How to do a Malaysian Night
In the weekend, me and 4 others traveled all the way from Cardiff to Warwick to attend the Warwick Malaysian Night 2006. It was a 3 and a half hour drive (it should have been shorter had we not gotten lost along the way).
We arrived at around 5pm and immediately went to my housemate’s sister’s house to change. By 6pm, we were already in the dinner hall.
The food was okay. It was nothing to shout about, and in fact it tasted rather weird. This was probably due to the fact that it was prepared by a local chef. The people in a charge could not allow the Warwick Malaysian Student Association (WMSA) to bring in outside caterers due to health and safety reasons. As such, the WMSA had to actually ‘teach’ the chef how to prepare ‘nasi kerabu‘ and ‘ayam percik‘. It wasn’t bad for a British chef, but the distinct ‘Malaysian taste’ was lacking.
In any case, Warwick Malaysian Night was never famous for its food. That is not why it attracts students from all over the UK. What made them famous is the show itself, although from popular accounts, the last two Malaysian Nights did not live up to the higher standards that WMSA has set in the past. Of course, all this is totally hearsay, as I myself have never attended a Warwick Malaysian Night before.
In any case, the show started at around 7.45pm. There was no official launching of the night, we started off straight into an ‘ulek mayang‘ dance. In a nice twist, the unconscious prince the dancers were trying to revive was in fact the master of ceremonies, a grinning Chinese Guy wearing a baju Melayu.
The next dance was a high energy dangdut number. And just like what dangduts should be, it was daring and sexy. Again, another nice twist was that one of the dancers (who, I might add, was wearing heels) was the second master of ceremonies. Very creative, I must say.
After the two hosts were united, the formalities were dispensed rather swiftly. And with that, the play started.
And what a play it was. Right from the start, the play (entitled ‘Batik and Songket‘) catches you. And it does not let go, right until the end. It had everything, romance, comedy, action and drama. I was mesmerised.
The story started out as a romance between two people of different classes. The guy, Budin, is a batik painter. An idealistic young man, whose very likeable, played wonderfully by the actor. The girl is the daughter of one of the richest families in the kampung, Melur. A young woman who has everything, yet desires just one thing; true love. She is a traditional Malay mawar, and the audience can’t help but like her.
The thing that I like most about the two is that their romance is so believable. You actually feel for the couple, when the two of them fell in love, you fell in love with them. Such great script-writing and acting is unheard of even in the most high profile modern Malay films and the people deserve all the credit they get.
As the play went on, the story turns from a romance to a story about human frailties and subsequent strength. A story about selling one’s soul for one’s ambitions, and at this point, the ‘villian’ in the story takes centre stage. The villain here is Puan Rosnah, Melor’s mother.
They say the audience will hate a good villain, but will love a great one. The audience loved Puan Rosnah. They don’t make villains like her anymore, the likes last seen in movies such as Ibu Mertuaku. Puan Rosnah, and the actress playing her owned this play and it is a measure of how good the actress is when she got a standing ovation from the audience. And she had to be good, as this play, for all intent and purposes, is a play about Puan Rosnah, a woman so driven by her ambitions that she is willing to sell her own son. As a person who dabbled in acting before, I can appreciate a great performance when I see one.
The play is littered with memorable characters. Ah Soon, Muthu, Sarip Dol, Adam; these are characters who each had their moments to shine, and shine they did. There’s even cameos from the two master of ceremonies.
The thing with these actors are that they sing and dance too, alongside some singers with some truly wonderful vocal chords and dancers with mesmerising choreography. It was almost like a musical, but with a unique Malaysian twist.
And in true Warwick Malaysian Night style, we were treated with the legendary MSA Dikir Barat troupe. People, this is probably the best dikir barat in the whole of the UK, and it would not be too much to say that they rival anything ever seen in Malaysia. You have to witness their rendition of ‘No mountain too high’ to understand how great the dikir is. It is perfection, plain and simple. And the audience showed their appreciation with a standing ovation.
Another thing to note is that their theme, ‘batik’ and ‘songket‘ is not just a moniker. They embrace it. It is a theme that runs throughout the night, the performers donning batiks and songkets, an advertisement for the rich culture of Malaysia rivalling anything our Tourism Department has put forth.
All in all, it was a truly magnificent Malaysian Night. It is wonderful to see such dedication, such determination from Malaysians of different races, flying the banner of our country in this foreign land. When you see a Chinese person playing the kompang with such aplomb as seen that night, you can’t help but realise how much we have come after the 40 years we’ve lived together. My last post may be one of fear, this post on the other hand is one of hope that while some of us still wish to divide ourselves amongst lines of race and religion, the majority of us who have transcended those distinctions will bring the country forward.
And the biggest surprise of all was that one of the directors, WMSA Cultural Officer is in fact a local, a non-Malaysian who have embraced our culture and driven this project to a truly satisfying conclusion. James Browning, I salute you, your dedication to a country and culture seemingly foreign for you have shamed some of us who are Malaysian by birthright.
Thank you Warwick MSA, for a magnificent night, and most of all, for giving a young idealistic Malaysian renewed hope for his country.
