The word Sepet in colloquial Malay actually means slit-eyed which is a derogatory term for the Chinese, or as Yasmin puts it, it's derogatory only if you don't like slit eyes. The synopsis for the movie tells it all...19-year old Ah Loong is in charge of a stall selling pirated vcd's. Contrary to what you might expect someone of his social standing to be, Ah Loong is an incurable romantic with an unlikely hobby - he loves to read and write poetry. Quite content to carry on being the Romeo of the slums, Ah Loong's life takes a sudden turn one day when a 16-year old Malay schoolgirl arrives at his stall in search of Wong Kar-Wai's films.
As mentioned above, the movie simply tells the tale of the love between a boy and a girl. In any other place, it would be run of the mill and just the usual but in Malaysia, it's a lil storm in a teacup as the story is further complicated by the fact that it's the story of a Chinese boy and a Malay girl - and further more it's set in a country like Malaysia.
In a country dominated politically and socially by the Malays, Malaysia has a significant number of people from other minority races that include the ethnic Chinese and the Indians. In the spirit of harmony, the country projects an image of racial integration and togetherness but scratch the shiny, glossy veneer and you'll see severely split racial divides that won't be bridged easily with silly sentimental ditties and hastily pieced together integration campaigns. Bring up issues of religion, race and affirmative action in favour of the majority - and you'll invite a storm of controvery with the races bitterly squabbling on opposite camps.
So you can guess that such a simple love story in Malaysia isn't actually all that simple after all.
2 comments:
Sounds interesting, wonders if it will find it's way up here though. So, what distinguishes the malay from the chinese? Is it just about the 'sepet'?
It's kind of cute that the lead guy got the part because he didn't dare turn it down :)
What distinguishes Malay from Chinese? Well, lots apart for the way they look. A really short summary. The Malays ar ethe Soins of the Soil - meaning Natve people of Malaysia. The Chinese are relatively new in Malaysia - evolutionarily speaking since they are immigrants - obviously from China. According to history, the British rule tried to govern by dividing the races in Malaysia - according to them certain roles and occupations that would separate the races and prevent them from uniting. This left a certain gap dividing the races that has lasted till now.
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