It was a Sunday – and I had no plans for the afternoon (Catan Qualifiers got postponed). And so, on a spur of the moment (with a little help from my trusty Magic 8 Ball), I decided to join Ash & Sheila to head down to KLPac to watch TUNKU – The Musical.

The past few weeks have got me thinking hard about my stance on Malaysian political issues. I’ve always considered myself patriotic especially amongst many of my ‘cincai lar’ friends. In fact, I’ve always been the only one among my friends and family who would happily stick a Malaysian flag on my car come Merdeka Day during the last few years – but I’ve never really bothered with my country’s political agendas (I’m one of the many unregistered voters around)..

This play couldn’t have come at a better time – especially after I’ve just had a 2 hour read of Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s posts on Malaysia Today – one of the most revolutionary political bloggers ever (he was recently sued by UMNO over alleged insults to the Agong and raising racial tension). The stuff he reveals on his blog about our corrupt government is honestly disturbing (he has close ties with many royalties, and even Badawi isn’t spared from his criticisms).

Anyway..

Me and my brother and our stoned pose..

Somebody wishes his name was on the board behind..

Does my little brother look like me? hehe..

TUNKU – The Musical is a tribute to Tunku Abdul Rahman our Bapa Merdeka (though he doesn’t appear in the play). Spanning 50 years and divided into 4 time periods starting from the date of our Independence (Overture), to the issues causing the separation of Singapore from Malaysia (Act 1), the terrifying 1969 Riots or The May 13th Incident (Act 2), to our present day (Epilogue).

Here’s a sneak scene from Act 1 (I shouldn’t be taking photos actually)

The play hints at the racist sentiments in our politicians (a particular one played by Tony Eusoff) and government – both past and present. It speaks honestly using fictional characters that could very easily have been real people. The emotional core of the story (my favorite) revolves around 2 lovers from different races (played by Zamil & Doreen Tang) who’s lives gets tangled up in the mess of intolerance, prejudice and hatred of our past.

I don’t intend to go too far into details – I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who is planning to go watch it during its 3 week run at KLPac (it ends on 1st September). Act 2 in particular was powerful and heart wrenching to watch. Any and ALL Malaysians should relate to it in some form or another. Superb choreography (especially a particularly physical scene) and lovely songs that almost brought a tear to my eye towards the end (yes I felt that strongly about our history). It got a standing ovation from me.

Watch this for the great ensemble, orchestra, actors, singers, production and for the charming songbird that is Doreen. Watch this for the history lesson they will never teach you in school, to learn about our ugly past so that we may never repeat its mistakes again.

Ash bumped into his Director (Harith Iskandar) there for the Frogway play he is currently rehearsing for – which is due out on Aug 23rd (Please do check it out!). We also met a very old school friend – Safdar Ali .

Here are some resource links if you want to find out more about TUNKU – The Musical:

Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center - Info about the play schedule and pricing
Zamil Idris’s Blog – For photos and information during their rehearsals and press release.
The Star ‘Lovers Amidst Turmoil’ – Interview with Zamil Idris and Doreen Tang
The Star ‘ It’s a Full House at KLPac’ – Article about the Premiere on August 11th.
NST ‘Honoring thy Father’ – Article about the play #1
NST ‘History Follows Musical Trail’ – Article about the play #2

And here’s a little gem I found on YouTube:

Zamil and Doreen practicing one of their songs during their rehearsals.