This year marks Singapore’s 50th year as an independent nation after a tumultuous merger with and separation from Malaysia. Although it has been half a century since the nations’ parting, they were once closely intertwined, not just socio-politically, but also artistically and culturally through intensive and extensive film production. Over 360 Malay films were spawned during the transnational collaboration from 1934 to 1972 before a solemn 40 odd years of silence descended upon the Malay film industry in Singapore. It is only in recent times that the modern Singaporean-Malay cinema is slowly taking shape.
In light of Singapore’s half-century of nationhood this year, it is imperative that we look back into the cultural and artistic landscape of the past, study the present and ponder about the future. Thus, before we can delve into Sanif Olek’s Sayang Disayang/My Beloved Dearest (2013), and M. Raihan Halim’s Banting/Slam (2014), the history of Singapore’s rich Malay film culture needs to be rekindled, even if only in memory.
1934-1965: A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST
In its heyday, Malay cinema was built upon interactions and transactions between different nations and varied cultures. The very first Malay film made in Singapore was Laila Majnun (1934) which was directed by Calcutta-born B.S. Rajhans. The film was based on the 1931 Hindustani film Laila Majnu and marked the genesis of the transnational and transcultural nature of Malay cinema. The two prolific film studios of the time were located in Singapore and notably belonged to Chinese entrepreneurs. Malay Film Productions (MFP) belonged to Runme and Run Run Shaw who hailed from Hong Kong. Their rival, Cathay-Keris Film Productions, was owned by Singaporean-born Loke Wan Tho and the Malayan Ho Ah Loke. Film directors from India were consequently hired to make films for these studios because the Indian film industry was already establishing itself at the time, though there was a significant increase in the number of Malay directors in the 1960s.
During the Golden Age of Malay cinema (1947 to 1972), the Shaw Brothers made 170 Malay films and Cathay-Keris Film Productions made 123 films. Effectively, as Malaysian film historian Hamzah Hussin succinctly puts it, “[the] film industry was founded on Chinese money, Indian imagination and Malay labour”. Malay cinema was, thus, a conglomerate business effort that had varied predecessors from many nations.
1965-1972: BIRTH OF A NATION, END OF THE FILM STUDIO ERA
The separation between Malaysia and Singapore in 1965 signalled the beginning of the studio era’s decline. High nationalistic tensions, the departure of P. Ramlee for Studio Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, and the untimely death of Cathay-Keris’ director Hussein Haniff during this period were some of the setbacks that the Malay film industry faced. Nevertheless, production of Malay films still took place between 1965 and 1972, before the closure of the Shaw Brothers studio in Singapore in 1967 and Cathay-Keris in 1972.
The films produced during these eight years showed a shift from the folklore and mythology tropes dominant in prior Malay films, to a more socially present perspective. Films based on popular myths, Anak Buloh Betong/Son of the Bamboo Demon (1966) and Naga Tasek Chini/Dragon of Chini Lake (1966) were structured around rural landscapes, staged royal grounds, and utilised supernatural elements as a means to convey social politics. However, there was a clear emergence of films that focused on social issues within present day situations in light of the changing national landscape. These films include Dosa Wanita/A Woman’s Sin (1967), Jefri Zain Gerak Kilat/Jefri Zain – As Fast as Lightning (1966), Mat Bond (1967), Nora Zain Agen Wanita 001/Nora Zain – Woman Agent 001 (1967), and Aku Mahu Hidup /I Want to Live (1970).
Dosa Wanita and Aku Mahu Hidup addressed controversial decisions and moral ambiguity under the critical eye of societal expectations. The protagonist from Dosa Wanita, Zainab, fails to live up to her mother-in-law’s unreasonable expectations. Feeling neglected by her busy spouse, she engages in an intimate relationship with her husband’s friend. This leads to Zainab’s banishment from her home by her mother-in-law, effectively separating her from her young son. While Zainab could easily be figured as the film’s antagonist due to her extramarital affair, the film establishes the true ‘villain’ of the film as the overtly elitist and patriarchal mother-in-law who not only demanded a grandson from Zainab, but also made conscious efforts to widen the gap between Zainab and her child. Similarly, Aku Mahu Hidup scrutinizes social hypocrisy and confronts ethical questions between good and bad through the tale of prostitution and alcoholic excess. Effectively, such films were pushing the envelope by addressing sociocultural issues within a modern landscape. These films are a testament to the rapidly evolving industry greatly influenced by Singapore’s social changes.
With globalisation taking over Singapore, access to Hollywood films led to the popularisation of the spy genre. Films such as Mat Bond, Nora Zain Agen Wanita 001, and Jefri Zain Gerak Kilat were evidence of a film industry that was integrating new tropes into its vision. Nora Zain Agen Wanita 001, for example, utilised a female character as primary investigator, which is a feat in terms of privileging the female perspective. As narrative films are predominantly controlled through the gaze of the male protagonist, the fact that this 1967 film gives authority to the female detective character is progressive. Mat Bond and Jefri Zain similarly reimagine the Bond figure; one through parody, and the other through parallel. Unlike Jefri Zain, who is an actual secret agent with access to fancy gadgets, action sequences, and beautiful women, Mat Bond finds himself escaping from air hostage situations by flushing himself out of the toilet.
These films signalled a shift in the way the Western film industry was influencing local production. Sadly, the influx of international films into Singapore proved to be too large a competition for the Malay film industry, which eventually led to the demise of the film studio era.
2013 ONWARDS: THE REVIVAL OF MALAY CINEMA, AND THE FUTURE AHEAD
Singaporean-Malay cinema has only recently been revived. Television and film director, Sanif Olek, is responsible for Singapore’s first proper Malay film since the end of the Golden Age of Malay cinema. Sayang Disayang, like the films of yesteryears, draws on multicultural inspirations and influences. The protagonist of the film, Murni, is a foreign domestic worker from Aceh, who is the caretaker of the elderly widower, Harun. Though Harun often demeans her and her cooking, Murni finds herself falling for him. The film negotiates between cultural spaces through the characters’ personal history as well as the film’s culinary showcase. For example, Sambal Goreng, a dish familiar to the Nusantara region, is a constant motif throughout the film. As a reference to the past, the film title comes from a song composed by Zubir Said for the 1950 film, Racun Dunia/Poison of the Earth.
Unlike the visually poetic Sayang Disayang, Banting is more light-hearted and details a young woman’s passion for professional wrestling. It is timely in the way it engages with the societal stigma of hijab-wearing women. As the protagonist, Yasmin, declares, “I refuse to believe what I wear can stop me from doing what other girls can”. The film presents Yasmin’s obstacles stemming from her mother’s and, by extension, society’s expectations of her. By secretly participating in women’s wrestling, Yasmin literally and figuratively fights her opponents, be it her competitors in the ring, or narrow-minded perspectives of what a hijab-wearing woman should embody. The acceptance that Yasmin’s mother gives her at the end of the film expresses hope for a more open-minded community, especially within the context of Singapore’s multi-cultural landscape. This is a film that aims to not only dispel stereotypes of hijab-wearing women, but of all women through the presentation of a femininity that does not conform to traditional societal perceptions.
Both films are impressive starts to the revival of Singaporean-Malay cinema. The response to both films has also been encouraging. Banting has had screenings in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, and was showcased at the Hawaii International Film Festival. Sayang Disayang was not only selected for submission to the Oscars’ in the Best Foreign Language Film category, it also won the Best Asian Film (Jury Prize) at the 2013 SalaMindanaw International Film Festival in the Philippines, and the Best Musical Award at the 2014 Mexico International Film Festival.
The future, thus, holds great potential, with the industry building momentum once more. Hence, as Singapore attains 50 years of nationhood this year, and embarks on the beginning of a new era, Singaporean-Malay cinema is doing just the same. ⬛
Nurul Ain Yahya graduated from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) with her Bachelors of Arts (with Honours) in 2009, and Masters of Arts in English Literature in 2011. She is currently an Associate Lecturer at Singapore Institute of Management University (UniSIM) teaching Film and Gender, and Singapore Literature. She is also teaching Critical Thinking and Writing at National University of Singapore (NUS).
