The current trend of Malaysia’s Malay film industry is to come up with outrageous and provocative story lines such as the one’s produced by Yasmin Ahmad, the current ‘hot’ film director in the media limelight.
Professor Razak Mohaideen’s films even though considered to be run of the mill love stories are still not as crude and corrupted as the values being bandied by Yasmin. Not to say that such films are better for the development of social comment or beneficial to the public in the long run, we can still watch his films without feeling revolted by crass behaviours of it’s main characters.
Novelist Faisal Tehrani exposes all the crude behaviour being expounded by ‘Gubra’ where Islamic values and traditional norms practiced by Muslims go down the drain in this blasphemous film that ought to be thrashed into the dustbins of the nation!
I saw Sepet and wasn’t really impressed by the storyline! That film extols sexual connotations and is an attempt to introduce an atmosphere of loose morals into the Malaysian traditional family life.
True, such things are now becoming common in families that are not practicing good family values according to the tenets of Islam and Malay cultures.
To push such screwed up values as something worth watching shows the sordid agenda being brainwashed into the Malaysian cinemagoers under guise of expressions of the current Malaysian lifestyle!
I support Faisal Tehrani a 100% in his condemnation of such low class fare being pushed by this film!
Gubra is not worth your time and effort to go watch such crap! What the hell is FINAS doing?
They should ban this movie! This is what I think! To those who like such filth , well to each their own but to me this is pure BS!
I would rather watch P.Ramlee blockbuster black & white movies that had better social messages such as ‘Semerah Padi, Anak ku Sazali, Hang Tuah, AntaraDua Darjat, Ibu Mertua Ku, etc.
Making films to help mould a good Malaysian society that is based on good religious values and social foundations would be a boon to the future of this country for through good supportive film media , we can help the nation to be a better place for all but to push through a loose screwed up agenda such as this filth deserves all the condemnations we can come up with!
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postitive moral values do come through in sepet … especially acceptance and friendship across racial and cultural divides …
trying to make a film which is narrowly “moralistic” would be as boring as hell (and anyway isn’t there plenty of that on TV and how far does it take us?)
loosen up a little and enjoy the film for what it is
From my reading, it looks like that you have not wacth the movie. For you to comment or to agree with somebody`s views without the benefit of wachting the movie is worrisome. Different people have different views, because of the diferrent values. It is not adviseable to base an opinion based on another`s writing since you havent wacht it.
P. Ramlee movies showcase Malay women in tight fitting kebayas, dancing and soliciting with non-mahram. Some go to bars and show a lifestyle that is so carefree, without intonation towards Islamic values we see this present day and time. Men and women talked in the garden about how beautiful the women’s faces are etc etc.
So i guess it’s okay to watch ‘putus asa’ in Ibu Mertuaku sampai cucuk mata sendiri or those actress not wearing tudungs in prof movies? If you touch in religion fact, then both yasmin and prof razak is guilty actually.
No such word as ‘alah, dalam filem prof razak sikit je, takde la corrupted sangat, bla bla’
How about bersentuhan bukan muhrim in all those films including what you said to prof. we can still “can still watch his films without feeling revolted by crass behaviours of it’s main characters”.
Alah sikit-sikit tak apa lah…
Geez…talk about touching a hornet’s nest! 😛
Yasmin Ahmad has many champions it seems..hehehehehe…
Well folks, as I said, this is my opinion. Surely I have a right to have an opinion of my own convictions, don’t I?
If you folks feel strongly about supporting this genre of film, by all means , go ahead and watch it as many times as you please.
I will get back to each of your comments.
Got some things to settle first.
Thanks for commenting anyway.
I personally do not even know how Yasmin Ahmad looks like. I thought the director was Yasmin YUSOF.
So no, I am not championing the movie or anything. But brought up a very relevent issue, which you are ESCAPING again but saying that you are busy.
At least stand there and defend what you have said like a man.
I have asked in a nice way and I guess I am expecting an answer.
You do not throw a stone and not expect a stone to be thrown back at you.
bibliobibuli, I’ll try to ease up but old values aren’t easy to give up.
Otto,I am not saying P.Ramlee’s films are all perfect nor am I insinuating that the man’s films are free from mistakes!
It is just that I do not subscribe to the agenda and social trendsetting that Sepet and Gubra are putting across as the acceptable norms for Malaysians to accept and live by.
There are some P.Ramlee films that he made in Studio Merdeka that are crude and crass before he passed away that puts me off!
I agree with you about all those bar scenes, low morals were depicted in his films but it showed how decadent the society was during his times.
Crass language and sexual connotations were present in his last films such as ‘Dr.Rushdie,Laksamana Do Re Mi’, etc!
The examples I gave were what I saw as his better ones. We can have our own likes and dislikes.
Things have changed today. The Malays are slowly becoming more aware of the do’s and don’ts of Islam, our faith and the film media must not be abused to push forward values that will again corrupt the mindset of the people.
Yes, you will say , Malaysians are now much more wiser and more educated and can choose for themselves as to what is best for them.
The thing is that films and dramas do have an effect on how some naive ones live their lifes by.
They are easily impressionable folks.
Do not dismiss off the power of suggestive media.Films can affect society.
Media can be manipulated to show things that can program people’s minds and choices.
They can stir emotions and change people’s values.
I criticized Sepet and Gubra because such films aren’t to my liking.Period.
Maybe it is just me, an oldtimer used to social etiquette of yore.
Well, to each their own.
As for warrior2, good advice. Will see it and criticize further.
zairul, nanti saya balas komen u. Tunggu.
Zairul,
The way you try to comment regarding my sayings reflects an immature attempt to ridicule my opinions regarding the difference in Prof.Razak’s films and those by Yasmin ahmad.
Prof.Razak’s films are purely ‘commercial films’ that do not have a hidden message to alter or affect anyone’s way of thinking or the manner in living out their lifestyles.
His films are more as a form of light comedy meant to entertain the mainly Malay masses.
Even his horror films are clearly not that horrific and pose no harm to his viewers. It’s just light comedy.
If as Zairul says, I am condoning the matter of free mixing of the actors in Prof’s films or that the actresses are not wearing the tudung, etc, that is pure hyperbole and diarrhoea of the lip from this blogger!
It’s the way that the film industry works. If you are looking for a JAKIM production, by all means go look for one.
We are talking about the hidden agenda in such social commenting films such as Sepet and Gubra.
The values being loaded onto the cinemagoers mindset by such loose morals and an attempt to dilute thwe values of Islam such as the showing of a character in the form of the muezzin who touches a dog and then goes on to call the azan or his indifference to living besides a prostitute and so on and so forth!
That is a clear attempt in altering society’s taboo’s and turn Islam as a liberal thingy!
Oil and water do not mix.
Yasmin Ahmad’s attempts to screw the pure principles and fundamentals of Islam,our faith cannot be left to fester and rot the impressionable minds of the Ummah nowadays who think like you and couldn’t give a hoot as to what goes on in our society!
I do not condone such pollution of the local film industry and attempts by people like you to turn a blind eye to this blatant manipulation of religious rulings.
You can say what you want in defending the mungkar here on this earth but wait till you die and see what’s gonna be in store for you in the Yaum al Barzakh!
Try to be a smart alec, then.
Hi there,
This is Poh Si Teng from theCICAK.
http://thecicak.com
I’m really interested to post this article on our webzine. You have a strong and legitimate argument.
Let me know what you think.
Shoot me an email at:
thecicak [at] gmail [dot] com
Thanks,
Poh Si
Unlike those of you who think it’s okay to make films and dramas depicting Islam and the life of Muslims contrary to what is enjoined in the faith, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that films can and do have an impact on the viewers.
Any film that is made using the science and technology available nowadays has the power to change and alter the cinemagoers and viewers perception of what is right and wrong and what is permissible in life.
Films can alter people’s minds. A case worth mentioning is the film ‘The Message’ by the late Moustapha Akkad about the life of the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam where this particular film touched so many lifes and even affected many Non Muslims to understand the faith of Islam better and showed them how it was when Islam was first revealed to the early Makkans.
Even though the majority of the actors in the film were non Muslims like the late actor Anthony Quinn who played the character of one of the Prophet’s uncles @ Saiyidina Hamzah, Irene Pappas who played Abu Sufyan’s wife Hind, and many others, their acting evoked so much passion in those who watched the film that many were moved to tears and experienced emotional ups and downs in watching that historical film!
Films are dramatisations of life and films such as Gubra which touch on social and religious issues can’t be left to be unchallenged by the masses !
You have got a point there about the powers of films. Well crafted films are the worst coz they can be very persuasive. Well I guess Islam Hadhari condones this.
I guess so too Ajeet.
The present authorities seem mired in their own problems to monitor the sort of things that are going on in the local film industry!
Our nation is a fertile place to dump just any values, good, bad or downright ugly as far as Hollywood,Bollywood,Mollywood or Bolehwood is concerned!
When Dato Mohamed Rahmat was in charge of the Information Ministry, he ran a tight ship!
TV,Radio and the Film Industry toed the line when it came to producing dramas and films both catering to the telly or the big screen!
Although there were films and dramas with cock and bull scripts and outrageous scenes that slipped through the dragnet, most of the films and dramas were still watchable by the general population.
We all know that if people want to watch such films in private, no one can stop them.
We can’t however just let films and dramas that tend to portray social rot to pollute our local values!
That’s the very reason why film critics need to be vocal and object when films that carry misconstrued messages either subtle or plain clear in their notions, ought to be objected to and the public be forewarned as to the intent of the film director or even the producer!
These are the persons who dictate what the film needs to depict and what message they want to send across to their intended viewers!
With such capability to influence and form the masses trains of thought , we can’t just shut up and let things get out of hand and run berserk as the film makers want in the first place.
We need to support what’s good, speak out against what’s bad and join forces to condemn what’s damaging to our society in the long run!
And I still wonder if u’ve actually watched the film Gubra or otherwise.
Zainol,
You made an claim without substantiating it:
Making films to help mould a good Malaysian society that is based on good religious values and social foundations would be a boon to the future of this country for through good supportive film media , we can help the nation to be a better place for all but to push through a loose screwed up agenda such as this filth deserves all the condemnations we can come up with!
How does making films based on religious values make society good and be a boon for the country?
I have posed this question in the Cicak but you haven’t answered.
Can you please substantiate this assertion?
Roy,
Read my comments above and try to understand the gist of what i have been saying all along about this crap of a movie.
I have better things to do then to repeat myself again and again to anyone.
Read all that has been said and then move on. I rest my case. I am not here to entertain you.
If you like Gubra, fine. Spend the rest of your life watching it as many times as you please.
The rest of us have work and business to attend to.
Have a Gubra day! …yes! I am being sarcastic. 😛
Yes Zainol, I already have.
And I understand the gist of what you have been saying.
But it is still not clear how good religious values actually makes the country better.
Yes I agree about the suggestive power of the media, stirring up emotions and changing values…
But given that we now afford these powers to religious ideas, how is the country going to be better?
I know you are sick of replying. And this is your blog where you don’t have to subscribe to the same ethical code there. But I am doing so here only because you have refused to answer in the Cicak.
You are entitled to your personal tastes. So do I. That’s what I also said before.
I am not asking you for your opinion here. I am asking you to corroborate the strong claims and propositions in your posting.
Imagine me being open to all sorts of ideas. And you make claims like that in your writings. Suppose it get’s me excited, because it does sound attractive. I am open to being persuaded. So I ask you for an explanation, with a very specific question.
You then refuse to answer me. After being a little bit more persistent, you ask me to refer to your verbose FAQs, which I already have.
If that is how you reply or treat “seekers” and your prospective customers, I tell you, you have just lost one buyer of your ideas. And it is your loss.
I am not defending the movie. I wasn’t asking a question specific to Gubra. Hell I haven’t even watched it (I am not in Malaysia at the moment). Don’t assume that I am a Yasmin Ahmad fan.
If at the end of the day, you say that this is just “opinion”, then I don’t understand how/why the Cicak chose to publish this piece.
But still, it is your loss, when you wasted such a great opportunity to share what you believe in by refusing to engage non-condescendingly to your readers.
Roy my man, I have to give it to you.
Good to see someone as tenacious as you sticking to your guns and asking me to expound on this further.
I will get back to you on this after I return from an outstation trip I am leaving for tomorrow.
Just chill out for the next 4 days and check back on me by Monday.
Have a great weekend. I appreciate your spirit. You’ll be alrite.