ALMOST a year-and-a-half since the general election that changed our nation, the need to be reminded what it was all for is greater than ever. Perhaps, that is the best reason for us to watch the documentary, M for Malaysia.
Shot in the weeks leading up to the 14th general election (GE14) held last year, the documentary is scheduled to be screened for four days across 37 selected cinemas nationwide beginning Sept 12, allowing Malaysians to revisit the heart-pounding moments that saw a government that had been in power for 61 years overthrown by an 82.32% voter turnout.
M for Malaysia is directed and produced by Dian Lee and Ineza Roussille, with Marina Mahathir as executive producer and Ruby Yang (2007 documentary short subject Oscar winner for Blood of Yingzhou District) as creative producer.
It also features a dramatic original score by Los Angeles-based composer Rendra Zawawi and an original theme song, Bermula Kita, featuring Yuna on vocals.
This documentary has already created buzz in the international circuit, premiering at the CAAMFest in San Francisco in May as well as DocEdge in New Zealand later that month.
It has also been officially selected for the Busan International Film Festival in October.
At a recent media screening of the documentary, Lee admitted that they did not set out to make a documentary.
She said she was initially taken by idea of a 92-year-old person joining an election campaign. “It was unheard of. I wanted to document and preserve everything on him, for maybe GE15.”
So, their small team proceeded to document the journey of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his coalition party, Pakatan Harapan, throughout the election.
When Pakatan Harapan won the election, Lee said they realised they had 90 hours of footage on this momentous event. They eventually decided to pare the footage down into a 90-minute documentary.
Filmmaker Ineza, who is also Mahathir’s granddaughter, stressed that they were not out to make a propaganda film.
“Politics is complicated and how we feel about these people is complicated. I think the only way we could do this documentary was to be honest about it,” said Ineza.
M for Malaysia does indeed address the controversial aspects of Mahathir’s previous administration.
Ineza said the biggest challenge for her in documenting her grandfather and the election was during the big rallies where she had to squeeze through the crowds.
“The campaign was chaotic and exhausting. It was not easy keeping up with him,” she recalled.
“He was [also] very hands off throughout the process. He did not tell us what to do or ‘kacau’ us during the process.”
Mahathir had already seen the documentary, and liked it.
“He is not a man of many words,” said Ineza, “but he shook my hand and said congratulations and gave me a hug. I took that as a good [sign].”
When it came to the music, composer Rendra said the raw footage he saw ‘spoke’ to him.
“The documentary was divided into different acts and each act had its own musical narrative,” he added. “One of the biggest ideas of the score was to incorporate the Negaraku tune into some of the scenes.”
Asked if this documentary would resonate with viewers outside of Malaysia, Hong Kong-American filmmaker Yang said: “The reason I took on the creative producer role was because I saw the people’s power, the democracy, and a very good leader who could pull all this together.
“I think that is what moved me when I saw the footage. There was a private screening in Hong Kong and right outside, there was a rally going on. This film really resonated with the people who were watching it. It has been well received at screenings overseas.”
Yang said she also asked lots of questions about the footage she was shown. That prompted the filmmakers to add in things to explain what led to this historic election results. These included footage of the Bersih rallies.
Yang said sometimes it is good to have an outsider’s perspective and also be objective about a project.
For writer and activist Marina, she recalled when she told people outside of Malaysia the story of GE14, they were shocked that it could happen so peacefully through the ballot box.
“If you look around the world recently, this is something rare. It is something for us to be proud of,” added Marina, who is Mahathir’s eldest child.
Indeed, the scenes that moved me were not the sweet moments when Tun Dr Siti Hasmah spoke lovingly to her husband or where Mahathir talked into the camera held by his granddaughter.
It was the scenes of regular Malaysians on the streets protesting against a corrupt government, and making their voices heard through the ballot box.
For me, it was always about the people. It was the people who came together to throw their support behind a 92-year-old former prime minister, and helped bring down the Barisan Nasional government that had ruled the nation since independence.
Nevertheless, M For Malaysia is an excellent effort that has captured an intimate portrait of a man who, despite his flaws, did the unthinkable by forming alliances with former foes (some whom he had sent to prison) and, essentially, showing Malaysians that when we come together, we can do anything.
Tickets for the film are currently available. For more, visit mformalaysia.com.
