Cabinet Ministers should prove they are not “half-past six” — view Amir Muhammad’s Apa Khabar Orang Kampung and Tsai Ming-liang’s I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone to approve their release to demonstrate that the Abdullah administration is open and liberal and not an ostrich hiding its head in the sand.
The banning of both films when Malaysia is celebrating the 50th anniversary of nationhood sends out the clear message that Malaysia is not ready to have a “First World Infrastructure, First World Mentality” culture and mindset that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had proclaimed as his top agenda.
The problem is not so much the people of Malaysia as the government, which is clearly not prepared to “walk the talk” and honour Abdullah’s various commitments — including to listen to the truth and to respect and even celebrate diversity of opinions and dissent.
The reason given by the Censorship Board for its ban of Apa Khabar Orang Kampung in that it is “historically incorrect” is most ludicrous, for it is in communist systems that there can be only one version of history and where personalities can overnight disappear from history books to become “non-persons”.
The motive behind the Censorship Board ban of I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone that it would be detrimental to the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 is even more ridiculous, as tourists will not come to Malaysia to see the film when they can view it overseas where the Malaysian Censorship Board’s ban does not extend.
In fact, the Censorship Board’s ban will give I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone additional attraction when it is screened overseas. The film is slated for release in Taiwan on March 23, Japan at the end of the month and in Singapore and the United States in April.
Tsai’s film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival last year and was also nominated for several Golden Horse awards in Taiwan, where the Sarawak-born director is based. The film received a seven-minute standing ovation in Venice.
If Cabinet Ministers are afraid to view both films, then let there be a viewing of both films by all MPs when Parliament reconvenes on March 19 for its fourth meeting for 23 days till April 26, 2007 so that MPs can debate whether it is more meaningful for Malaysia to celebrate half-a-century of nationhood by lifting the ban on both films or whether the ban on both films should symbolize a continuing immaturity and growing intolerance of diversity of opinion completely inimical to the Vision 2020 objective for an innovative, creative and talented Malaysian nation.
It will be very sad if the ban of Amir’s Apa Khabar Orang Kampung and Tsai Ming-liang’s I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone ends up in history as the most symbolic meaning of 50 years of Malaysian nation-building and Merdeka.