By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |
All set to scramble to catch the movie Mat Kilau? Sikhs are keen to see how Sikh soldiers, working for the British, were portrayed in the action movie which is breaking grounds on collection count. The movie is making money. After 17 days, the collection is said to have crossed RM61 million. It has certainly turned into a local box-office phenomenon.
Take a breather. We went to watch ‘Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan’ to help you decide whether you want to part with your hard earned money.
The movie is pitched as a ‘film inspired by the epic Malaysian historical figure Mat Kilau who had fought against the British colonists in Pahang before independence.’
There is Mat Kilau, the Malay warrior who fought the British colonialists in the Malaysian state of Pahang. He was the son of Pahang chieftain Tok Gajah. And there is Mat Kilau the movie, a fictional presentation around the times of the Pahang uprising (1891-1895).
Let’s get the politics out of the way. There are two things at work when we try to understand the world surrounding Mat Kilau at that point of time. There is the rivalry between the Malay chiefs, and their anger with the British for snatching away their income. In her monograph on Pahang’s history, Prof Aruna Gopinath noted that the major threat which (Pahang ruler) Sultan Ahmad and his chiefs faced was the British establishment of the State Council in 1889.
“With the creation of the this institution, the individual powers and privileges of the Sultan and his chiefs were defined and regulated….Paradoxically Sultan Ahmad and his chiefs were affected by the new regulations passed with regards to two sensitive issues – slavery and forced labour. These had constituted an essential part of wealth in the traditional government for Sultan Ahmad and his chiefs, but the new laws were to act against their interests,” she writes in the monograph entitled ‘Pahang, 1880-1933: A Political History.’
So, it’s not all about yanking out the British. Self-preservation and self-interest is very much at work.
Now, back to the movie. Turbaned Sikhs were very visibly present throughout the movie. These were the British-employed policemen. How did they end up there? Here are two entries in the ‘Sikhs In Malaysia Series (Volume Two) – Highlights of A Century (1873-1973)‘ by Malkiat Singh Lopo-Dhaliwal and Mukhtiar Kaur Rattian-Sandhu.
“1888: Sikhs from Selangor Police volunteered to follow Captain Cross to start a new force in Pahang. On reaching Singapore the party sailed to Pekan. In the following year the British Resident Mr Rodger established the Pahang Sikhs after recruiting more men from Selangor, Perak and Singapore. In this way Sikhs became the pioneers to start the police forces in Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Pahang. By 1892, there were 200 Sikhs in the Pahang Police.”
“1891. A detachment of 53 men from the Selangor Sikh Contingent, under Captain Syers, rendered their services in Pahang.”
The audience are quickly drawn in the thick of action. The movie begins with Captain Syers, accompanied by Sikh soldiers, rounding up a group of Malay villagers, looking for some rebel-rousers. It does not end well for the villagers. Some cold blooded shooting ensue.
The British officer comes across as arrogant, displaying haughty contempt of others. He describes the Malays as ‘bangsa yang berpecah-belah, bangsa yang mudah dibeli‘ (a divided race, easily bought). More on the scripting, later. He is made out to be almost a comical figure. Okay, you cannot mistake enemy number one!
One of the Punjabi-Sikh soldiers speaks Malay, and is pretty good at it, too. Nothing like the Punjabi kid in the Upin & Ipin series who speaks funny Malay, mimicking the ways how some Sikhs used to speak in pre-Merdeka days. Syers sidekick is a Chinese taukey. He, too, speaks fluent Malay.
But there’s a huge problem with the scripting. Many a time, it ends up sounding like a school play. There is too much of in-your-face preaching of Malay unity and Islam. “Di mana ketuanan orang Melayu di mata British?” asks one of the chieftains at a meeting. Nothing wrong with wanting to push the Malay agenda. But do it more gracefully. It should weave effortlessly in and out of the dialogues, not pushed down your throat. When writing, remember this dictum: show, don’t tell.
Take the scene when Mat Kilau is talking to wife and kid. They are about to go separate ways for a while due to the intense situation. Behind them is a waterfall, a beautiful scenery. But the dialogue falls flat, and the acting is miserable. All through the movie, they tried to deliver Yoda-like lines, but failed.
When it came to the brutal murder of a very pregnant woman, is it possible they had confused British harshness with the Japanese brutality in Malaya during World War 2? Perhaps the producers took liberty of the creative license. No one is suggesting the British are do-gooders, not capable of harm. Sikhs recall the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919. In 2019, British Prime Minister Theresa May described it as a ‘shameful scar on British Indian history’. [Year corrected].
So, is there an issue with the way the Sikh soldiers were represented? These were soldiers, not civilians. You give the movie producers the bandwidth to portray them a little bit on the ruthless side. Despite the intense fighting, with some fierce silat moves, their turbans stayed in tact. Bravo!
In real life, though, there is little documented proof that Sikh soldiers were barbaric.
When preparing his book years ago, Malkiat had combed reams and reams of material. Did he find anything to the opposite? “I have never came across a news report or complaint of Sikhs being brutal to the public. They were helpful, they helped the poor, they were the trusted by the community,” Malkiat told Asia Samachar.
So, if you have nothing really to do, then go and enjoy this Malay flick. Otherwise, keep drilling into your Netflix or whatever other platforms you have at your disposal.
RELATED STORY:
Action film Mat Kilau can promote hatred towards minorities, says Sikh organisations (Asia Samachar, 9 July 2022)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
