Malay Regiment

Show Tanda Putera

Jul 27th, 2012
by admin.
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Tanda Putera - Courtesy of www.FILEMKITA.com

Tanda Putera – Courtesy of www.FILEMKITA.com

I hardly watch Malay movies nowadays simply because of the arthritic nature of the dialogues – painfully and unrealistically book-styled etc.  The last Malay movie I watched was “Leftenan Adnan” based on the life and death of Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi of the Malay Regiment who perished after a gallant last stand against the invading Imperial Japanese Army at Opium Hill/Kent Ridge in Singapore.  Even then, the stiff dialogues were there.

“Tanda Putera”, directed by Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba, is based on the story of the late Tun Razak, Malaysia’s Second Prime Minister, the 13th May tragedy, his friendship with his deputy, the late Tun Dr Ismail, and his secret fight against Leukemia.  Although I was not invited to the sneak preview of the movie, I was told by fellow blogger Big Dog that it is a movie not to be missed.  He showed me the trailer, and I thought it to be somewhat impressive.  I am pretty sure that it would still contain those arthritic dialogues, but given the sensitive nature of the topic the movie revolves around, I am very sure Shuhaimi Baba would have done extensive research to ensure accuracy of the historical aspect of the movie, much like “Leftenan Adnan.”

For those who believe in what actually happened during the 13th May tragedy, I am sure they would find the movie educational.  However, there will be those who will call it a racist movie, inciting hatred and what have you to justify that the movie should not be watched.  I have seen the reaction by those who oppose to this movie without first taking a look at the movie itself.  Most of those who oppose are those who knew only Tun Dr Mahathir as being the first Prime Minister in their life, and that the PLUS highway has been there since the Cretaceous Period.  While I agree that we should move on from dwelling on the 13th May issue, we should not forget history; what more with attempts to skew the details of history like those done by the likes of Mat Sabu, Kua Kia Soong et al.  There is a lesson to be learnt from the dangers of the 13th May tragedy that is very clear and present today – politics of hatred.  The film does not blame any political party, but instead pointed out the contributions by anarchists, subversive elements, agitators, whom had infiltrated political parties, organisations, unions in order to spread chaos and anarchy – the likes we see now penetrating NGOs in Malaysia, including the blatant hijacking of an otherwise apartisan BERSIH movement.  Read more about the reaction of a certain dinosaur in Parliament when he was asked by an MP about a certain scene involving members of a certain community urinating at the flagpole of the Menteri Besar’s house here.

I find it funny that the very same people who said that Malaysians are matured enough when the likes of Kua Kia Soong and Chin Peng wrote books to present “their view of history” which maybe, in my opinion, very biased, object to the showing of this movie.  Perhaps they want a movie to depict the Imperial Japanese Army as very nice people who treated the Manchurians very well during the years preceding World War 2.

I also find it funny that the Director-General of FINAS has delayed the release of the movie saying it clashes with other events like the Merdeka Day celebration and Hari Raya Puasa.  I thought these two events would help sales of Malay movies as they have in past years.

I would just show it…and as people have said, we Malaysians are matured enough to handle anything.

Or are we?

Salute The Men And Women In Green

May 7th, 2012
by admin.
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Second World War British Army Mess Tin

It was probably a mess tin like the above, used by the British Army during the Second World War.  His name was probably Lieutenant Ariffin bin Haji Sulaiman (Recruit No. 8), or he could have been Private Ariffin bin Abdul Rani (Recruit No. 856).  The widow of one of them donated a mess tin given by her late husband to the Bukit Chandu Memorial, where both the Ariffins above, and the well-known Second-Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi (Recruit No.90) fell after putting up a gallant fight against the Imperial Japanese Army.

Just before the fall of Johor Bahru, officers and men of the First and Second Battalion of the Malay Regiment shipped their family members back to their respective hometown by train.  Before his wife’s departure, Ariffin did not know what to give her as a parting gift, knowing very well he would never see them again.  He quickly grabbed his mess tin as shown above and gave it to her as a token of remembrance.  It was with this mess tin that she would scoop up rice to cook and feed her children, as if Ariffin was with her to bring the children up together.

As members of the Armed Forces, the Army is here to ensure that that our nation and her economic interests are guarded and protected, so that we can live earn a living and live our lives with our family peacefully and uninterrupted.  We know they exist, but we often forget their role.  Of late, the Armed Forces has been subjected to negative publicity, no thank you to selfish politicians who have no better thing to do than to continually undermine the institutions that safeguard the interests of the nation, to achieve political ambitions through the obliteration of public trust towards these institutions.

As a result, the Army, through the Ministry of Defence and in conjunction with the celebration of the Army’s 79th anniversary, conducted a “Army with Media” day at the Sungai Besi Premier Camp, near Kuala Lumpur.  Members of the media were given the chance to participate in competitions that depict daily lives of an army personnel such as the Spike Boot trail, accessorizing the working dress (or Number 3 Uniform), camouflaging their face, filling up ammo into a rifle’s magazine, and rifle shooting competition.  the event was sponsored by Sapura, Maxis, AEON and several other co-sponsors.  32 media teams including bloggers comprising of 5 members each made it to the day-long event with the hope of a better understanding between media be they the mainstream ones or from both sides of the political fence, and the Army.

Army with the Media

Army with the Media

I took the opportunity to interview Lieutenant-Colonel (Dr) Tan Hooi Mooi of the Army Medical Corps.  A mother of four, she joined the Medical Corps in 1999 as a Captain (Professional Duty) and signed on for another five years service after completing her mandatory ten.  Although her civilian counterparts working for the Ministry of Health earn more than she does, she finds it comfortable to be in the service even though there are times when she would have to leave the family to serve in areas of operation including shipboard during exercises with the Navy, or deep inside the jungle.  It is good to see a non-Malay female officer attaining that rank.  I spotted several non-Malay senior officers beneath several marquees entertaining journos that attended the event.

The Minister of Defence delivering his speech

In his speech, the Minister of Defence hopes that with the event, there will be better understanding between the Army and the Media about the service and its personnel, its continuous need to evolve into a better deterrent as time goes by.  The Minister also hopes that there will be a larger-scale event involving the media in conjunction with the Army’s 80th anniversary.  He also hopes to get several opposition representatives to attend the event.

As for me, this fading old soldier feels glad that there is much attention given to the betterment of the Armed Forces as a whole.  Housing and facilities, pay and allowances, equipment, privileges have all improved – a far cry from what it used to be during my time.  Yes, I envy them, but I am also proud of them.  I hope they will maintain their professionalism and will continue to, as I still do, be loyal to His Majesty the King, and to the country.

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