of and trying to fight for rights even without knowing the history is like building a monument without a base or a proper foundation, and certainly the next consequence we will face is destruction. In order to learn our 'real' history , i think its better to start watching movies like this and then start doing our own research..Am i right Dr Carmen ? :)

Anita said...

I wanna watch! I wanna watch! Raise my right hand too...
hehe...

but seriously, i wanna watch this movie so that i can be exposed to the things i NEVER knew, OR never bothered to know...
it would definitely teach me something... :)

Anita said...

sorry left out something...

...something about our country...

KahJoon said...

you can count me in. i'm a history lover. it can also add to my knowledge. this kind of documentary is hard to come by 1 so i wouldn't want to miss the chance.

Carmen N said...

Waaaaah! So semangat! And Harwinna's post gives lots of food for thought too!

Ok... Fahmi will be happy... he asked me to bring my students anyway... you guys are famous--well, CT students I teach are famous because a lot of them have met my progressive pals and have said impressive things. :-)

So... in line with that tradition, we'll discuss next week Wed about our film excursion to Central Market! woooohooooo!

jeannie said...

This really tempted me...Have to think critically now whether I should go or not..

amy2kyo said...

Jeannie, you see Dr. Carmen so excited ady. Better go. :P

KahJoon said...

dr carmen, ask Rohan to go also..it would be fun to have discussion wit him lah..would be nice if u could intro fahmi to us..but i think i'll be tongue-tied if u intro him to me..haha

Carmen N said...

Ok... :-) I will try to bring Ruhan but he is also a critical thinker who has assignments due so... he may say "yes"! hahahahahah

And you should all definitely go! Fahmi is the nicest guy possible and very very willing to talk to young people. Not that he is very old... not even 30!

He has come to UTAR before your time, did a performance about the MCP and talked to your seniors. They will remember him I am sure. Dewgem's group.

Ok... lunch after CT exam... whoever wants to join, please do! But I am not belanja-ing lah... broke already this month!

amy2kyo said...

Ok! Road trip to Central Market this coming Wednesday! Err.. Lrt trip I guess! Haha :P

It's gotta be real fun meeting these famous people and thanks to you, Dr. Carmen. What a great opportunity this is! Grab it before it's gone! lol.

Anyway, good luck in exams, guys! ;)

J-Chee said...

I wanna watch oso~~!!! count me in plzzzz~~~!! ^^ history.. woohoo.. i'd prefer watch than read, haha :P btw, are things mentioned in the film facts ar?

Carmen N said...

Yup! More than just facts... they are accounts told to us by 4-5 of the ORIGINAL members of PUTERA-AMCJA and PKMM. Because Fahmi actually went to their homes and interviewed all these very old and very endearing looking pakciks and uncle. It is very sad to look at them... they seem quite crushed.

It's really true what they say, that history is always told from the point of view of the victors.

Those who don't "win" end up being relegated to the margins of history and even the future. And a lot of the times, those who don't win are many--the powerless, poor masses--and those who win are few--the rich elite.

This is a generalization of course but in our country, it is woefully true.

Gilgamesh said...

Erm... Dr.C.... How to contact Fahmi ar? I mean my bro and I wanna watch the movie again lar... He seems pretty interested when I told him about Hartal... Hahahahaha...

WOW all the teksi tak adak... so damn cool wei... (Anyway, that was my bro typing...) Haahahahaha...

Carmen N said...

Hi Michelle's bro!! Want to join our blog? Just pass me your email via Michelle and I will add you on. :-)

As for Fahmi, just click to the link that is in this post--the link on his film, SepuluhTahun at blogspot and his email is there. You can also write a comment in his blog and GUARANTEE he will write back. Fahmi is a web fiend!

Good luck!