Mat Kilau – another attempt at Malay nationalism at the expense of others

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From Kua Kia Soong

DAP Youth chief Dr Kelvin Yii has justified his party colleagues hosting viewing sessions for the latest Malaysian blockbuster “Mat Kilau” by claiming that many DAP leaders have screened it for free in their constituencies because they want to promote and support local productions.

One wonders whether there was any discussion among the DAP leaders about the merits of the film. Otherwise, this gesture by the DAP just seems to be an opportunistic attempt to “capture Malay votes”.

Malay patriots such as Tok Gajah and Mat Kilau, who resisted the new tax and revenue laws introduced by the British near the end of the 19th century, certainly deserve to be honoured as I wrote in “Class & Communalism in Malaysia” (Zed Press 1983: 27).

Nonetheless, the nature of the anti-colonial struggle has shown that the contributions of the non-Malays, not only in the development of the country but also in the anti-colonial and anti-fascist wars from 1939 to 1957, were crucial to our nation’s independence.

Official history and the cultural presentation of our history must, therefore, reflect historical facts and thus be true and fair to all who have contributed so much to what we have attained today, regardless of their ethnicity.

“Mat Kilau” is not the first local film to court controversy. In 2012, we had “Tanda Putera”.

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