Movie Review - Pendatang

https://www.weekly-echo.com/pendatang-movie-takes-on-racial-divide-issue-with-courage-creative-brilliance/

Having heard much buzz in the local media, I recently watched the new local arthouse movie ‘Pendatang’.  The brainchild of writer Lim Boon Siang and director Ken Kin, it is described as a Malaysian diaspora-thriller movie on the triumph of humanity over racial extremism. Set in an imaginary future governed by a Segregation Act, this Cantonese-language film delves into a society where ethnic groups are strictly divided.

Truth be told, a sense of discomfort came over me from the very first minutes of the movie – not very different from how I felt when I watched the Academy Award movie ‘Parasite’.  Was it because I was affected by the mood that was cleverly created by the colours and the sounds? Or was it the title, which signals disunity and foreshadowing a bad ending?  The movie is grounded on our national history and extrapolates on one trajectory to a possible future. I found the ending ambiguous – is it intended to provide us the freedom to conclude the story as we desire, allowing us to project our own hopes onto it?  Perhaps it is also intended to underscore the importance of vigilance of our individual and collective behaviour as otherwise, we risk finding ourselves on a slippery slope…   

Last night, at our movie review session, we were joined by Samad Hassan, who was the post production supervisor, responsible for the technical quality from the shoot to the end and who ensured the director's vision was carried through in the technical process.  He shared with us the backstory to this movie, the funding and the budget (crowd funded and on a shoe string budget), the reason why it is available freely in youtube.  We now know that the location is near Ipoh; that Pendatang could refer to anyone and everyone in the plot.  And yes, the ending is deliberately open-ended.  He also informed that the movie participated in some regional movie festivals, and shared very interesting stats – besides the ASEAN region, a healthy number of viewers came from Australia, US and UK too.

The people behind this movie must be lauded for working on movies such as this on themes of unity, hope and courage as central messages.  The movie also reminded us that our children are born colour blind and recognised how societal influences can impact their perspective.  And how under the guise of community protection, these communities can implode destructively, clearly revealing that racism originates not in the skin but in the human mind.  This erroneous idea that humankind is somehow composed of separate and distinct races, peoples or castes, and that those sub-groups innately possess varying intellectual, moral, and/or physical capacities, which in turn justify different forms of treatment, have given rise to false concepts of superiority and inferiority among human populations.

Surely by now we realise that there is only one human race. We are a single people, inhabiting the planet Earth, one human family bound together in a common destiny, a single entity created from one same substance.  This guiding principle should serve as the fundamental premise for all our discussions and deliberations on the affairs of our community.

All in all, Team Pendatang, great job in crafting this cautionary tale intertwined with themes of hope and courage.

Virtues Pick

Doing a Virtues Pick gives us an opportunity to choose a virtues card randomly (100 virtues cards to choose from), read it out loud and reflect on that virtue. We can reflect on how it might resonate or speak to us, how it might invite us to action, how we are challenged or how we have been using this virtue.

Everyone else listens to the person who selected a virtue with respective silence and full attention.  The listeners do not interrupt, give advice, or tell their own story. When the speaker finishes speaking, the listeners give the person a virtues acknowledgment, based on what they have talked about. Then the next person picks a virtues card and the process goes on.

Participants of the Virtues Pick group often remark on how much “lighter” they feel after listening, sharing and learning. They also enjoy the sense of unity they experience in the welcoming atmosphere. Here is what some of the members of the Virtues Pick group have to say about it:

• I have enjoyed the Virtue Pick sessions. Focusing on  the virtue has helped me look for the good in others even more. It was positive and uplifting to have others recognize a virtue in me because I have low self-esteem. Our society often seems to pull others down. How wonderful it is to build others up in the Virtue Pick group.

• Going to a Virtue Pick is an opportunity to give and receive reinforcement of positive goals with like-minded people. It is a calm and quiet hour in our busy days that restores our virtue goals.

• Participating in a Virtues Pick group is a positive and uplifting occasion. It is a way to share and discuss ideals and values that make it possible for individuals and society to live in harmony. Whatever the faith, the Virtues Project is a way to encourage and promote admirable qualities. The world would be a better place if everyone were so trained and I recommend it without reservation.

• Awareness is how I would describe the sessions,     awareness that there is a way to better oneself, a better understanding and a certain type of healing that can be achieved.

• These virtues pick evenings help me to keep acquainted with the language of virtues and to recognize virtues when people are talking. One of the things I use it for is to encourage myself to speak in front of others and particularly to have to think of something on the spot - much as they would do in toastmasters.

• I like to attend the Virtues Pick sessions as:

• it provides a safe and supportive environment for reflecting on ways to appreciate others and improve myself 

• it helps me become more familiar with the language of the virtues and the language provides the foundation for integrating virtues into the way one lives

• it is a chance to be with other people who believe that a person’s character is their most important asset

• it calms me and inspires hope

• Virtues is a safe and positive time and space to meet and just stop for at least one hour and focus on the positive virtues in the world and the people in our community. It is a great opportunity for anyone who is needing to feel a stronger connection to the community. I look forward to it every week.

The rights of the elderly

https://www.weekly-echo.com/the-rights-of-the-elderly/

https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2024/01/11/we-can-do-more-for-our-elderly-population

Recently I came across an interesting new European strategy for older persons[1].  The strategy is supported by a guarantee for older people – similar to the European Youth Guarantee and the European Child Guarantee – which serve as the tool for implementing the strategy at the EU and national levels, and which enables EU funding to be used to finance programmes that support the elderly.

This is indeed a significant step forward, especially given the prevalent negligence of the needs of the elderly by communities and institutions everywhere.  In Malaysia, this is also not very different.  In fact, a dear friend, Lily Fu, made the movie ‘Meniti Senja'/'The Twilight Years'[2] in 2020 on this very social issue in Malaysia. Meniti Senja explored the alarming rise in the elderly being left to fend for themselves in aged care centres, removed from the comfort of homes they knew and children they raised, reflecting the breakdown of traditional family values in modern Malaysian society that marginalises the elderly. Recounting the stories of people who are mothers, fathers, grandparents – now slowly aging amidst strangers within the walls of a care home, this film revealed their heart -breaking stories of abuse, exploitation and abandonment. 

The prevailing narrative in the media around the elderly often focuses on the burden on strained pension and healthcare systems.  While it is critical to meet the specific care, resource, and health needs of the elderly, it is important not to reduce them to these needs. Even in the face of physical limitations, older members of society contribute to their communities in a myriad of ways. Furthermore, continued physical and mental activity not only improves health and well-being, it allows the wealth of knowledge and experience that this population has accumulated over their lifetimes to be harnessed for the common good. 

Some other narratives dwell on loneliness and societal isolation among the elderly.  When one retires from active employment, a sense of loneliness and isolation can set in when he/she is no longer regarded as having something of worth to contribute to others. And yet, the desire to contribute meaningfully to society, to have a purpose beyond one’s own needs, does not disappear because one has reached retirement age. We need to rethink of what it means to contribute to society—beyond narrowly attributing this to remunerated employment—fundamental to appreciating the elderly. 

Truth be told, many sectors including the government offer special discounts and privileges to the elderly, but surely, we can do more.  We need to remember that human rights and dignity do not diminish with age.  Older people should not be viewed as welfare recipients, but as citizens with the same rights to a full, non-discriminatory life as people of all ages.[3] Thought needs to be given to how intergenerational bonds can be strengthened throughout society, beginning at the grassroots of community life. For example, how can the elderly act as a source of experience and wisdom for younger generations? How can children and youth be of service to the elderly? How can spaces be created that foster connections between different generations?   There is a need for conversations, at all levels of society, on how we and the society can do better for our warga emas. 

A longer life expectancy is now a norm thanks to advances in material prosperity. A flourishing community is one which is intergenerational in nature and avoids treating elderly populations as a group separated from the rest of society. Our society would be for the better and stronger when we embrace every individual—regardless of age, and offer channels through which their innate desire to contribute meaningfully to their society can find practical expression[4].

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[1] https://www.age-platform.eu/a-new-eu-strategy-for-older-persons-to-tackle-ageism-and-address-demographic-change/#:~:text=Among%20other%20suggestions%2C%20the%20EESC,European%20Year%20of%20Older%20People

[2] https://freedomfilm.my/festival/film/meniti-senja-the-twilight-years-2020/

[3] Dr Heidrun Mollenkopf, AGE President

[4] A European strategy for the elderly: The irreplaceable role of community life, Baha’i International Community

 

Source of All Blessings by Brother David Steindl-Rast

Bless what there is, for being. Whatever it be, bless it because it exists; you need no other reason.

Source of All Blessings, you bless us with breath—

In and out, in and out, ever-renewing us, ever anew, making us one with all who breathe the same air.

May this blessing overflow into a shared gratefulness, so that with one breath I may praise and celebrate life.

Source of All Blessings, you bless us with humility—

That down-to-earth quality that has nothing in common with humiliation but makes us stand tall and acknowledge both the humus that feeds us and the stars to which we aspire. 

May I learn to practice, and to honor in others, this sparkling humility which is the dignity that we, as human beings cannot afford to lose. 

Source of All Blessings, you bless us with imprecision—

With all that is vague, close but not quite; all that leaves room for the more specific, the more precise, and room for the imagination.

May I know when to be exact and when to move freely and blessed in the space so generously provided by all that is not perfectly defined, giving full scope to my dreams and my creativity.

Source of All Blessings, you bless us with memory—

That sacred ingathering of the past that allows us to recognize faces, learn poems by heart, find our way back when we are lost, and bring forth old and new from its nearly inexhaustible store. 

May I know what to forget and what to retain and treasure, keeping in mind the smallest kindness shown to me and spreading its ripples for a long time to come.

Source of All Blessings, you bless us with change—

In the seasons of the year, from snow to greening, flowering, fruiting and harvest, in the seasons of life, from childhood to youth, full ripeness, and saging. All living things keep changing. 

May I welcome change as a sacred opportunity to grow and savor in each unrepeatable moment’s fleetingness what IS beyond change.

Source of All Blessings, you bless us with departures—

For they are a necessary part of our journey, necessary for the arriving. 

May I always be ready to take leave, always aware that every arrival is a prelude to departure, every birth a step towards dying, and may I thus taste the blessings of being fully present where I am. 

May blessings help to sharpen your taste for the gift of life in its immeasurable facets. May you grow ever more blessed, ever more able to bless.

By Brother David Steindl-Rast