The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Umno needs ‘game-changer’ to ‘share nation’? Posted: 22 Dec 2011 06:57 PM PST DEC 23 — Umno has done it again. Yes, even worse than the chest-thumping and brandishing of the keris, Umno leaders have said it all again. Each outdoing the other to inflict greater trepidation in their political nemesis, the opposition parties. In so doing, Umno has turned "xenophobic". In their manic phase, they are finally waging war against anything perceived as "non-Umno" and, more despised, 'anti-Umno'. Now that the dust has settled, Umno "moderates" (very few) would have wished that it was only a rehearsal of sorts. Likened to a horrendous dream, many would not want to be reminded by it. If only they could rewind or delete the orgy of vitriolic speeches and frenzied antics. It has surely left a very bad taste in the nation's mouth for a long time to come. But it is too late. In all fairness, Najib's speech and the sound bites were mainly of party about to face a "do-or-die" outing in the impending 13th general election (GE). Understandably, it was aimed at heightening party's diehards and the faithful to be battle-ready. But beyond those usual rhetoric expected of leaders of all political parties, of whatever ideological persuasions and notably in anticipation of a GE, Umno has inadvertently laid themselves bare in the eyes of all and sundry. As if its information chief's rhetoric prior to the general assembly was not sufficient to stoke the siege-mentality that feeds on irrational fear, a current hallmark of the Umno-Malay constituency, speeches of both leaders of the two wings, Youth and Puteri, did not provide much to propel for a new framework of thinking. Indeed, Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin's belated effort of forging the concept of generational change does seem alien, and worse still, alienating to many of the rank and file. His talk of rewriting Umno's political DNA so as to enable the party to unlearn and relearn new realities, was surely beyond the grasp of his Youth Wing leaders, perhaps as well of top party leadership. Incidentally, when the deputy president of the party chided both wings' leaders for failing to attract the attention and interest of the Generation Y, it is a veiled critique that KJ's ideas were, at best, hot air. Failing to connect with Gen Y surely smacks of an inability to understand them in the first place, making a rewriting of Umno's political DNA or a generational change sound so aloof and academic. In all fairness, KJ could conversely have been blunt if only he had the courage to speak out against party's top leaders. KJ could have taken a pot-shot at Muhyuddin Yassin's own antics and his pathetic posturing on race-relation and Malay supremacy, which has time and again placed Umno Youth and Puteri Umno in a compromising situation and, hence, perceived as less "sexy" and attractive to the Gen-Y. If only "generational issues" of this nature be first understood, it helps political organizations to thrive. That aside, the nation was still willing to give Umno and Najib Razak a chance to prove their worth. The onus was on them to convince the rest of the nation that Umno has what it takes to redeem this failing nation. It was their show and all eyes were on them. Umno could have showcased all the good sides of Umno and that only Najib's Umno understands what it takes to lead and "To Share This Nation"! But, alas, for reasons only known to them, in much the same way the Auditor-General's report has nuked Najib's 2012 Election Budget, Umno has torpedoed any chance of their re-invention. In the face of a major watershed of the 13th GE, Najib and Umno's top leaders have miserably succumbed to playing to the bigger gallery of the Malay assembly. The reaction of Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin, the former Mufti of Perlis, who was back to attend the Umno GA from a short stint at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, perhaps said it all. At this critical crossroads, he opined that Umno has failed to bring new ideas to match the hopes of the rakyat. Other analysts were more unfriendly, perhaps more caustic, in their critiques. Faced with a litany of unending woes and a nation divided, Najib has failed to show he is in control of it all. Umno top leaders, Najib included, were driving the party faithful into frenzy by manufacturing stories that the Malays were besieged and victimised, and turning their political nemesis convenient "bogeymen". Literally none were spared. Given that overarching backdrop, the usually-visionary party president diminished into obscurity; in his place, a "street-fighter" of sorts. He lost sight of the bigger picture of convincing the world that only Umno could lead in "Sharing the Nation". He lost his Midas touch of a statesman; perhaps he never had one. Najib's speech of a "game-changer" then sounded so hollow and far-fetched. Although he elaborated why Umno was capable of meeting challenges throughout its historical development, he failed to highlight what it takes to be a real "game-changer". Najib rightly touched on three pertinent areas or elements that now require a "game-changer" – the new media, new political reality and new thinking among voters. But not unlike KJ, it was more hot air; products of a shadowy foreign operative to merely burnish his dented image both locally and internationally. A "game-changer", simply put, is one who is able to think out of the box and come out with new and different ideas that stand out from the crowd. A game-changer is a leader who provides the group what it cannot do for itself. He or she leads, instead of being led. Najib, unfortunately, is no epitome of a "game-changer" anyway. If anything, he is the anti-thesis of it. Similarly, Umno, which has long fossilised and is perhaps incapable of reinvention, is acutely in need of a "game-changer". You can't give what you don't have! What Najib failed to realise and elaborate in his speech was what it takes to truly be a "game-changer". If only Najib could have the audacity to grab the bull by its horns and tell all the Umno warlords that Umno must reform before it can transform, half the battle could have been won. Reformation must be wide-ranging in all sectors: politically, economically and socio-legally. It must cut across the various levels; structurally, fundamentally and in fact breaking through on the realm of world-views. It must transcend beyond rhetoric and lip-service to dispel distrust and contempt. For a start, Najib must further pronounce that if Umno is to reinvent itself, it must debunk the supremacist ideology of Malay Supremacy or Ketuanan Melayu and embrace the "Ketuanan Rakyat" or "Supremacy of the People". It is not about competing with Pakatan Rakyat but more about understanding the demands of New Politics. It is not merely about tweaking policies or plagiarising it. It demands a total substantive approach; not merely a formative one. We already have an overdose of the latter. Umno top guns must break the shackles of their own making — the perverted version of "Race, Religion and Royalty — and truly embrace the rule of law, constitutionalism of the Federal Constitution and above all, justice. It is premised on a vibrant and functional democracy. The fact that Najib could embrace Pekida the very next day after the Umno GA and assure it that Malay survival is guaranteed, betrays Najib's shallowness and downright naivety. It makes a huge mockery and a farce of his 1-Malaysia clarion, when Najib was seen widely grinning with the ultra-Malay group Pekida. Going by the performance of Najib and his spate of flip-flopping, he is now deemed to be following closely the foot-step of his immediate predecessor if not much worse. His deafening silence on Sharizat Jalil's NFC fiasco, his lukewarm commitment on his recent political and legal reforms, namely the disgraceful passing of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2011, is living testimony of gross mismanagement of the nation. The latest zigg-zagging on the new civil service pay scheme (SBPA) is indeed laughable. Again, the question is asked, has Najib what it takes to lead and "share this nation"? * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. 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| Posted: 22 Dec 2011 04:15 PM PST 23 DIS — Rasanya tidak salah untuk kita memperkatakan tentang sebuah filem yang walaupun ianya telah beberapa bulan lalu ditayangkan di pawagam. Apalagi apabila kita masih sedang hangat membicarakan tentang filem bagaimanakah yang harus dinobatkan sebagai filem yang baik dan apakah kesan filem-filem yang diadaptasi dari novel. Usaha-usaha sebegini bukanlah satu usaha yang baharu dilakukan di Malaysia. Sebelum ini kita telah ada filem seperti "Langit Petang"(1982) arahan Shahrom Mohd. Dom yang diadaptasi dari novel Sasterawan Negara A.Samad Said dengan judul yang sama dicetak pada tahun 1980, dua tahun selepas ianya dicetak. "Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan", novel tulisan Sasterawan Negara Shahnon Ahmad yang ditulis pada tahun 1966, dijadikan filem dengan arahan oleh Jamil Sulong pada tahun 1983, dua puluh tiga tahun setelah novelnya diterbitkan. Sekarang ini kedengaran pula novel Sasterawan Negara Anwar Ridhwan, "Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang Seniman" yang ditulis pada tahun 1984 dan sedang diarahkan oleh Sabri Yunus, dua puluh enam tahun setelah novelnya diterbitkan. Yang menariknya, kita juga baru saja dihidangkan dengan filem adaptasi novel "Ombak Rindu" yang diarahkan oleh pengarah filem Osman Ali. "Ombak Rindu" sebuah novel popular yang ditulis oleh Fauziah Ashaari pada tahun 2002 terbitan ALAF 21, Kumpulan Karangkraf, yang dijual hakciptanya untuk dijadikan filem pada tahun 2009, tujuh tahun setelah pertama kali novel tersebut diterbitkan. Filem yang telah mencecah lima juta ringgit pada minggu pertama itu telah menghasilkan dua kali ulangcetak berjumlah 40,000 naskah. ALAF 21 menjelaskan yang Fauziah Ashaari bakal menerima RM50,000 sebagai bayaran royalti dan telah menerima lebih dari RM220,000 bayaran royalti sejak tahun 2002. Mungkin ini sesuatu yang jarang berlaku di dalam dunia penulisan dan perfileman tanah air. Sebelum filem "Ombak Rindu" pun sudah ada sebuah lagi novel popular "Karipap-karipap Cinta" (2010) tulisan Nazri M. Annuar terbitan PTS Fortuna yang filemkan. Filem yang diarah oleh pengarah filem tersohor Othman Hafsham itu gagal mendapat perhatian yang tinggi di pawagam. Filem tersebut malah menemui kerugian dengan hanya mengutip RM980,000 berbanding modalnya berjumlah RM1.8 juta. Walaupun sesetengah pihak menganggap yang ia mendapat saingan besar daripada filem box-office "Hantu Bonceng" arahan Ahmad Idham, ramai pihak pula berpendapat yang filem tersebut jauh lari dari cerita asal dalam novel popular remaja yang bernafaskan cinta islami. Ramai penggemar novel menganggap yang filem tersebut bersifat liberal dan langsung gagal menyelitkan bibit-bibit percintaan dua remaja Melayu Islam dalam ruang lingkup Malaysia yang menjadikan Islam sebagai ugama rasminya. Pada pandangan saya novel tersebut cuba mengikuti jalur-jalur yang telah dipacakkan oleh novel Ayat-ayat Cinta tulisan Habiburrahman El-Shirazy cetakan pertama pada tahun 2004, dan kemudiannya difilemkan pada tahun 2008 dengan arahan Hanung Bramantyo. Filem yang bukan hanya mendapat kutipan tinggi di Indonesia dan Singapura ini juga mencatat kutipan lebih RM15 juta di 22 pawagam di Malaysia pada tahun 2008. Ada sesetengah penulis menyifatkan novel Nazri M. Annuar sebagai mempersendakan novel-novel cinta di pasaran tetapi diterjemahkan sebagai sebuah novel islam di dalam menjenamakan novel tersebut untuk melariskan jualan. Jadi adalah tidak benar jika dikatakan yang penonton filem di Malaysia tidak menggemari judul yang bersifat islami. Tetapi mungkin ada benarnya jika dikatakan yang pengarah filem Othman Hafsham sudah tidak dikenali lagi kerana perbezaan generasi. Atau mungkin juga ada benarnya yang Othman Hafsham dan Cinematic membuat pilihan yang tidak tepat pada dua watak utama Gambit Shaifullah dan Melia Aimelia, yang bukan hanya tidak dikenali ramai, malah Gambit pula mempunyai imej yang tidak baik di kalangan penonton, kerana tingkah lakunya sebelum ini. Pendekata, penonton Malaysia bukan hanya menilai lakonan tetapi juga latarbelakang pelakon dan gossip-gossip yang menghujani mereka. Bagi saya yang tidak mengenali kedua-dua pelakon tersebut dan hanya bersandarkan kepada pengetahuan latarbelakang perfileman Othman Hafsham, pengalaman menonton hanyalah tertumpu kepada bagaimana pelakon-pelakon tersebut membawakan watak masing-masing. Filem yang juga bertemakan makanan ini tidak jauh berbeza dari filem "Papadom"(Afdlin Shauki) dan "Nasi Lemak"(Namawee) yang menampilkan isu pertembungan kaum di Malaysia atau isu "multi-culturalism". Mungkin Othman Hafsham yang dikenali kerana filem "Mekanik" di tahun 1983, masih ingin mempertahankan popularitinya sebagai pengarah filem-filem muhibbah, apalagi setelah kita kehilangan tokoh filem muhibbah Yasmin Ahmad. Kerana itulah juga Othman Hafsham yang untuk sekalian lamanya bertapak di dalam program sitkom televisyen "2+1" dan "Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu", menampilkan watak-watak Melayu, Cina dan India yang hidup dalam satu ruang lingkup, menampilkan filem "Karipap-karipap Cinta" sebagai sebuah filem yang berunsurkan "multi-culturalism". Malangnya filem ini seperti masih sangat terpengaruh dengan gaya arahan 1980an dan estetika televisyen yang sangat mendatar lakonan dan kedalaman perwatakan. Memanglah Othman Hafsham di antara pengarah filem yang disegani di Malaysia, terutamanya di tahun-tahun 1980an selepas membawakan kita filem-filem yang sangat diingati seperti "Adik Manja", "Mekanik" dan "Rahsia". Mungkin Othman Hafsham masih sama dan tidak berubah kehandalannya, tapi kita penonton-penonton filem Melayu yang telah banyak berubah, dari hanya menonton satu atau dua filem Melayu di pawagam dalam setahun dan dipaparkan dengan filem-filem Melayu hitam putih tahun 1950an dan 1960an, kini kita sudah boleh menonton 365 buah filem setahun melalui DVD, pawagam, ASTRO, YouTube di komputer riba atau di telefon gengam. Kita, penonton filem masakini, sudah tahu menilai filem yang baik dan filem yang ingin ditonton, walaupun kita hanya boleh dibilang sebagai seorang "Film Buff". Sudah tiba masanya pengeluar dan pengarah filem memandang serius terhadap penonton filem dan tidak memperbodoh-bodohkan mereka. Dari pengamatan saya, filem "Karipap-karipap Cinta" seperti melonggokkan isu "multi-culturalism" atau muhibbah ini secara terpaksa, melalui rakan serumah yang berketurunan India serta jiran berketurunan Cina. Bukannya skenario sebegini tidak wujud di Malaysia, tetapi pengembangan skripnya sudah berubah dari bukunya. Saya percaya yang isu Islam juga boleh ditemukan dengan isu "multi-culturalism" seperti yang telah hadir dalam filem Yasmin Ahmad. Jika dilihat pada filem "Ayat-ayat Cinta", lagu temanya yang sama judulnya dinyanyikan oleh Superstar Indonesia, Rossa dan ditulis oleh komposer handal, Melly Goeslow, lebih melonjakkan lagi populariti filem tersebut. Berbeza dengan lagu tema filem "Karipap-karipap Cinta" berjudul "Sehabis Baik" yang dinyanyikan oleh Ana Rafali mempunyai nada "indie" yang tidak ada unsur nada popular, sebaliknya hanya menjurus kepada sebilangan kecil peminat muzik. Ini langsung tidak memberikan promosi yang baik kepada bakal penonton filem tersebut. Pendekata, tidak mudah untuk menghasilkan filem yang baik daripada novel-novel popular dan termashur. Walaupun ianya mempunyai pengikut yang sedia ada, mereka juga mempunyai kayu pengukur yang tersendiri tentang bagaimanakah filem tersebut harus hadir di depan mata mereka. Manakala pihak pengeluar juga harus berdepan dengan isu royalti dan hak milik kreativiti dan cerita asal. Bagi saya, apa yang paling menarik tentang "Karipap-karipap Cinta" adalah resipinya yang diberikan oleh Nazri M. Annuar. 3 ulas rasa suka 1 botol hati gembira 1 biji rendah diri(saiz besar) 5 keping kehormatan 1 cubit rasa rindu 3 batang tanggungjawab, dipotong halus 3 bekas cita-cita 10 guni kejujuran (diayak untuk membuang kata dusta) Ramuan diadun dengan ilmu dan akal. Masukkan dalam kuali persahabatan, tunggu hingga masak. Setelah masak, hidangkan bersama yang tersayang. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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