Interview with Fahmi Reza

1. The untold story of the hartal
Posted on 2 November 2007 - 01:25am
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When 30-year-old Fahmi Reza was in school, he hated history. But those days are thankfully over. The
freelance graphic artist recently won the "Most Outstanding Human Rights Film" at this year’s Freedom
Film Fest for his documentary, Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka (Ten Years Before Independence). The
documentary tells a crucial story about the people’s struggle for independence in 1947 that is missing from
our history textbooks and our official Merdeka celebrations.
With just a RM5,000 grant from Komas (Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat), which organises the annual
Freedom Film Fest, the help of friends, and a passion for the untold stories in our history, Fahmi tells a
compelling story about the proposed People’s Constitution and the Malaya-wide hartal – the halting of all
economic activity as a form of political action – through his film. Speaking to JACQUELINE ANN SURIN,
mostly in Malay, he talks about what was involved in making the film.
theSun: Why did you do the
film, Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum
Merdeka?
Fahmi Reza: The main
reason I did this film was
because I wanted to
narrate the history of the
peoples’ struggle for
independence. After
World War II and the
Japanese occupation, and
before the Emergency in
1948.
Actually, the story that I tell in
my film focuses on a particular
chapter in our history that is
missing from our history books
in school. If you look at our
Form 3 text books, there’s a chapter called ‘From Malayan Union to the Federation of Malaya’. But my
story is about the missing chapter ‘From The People’s Constitution to the Malaya-wide hartal’.
And I also made this film to remember and acknowledge the contributions of the political left in the
country’s struggle for independence because very little is actually said about the role they played. I also
wanted to show that it was the people in the left who started fanning the people’s nationalistic spirit for
independence until, if you look at it, a democratic movement was born that united the people of all races to
oppose the British in both Malaya, and Singapore then.
If you look at our own history books and how they cover the period between 1945 and 1948, we had the
Japanese occupation and in 1945, after World War II, the British returned and Malaya was ruled by the
British Military Administration. In 1946, there was the Malayan Union scheme and the birth of Umno.

2. After that, in 1948, there was the Federation of Malaya to replace the Malayan Union, and then there was
the Emergency.
But 1947 is missing! What happened in 1947? So my story is exactly about what happened in 1947, ten
years before Merdeka.
So, in my film, there are two key points, two important historical events that are missing (from our official
history) – the People’s Constitution and the Malaya-wide hartal of 1947.
How did you even find out about this missing year and part of our history? What drew your
attention to it?
Um, actually, I’m personally interested in the history of people’s revolutions and mass movements for
democracy wherever it may be in the world; movements that arose to demand for independence from
Western colonialism.
So, if you look at Vietnam, for example. In Vietnam, there was a people’s revolution against the French
colonisers. In India, the people also formed a democratic movement to fight the British. In Indonesia, the
rakyat stood together in a revolution to fight the Dutch. In the Philippines as well, even earlier still, the
people rose in a revolution in 1896 to oppose the Spanish.
And even in Thailand, even though they had never been colonised, but there was a people’s revolution in
1973 where the people demanded for full democracy from the military government.
So, all this made me think. If our neighbouring countries all went through a revolution of some kind, a
process where the people organised themselves to oppose colonialism, how come in Malaya there was no
such revolution? How come in Malaysia there was none?
It seemed impossible that Malaysia didn’t have a people’s revolution, too, because the conditions were the
same. The rakyat (people) were oppressed under colonialism, right?
That spurred me to begin researching. Because our history books are silent about this.
The first place I went to was the National Library to look for books that might be related to this issue. I was
lucky. I found this book [holds up Merintis Jalan ke Punchak by Ahmad Boestamam]. This was one of the
first books I found in my search for historical information. It was a memoir of Ahmad Boestamam who was
one of the founders of PKMM (Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya or the Malay Nationalist Party) and also
Api (Angkatan Pemuda Insaf).
When was this book published?
In 1972. But the book has 26 chapters. Ahmad Boestamam was a columnist for Berita Minggu and the
chapters were from his column. So, this is a compilation of all his columns. So, the column basically tells
his story. He writes about his political journey within the history of Malayans demanding for independence.
The chapter in this book which really left an impact on me was the one titled, ‘Hartal – Kemunchak
Perjuangan Putera-AMCJA’ (‘Hartal – The Height of Putera-AMCJA’s Struggles’). In this chapter, he
narrates about what happened in 1947, about the hartal – the Malaya-wide strike that involved all the
people.
When I read this chapter, I was stunned. I was surprised by the other chapters, too, but this particular
chapter really made me go, ‘Wah!’ I couldn’t believe that such a political action had occurred here!

3. But at that point, I was still critical. After all, this was just one man’s story, right? One source. So, I began
my research. Started reading other books. Looked for other memoirs.
Many of the leaders of the political left wrote their memoirs such as Pak Sako, Mustapha Hussain, A.
Samad Ismail, Shamsiah Fakeh, Abdullah C.D., Gerald de Cruz, Majid Salleh, Lim Hong Bee, Philip
Hoalim Sr., Khadijah Sidek, Ibrahim Chik and many more.
And then, I also looked for academic books written by our historians such as Cheah Boon Kheng,
Mohamed Salleh Lamry, Khong Kim Hoong, Firdaus Abdullah, Abdul Rahman Ismail, Khoo Kay Kim,
Ramlah Adam, and others.
There was a significant amount of literature but nothing specifically on the hartal and on the Putera-
AMCJA or the people who organised the hartal. Usually, they would just be mentioned in a chapter.
In fact, up to today, no book has yet to be written about them, about their struggle for independence. So, I
had to piece everything together from these different sources. And that’s how I became exposed to all these
acronyms of organisations -- PKMM, Api, Awas (Angkatan Wanita Sedar), Batas (Barisan Tani Se-
Malaya), MDU (Malayan Democratic Union), Putera (Pusat Tenaga Ra’ayat), AMCJA (All-Malaya
Council of Joint Action), PMFTU (Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Unions), MNDYL (Malayan New
Democratic Youth League), Geram (Gerakan Angkatan Muda), all these – and about the significance of
each organisation.
So, you borrowed these books?
From the library. All of them are at the National Library. Many people are unaware that the National
Library has all these books. You just need to go, register with RM1, and borrow. Basically, the early
material for my research was books because they were resources I was familiar with.
And then, I went to the National Archives because academic books, especially, made a lot of references to
press reports and statements. So, I thought I’d check out the original source, the original documents and I
went to the National Archives to go through the newspapers from that time.
That too, I found amazing, because there were so many newspapers then. In all languages. Many were in
English and BM, and there was Jawi, and there were magazines and the Chinese press. But the Chinese and
Tamil press I couldn’t read, which was a shame.
What was also amazing was the freedom the press had at that time. So, you had your pro-British paper like
The Straits Times, at the same time, there was also The Malaya Tribune which was more pro-rakyat.
The Malay press was the same.Majlis which was more pro-Umno and then Utusan Melayu which, at that
time, was pro-PKMM, pro-left and pro-rakyat.
So, it was interesting to read the press from those times because they showed the story from both sides.
Sometimes, one party would criticise the other party, and vice-versa, but that was what made it interesting.
That debate was there in the press.
And then I collected all these names which appeared in the books and articles. I started writing them down
and started finding out whether these people were still alive…
Or not?
Or not [chuckles]. But when I started, I had to cancel out many of the names. Many of them had passed
away.

4. How did you go about finding out whether they were still alive or not?
Er, start calling up friends and others whom I know. Parti Rakyat (Malaysia, or PRM), one of the oldest
political parties. So, I know friends in Parti Rakyat, so I called them up because some of them are in touch
with all these veterans. So, from there, I had a list of those who were still alive and those who had died.
So, most of them..?
Most of them had passed away. This story is 60-years-old. So, if they were still alive today, they would be
in their 80s because they would have been active during their 20s. And all the key leaders such as Ahmad
Boestamam, Burhanuddin Helmy, all have died.
But there are still some of them who are alive. I got to know that Lim Kean Chye (one of the founding
members of the MDU) was still alive (and living in Penang).
But at that time I wasn’t yet bold enough to try and meet him. Because what excuse did I have? How could
I tell him, I wanted to meet him to do research? Research for what? I didn’t have an answer because it was
just my personal research. I didn’t think they would want to speak with me if it was just for that.
So, basically, the film was an excuse, actually for me to talk to them [laughs].
Ok [laughs].
So, now, when they asked, ‘What is the research for?’, I could say, ‘I want to make a documentary about
their story.’ So, I had an excuse.
It’s also because (for) all these people who had died, nobody had ever documented their history, unless they
wrote it themselves, especially in the new media formats -- audio or video -- right?
We have poor oral history documentation. So, I thought, before those who were still alive passed away, too,
I better start now. And I documented their story through the best format we have now, which is video. You
get audio and you get visuals as well.
So, once I had these interviews, it would have been a loss if I kept them to myself. So, I made this film.
You know the nationalist struggles of the left in Malaya are barely mentioned in our history
textbooks. And both you and I probably have the same experience – schooled locally but never once
was taught about the hartal and what happened with the Putera-AMCJA. Do you think there is an
attempt to only highlight certain parts of our history, especially our history for independence?
It’s true that our school history books, for the most part, highlight the role that is played by just one party or
group. Other groups are mentioned but are not given focus or are labelled anti-government or anti-
something. For me, this happens because, any history at all, and this can probably be applied to any
country, history is always written by those in power.
So, if we look at our history, the people in power are Umno and the Barisan Nasional. So, they are the ones
who write the history of our nation. So, of course, they will present a historical narrative that sheds a
positive light on them. I think this happens in any regime or government. Firstly, in order to legitimise their
current position, there is a need to create this myth about their history.
So, if we look at our historical narrative about independence, it’s focused on creating this myth about
Umno’s struggle to gain our independence. How Umno was born and how Umno fought for our
independence. It’s understandable that there’s this narrative.

5. So, any other narrative that doesn’t support the (dominant) narrative will of course be left out, because it
would challenge or counter their narrative.
Many regimes do one of two things. You absorb the other narrative and claim it as your own. Or you leave
out.
Umno’s problem is, because they were there at the same time, they cannot claim that their struggle was part
of the left’s because they were on the opposite side. So, the only way left to them is to silence (the other
narrative). So, history books are written that way.
History is written by the victor.
Ya. And the losers, who will tell their stories, right?
So, it’s understandable, in some ways?
Ya, it’s understandable.
Ok, but then, what is our response as citizens of this country?
So, I think for us, because I think whatever it is, we want to know the truth. In any situation. Truth is better
than ya, than something else. It is also because of this principle that I wanted to research this part of our
history.
One other thing was the way history was taught to me in school. Erm, actually, I wasn’t interested in
history when I was in school. During SPM, I got a ‘C’ for history [chuckles]. I took 10 subjects. I got eight
‘A’s and two ‘C’s [laughs], and one of the ‘C’s was for history [laughs loudly]. And I really didn’t like
history because I felt, not to blame my teacher, but the way the syllabus is taught is for you to memorise
certain dates, certain events, personalities, and names. And even though it made you think: why did
something happen, what is the significance of an event, the answer is already there. Because the format was
A, B, C, D, right? It’s a fixed answer.
It didn’t ask you to critically think about why a historical event was significant. They tell us what is the
significance, we memorise it, and regurgitate the answer during the exam. So, this format bored me to tears.
It’s just a process of memorising all these names and facts and that was just so boring for me. So, I wasn’t
interested in history then. It was only after I left school, when I started becoming more politically aware
that I started to read on my own and got interested.
Was making and releasing this historical documentary specifically timed to coincide with our 50th
Merdeka celebrations? What did you hope to achieve from this?
Ya, I consciously timed it that way. Because this research had been going on for a while, and the timing
was also right because my other projects had ended last year. And I was free this year, so I wanted to
concentrate on doing this project because the research had been done and I had already found the story. So,
it was just a matter of getting my friends together and telling the story, using the medium of film.
And I had already expected that for our 50th Merdeka, there would be a big celebration to commemorate 50
years of independence. And I also expected that this independence celebration would only amplify the role
of just one group.
So, I thought, to balance things out, because I already knew the story of the other groups (that would not be
highlighted), I wanted to share the story that I knew with others.

6. What I hoped to achieve from this film being shown this year, like I said earlier, was to recognise that there
were others who fought for and contributed to independence.
But our Merdeka celebrations usually only highlight the leaders of certain groups only. They hardly ever
show what role the people played, and the people did contribute towards the struggle for our independence.
So, my story, yes, it’s true, it also focuses on political party leaders, but if you look at the hartal, that’s
where the people themselves got directly involved in the struggle. Because the hartal wasn’t just about a
political party alone, it involved all the rakyat. It was inclusive and participatory in the sense that people
got involved in politics directly.
So, for me, this story is my tribute to the <i>rakyat</i> who also contributed to the independence that we
enjoy today.
You’ve mentioned in previous interviews that this is your very first film and you just went out to buy
a camera, and with a good story line, filmed your documentary. Was it as easy as you make it sound?
It is and it’s not. Because I really have no filmmaking experience at all.
And before this, if you’d asked me about making a film, ‘Wah!’ because when we watch Hollywood
movies or movies on TV, it’s easy to think that making a film is really hard. When you look at the end
credits, the number of crew members involved! [chuckles] Hundreds of them! How can we ever make a
film, right? [chuckles]
But, I started researching how to make film. Online! All this information is available online. From my
reading, it didn’t seem so difficult especially if one wants to make a documentary.
That’s also why I chose to make a documentary because compared to a fiction film, for example, it would
be much harder because you would need actors. That’s why I chose to tell the story through the format of a
documentary. So, what did I do?
I saved money and bought a camera. And it took a long time for me to save up the money [laughs]. Because
my dilemma was whether to buy a really good camera or a <i>Cap Ayam</i> camera [laughs]. But in the
end, I decided to invest in a good camera because I figured I would use the camera for a long time. If I
bought a <i>Cap Ayam</i> camera, maybe I could only use it for a few months! So, I saved up money so I
could buy a good quality, medium-range camera.
And I was lucky. Because I like to do research, even for the camera, I was mad about doing research about
what was the best camera for this particular price. And then I researched the camera shops in Kuala
Lumpur, and I found this camera that I wanted for half price because it was a display model. The original
price was RM12,000. I only paid RM6,000 for it.
I bought the camera, and then started playing around with it. I learnt by just doing. So, I started using the
camera to document stuff. If I went for demonstrations, I would bring my video camera and start recording.
I would go in support of urban settlers whose homes were being demolished. I would bring my camera to
document what happened and I posted them on <i>YouTube</i> because not everyone knows these things
are happening, right? Because the media doesn’t really report on these issues. So, I learnt (how to film)
while recording.
And I love music and enjoy gigs, so I would bring my camera to shoot all these bands, and I would learn
how to edit these videos. I bought a laptop, installed software for editing, and started learning how to edit.
All the bands that I recorded live, I edited them into music videos. I was practicing. If you watch my
YouTube, that was my learning process [chuckles].

7. The process is only that. You have a camera, you shoot, you edit, you get your film! It’s as simple as that.
But, there are other components, too. It’s not just about technical know-how. You have to have a good
story. You have to have a good story-telling technique as well. So, for this story, I watched a lot of
available documentaries and I learnt from there how they tell a story. What is boring and what isn’t.
Because I didn’t want to make a boring documentary [chuckles] because I knew from the beginning, my
target audience was people my age or younger. People in their 20s, teenagers, young people.
This is their medium. They are the ones who enjoy watching TV and movies. So, I wanted my story to
really relate to them, and the look of it was targeted at them.
Ok, but, history is boring. Even for me, when I was in school before, because it just emphasised on facts,
facts, facts but there’s no real story. It’s not told as a story.
So, I did more research to construct a story out of all these things, all the research I had done, all these
facts, all these dates, all these names. So, I began to construct a story, and I chose to present this story in a
format that is used by Hollywood.
I think it’s called dramatic storytelling. Basically, there are three acts. There’s the beginning, middle and
end. It’s formulaic. If you look at any Hollywood story, or local fiction, there’s always the hero and the
villain. The protagonist and the antagonist. And then, these two want different things, usually opposite of
each other, so there’s conflict.
So, the conflict will lead up to a climax. The climax is the ending. The ending can be a happy ending or a
tragedy.
So, I constructed my story that way. So, it’s clear. The hero is the rakyat in the left, the villain is the British.
And I showed how the rakyat wanted independence. But the British didn’t want to grant independence
because they wanted our rubber and tin. And I showed the obstacles that they went through, leading up to
the climax which is the hartal.
And then, the end, what happened after that. So, I told it that way.
And a lot of feedback I received said that the audience could connect with the story.
They can follow the story. It’s a simple story. It’s a one-plot story. It’s not complex, it’s
not complicated because I meant for it to be that way, so that the story is very clear.
The audience is treated to history but it’s told as an interesting story. And this was just from watching the
film. I think in film school, they probably teach this. So, ya, I did it that way. So, whether you agree or not
with the story, it’s still an interesting story to watch, I think.
And then, I was lucky to have friends who helped me. One person can make a film. I have friends who, on
their own, make films. But, I’m lucky to have this pool of friends and we’ve been working together for the
past few years on different arts projects and people from different arts background. So, previously, we’ve
worked on a visual art piece exhibition in Singapore, then we did Baling Membaling (a theatre
performance), and then early this year, we did Dua, Tiga Dalang Berlari (a theatre performance).
So, before this, I helped out in other people’s projects. So, now, it is my project and they came to help. And
earlier on, I had told them the story and they fell in love with the story, and that’s why they joined in the
project to help out.

8. With the help of my friends, this process and journey was made easier because they also gave a lot of input.
They critically looked at the story and constantly gave feedback constantly. Because I had Imri (Nasution)
who is a filmmaker and he gave a lot of feedback from a technical perspective because he was the camera
person for this project. And I had Gan (Siong King) and (Wong) Tay Sy who have a visual arts background
and gave a lot of feedback on visuals. And then I had Mark (Teh) who has a theatre background, who co-
produced the project, and Taj (Addin) who has a music background, who helped out with the sound. I also
had young social activists, Ebrahim (Harris) and Fiqtriey (Al-Hakimi) to come on board and helped out
with the production. It was good teamwork, helping each other out. So, it’s easy because I had friends
along [chuckles].
Since we’re talking about your friends, there’s this popular notion that young people today are not
interested in history. But your friends are all within your age group, right? All fairly young, and they
volunteered for free. So, what gives with your group?
Like I said earlier, even I didn’t enjoy history in school because it bored me to bits. But, um, I think
everyone has their own interests, their own entry points, why they would join this project.
For me, when I ask myself, why do we need to know our history, I think that for us to move forward, we
need to take a step back and see where we came from. How our present day condition, the way it is – Why
is it like this? Was it always like this? Where did we go wrong, if we made a mistake? How do we fix the
problem or how do we learn from it so that we don’t repeat the mistake?
So, I think, it’s these stories which make me interested to look back. Look at our condition today. That’s
what got me interested to go back in time and to read our history because of the situations we face today.
Ya, was it always like this? That question always lingers in my mind. So that made me start researching our
history.
So, when I found this story, it was a different time. I realised it wasn’t always like how it is now. There was
a time, in the early days before we gained independence, when [pauses] the people, for me, were more
progressive. It was a time when there were more freedoms, and political awareness was higher, compared
to now. For me, it is quite romantic, this period, very interesting, full of semangat (spirit). Where did it all
go? Where did this spirit go? Where did this political awareness go?
It’s a loss that we’ve forgotten all of this, especially for me, the new generation who doesn’t know this
story. So, I thought, for me who now knows this story, I shouldn’t keep it to myself.
When I first got to know about this story, I kept telling it to my friends because it was like a big discovery
for me. But, how many people could I tell this story to in this way, right? [chuckles] So, film is the best
medium…
But do you think that you and your group of friends are an anomaly?
Erm, not really. I think many other people are also interested in history. But, one thing is time, of course.
Many people are just busy.
But most people your age would be busy chasing the rat race. But you guys are giving up quite a bit
to do these projects.
Ya, each individual, I think has different passions. Other people may have the passion to be rich, so that
drives them. I can’t speak for others, but I can speak for myself.

9. So, if you ask me what my passions are, ah…many things in Malaysia are not perfect, and many things can
be improved and changed, so I’m passionate about change. Change for the better from what we have today.
It could be better. That drives me.
Like I said earlier, before we move forward, we have to look back. This (project) is (about) me going back
before I go forward.
Because one thing which keeps getting raised is this. One form of political action is demonstration, right?
We are always told this is not our tradition. This is not our way. This term is always used.
But when I discovered this (story about the hartal), it (demonstration) is [chuckles] part of our history, a
part of our tradition.
In fact, even Umno members who opposed the Malayan Union came out and demonstrated and
protested. There are pictures of them in the National Archives.
True, true. And for us to deny our history and tradition is only to benefit those in power, because they don’t
want us to know this tradition, right? So, that’s why, it moved me to bring back this tradition through this
story.
Because this is our history, the history of the people struggling. The struggle continues in different forms
for different causes but I think one thing that is important is tradition. So this story I’m telling is to re-
establish this forgotten tradition that has not reached the younger generation.
Would you say that your group has a particular passion about their love for Malaysia and what this
country is capable of, and that’s why they are willing to put in so much.
Ya, ya. Definitely, if not, they would have migrated to live in another country, as many others have done
[chukles].
Ya, I agree with you. That’s why we stuck around, and do things here. Because there’s so much to do. It’s
so easy to just give up and run away and go to another place where there is more freedom and democratic
rights. But, for us, we don’t think that way. We should fight here. This is our tanah air, we were born here.
If we don’t fight, who else will?
And we fight in ways that we know. So, coming from an arts background, most of us are arts workers, and
as arts workers, we, too can play a role in society. It doesn’t mean that we just make art to beautify the
environment. We can play a role.
We are exploring this role that we can play, right now. And even for me. It’s a process of me discovering
what I can do to contribute.
You’ve shown this film at the Freedom Film Festival in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, and will be
taking it to Johor Baru this weekend (Sept 29 and 30). What kind of responses have you received
from audiences so far?
So far, I’ve only heard positive feedback.
I got people suggesting that this film should be shown in school as part of the syllabus at the universities
and colleges. The young crowd, mostly, like the story and the music. They like how it is edited – very
stylish. That’s mostly their comments.

10. But the most comments I’ve had has been, ‘Thank you for sharing this.’ Because many have not heard
about Putera-AMCJA, have not heard about the hartal. Many were so surprised that this is our history. A lot
of people were shocked that they did not know about it. And there were also older viewers who came to tell
me they’d never heard of the hartal [laughs].
So, this film was an eye-opener to a lot of people. It was good. Some were critical of it, too – ‘Did this
really happen?’ I mean, if you’ve never heard about this, even you would be shocked. How can anyone
who lives in this country not know about this story? How can this story be missing from our history books?
So, good that these questions were raised. That was the other reason I made this film, so that people could
start asking all these questions about history and other things.
And it was good because even historians, such as Cheah Boon Kheng, who watched my film was very
positive and confirmed that yes, this is our history and that it needs to be told.
What did you learn from researching and making this film?
One thing that I learnt was that there are still many things we don’t know about our own history. There’s a
lot to be discovered. When I was researching, I came across many other stories that were, for me, so
interesting. Just waiting to be told. So many stories.
So, I think, that was one thing I learnt.
Because if you look at the stories on TV, it’s not that interesting, right? For people who are lacking in story
ideas, just look at our history, there are so many things there. I still have so many stories from my research
that I could tell. But these are not my stories. These are stories of what happened.
In our rush forward, we rarely look back. And many historical events are not given the prominence they
should. For me, the books are all there, but who reads all these books? And I’m talking to the younger
generation. And for someone from that generation, I have to communicate in a language that this
generation can understand and accept. Hence, the visual medium.
So, for now, I’ve found my medium of choice. Because I’ve been experimenting with different mediums
before this. Because I personally feel that art is just a means to an end, a tool, a vehicle to get a message
across to a particular audience.
Before this, I was exploring with the visual arts. I did theatre, as well. Graphic design and graphic art. And
finally, this. I did a film. This is the process of me experimenting with all these mediums, to find the best
way to get the message across. So for now, so far, based on feedback, film is the best way because one,
once you’ve made the film, you don’t have to be there. The story can move on its own. Theatre, for
example, is limited because you have to perform it to the audience, which is good. It’s live, it’s more
engaging but the limitation is that the performer has to constantly be there. But with film, once you’ve
made the film, it’s out there, can be easily duplicated and be spread out.
So, it’s a powerful medium that I want to use now.
Apart from Lim Kean Chye, was it difficult to track down the four others you interviewed (Yahya
Nassim, a member of Kesatuan Melayu Muda; Zainuddin Andika, a member of PKMM and then
Api; Majid Salleh, a committee member of the PKMM’s Simpang Ampat division; and Hashim Said,
a PKMM member who eventually joined Api)?
Most of them I found through one contact. Siti Noor Hamid Tuah. Hamid Tuah was a student activist in the
70s. So, Siti Noor is his daughter. So, I got her contact number from a PRM friend. So, I contacted Siti

11. Noor and found out that she kept in touch with all these veterans. She had all these contact numbers and
addresses.
But for some, there was no contact number. Just an address.
So my research entailed just going to find the house. Mad, I know. It was tough! Like for Majid Salleh, I
only had an address. So, I went to the kampung, and I started asking people there if they knew Majid
Salleh, and kept looking until I found him. After finding him, I started talking to him.
So, the process was, first, I’d just chat with them. I didn’t interview right away. I’d tell them what I wanted
to do, and they would interrogate me. Next only would we confirm the interview.
If there was a number, I would call ahead to say I wanted to visit. If not, I’d just go looking for the address.
And also, I tried consciously to include women’s voices in this documentary because women played a big
role in that era. I knew that Shamsiah Fakeh was still alive but she is very sick. I went to visit her but she
can’t speak anymore. What we have is her memoir but I couldn’t interview her.
And there was another woman, whom I shan’t name. When I met her, she refused to be interviewed. She
used the excuse that she was too young at that time. She was 17 when she joined Awas and she said she
could no longer remember. But, basically, she didn’t want to tell her story. So, one missing element in this
story is the women’s voices.
And also, this story is a collective history that we can share, regardless of (race). Because we live in a time
when everything is about race. So, I wanted to produce something that can be shared collectively by
everyone, regardless of what your race is.
So, this is a shared Malaysian history. Regardless of your race, this is our story. So, I wanted to find an
Indian voice as well, but I couldn’t find any during my research. It was difficult even though I called many
people. Most of them have died and most of them were arrested and banished back to India. So, if they are
still alive, they are probably back in India right now.
I know you’ve spoken about how Lim Kean Chye was initially quite resistant to do this interview
until he had interrogated you. Did you have a sense that the others were also resistant, and why do
you think there was this kind of resistance, at being interviewed and having their stories
documented?
First, for one of my interviewees, I think it was quite painful for them to recall what happened. Because,
some of them had put all this behind them. They never engaged in politics after they were released from
prison. So, it’s a dark period in their life.
This is my tribute to people who fought, they struggled. These are regular people. It’s different classes but
mostly from the lower classes -- the children of farmers, fishing folk, small traders. So, they really
sacrificed for independence. So, for them to be arrested and detained, and when we got independence, it’s
not the independence that they wanted, the Merdeka was not pure, and this was not the independence that
they fought for. So, they feel disappointed that their struggle that they started has not been completed.
That’s what I felt from them.
When I wanted to ask them questions, too, it was difficult for some of the interviewees. They failed,
basically. They wanted something but they failed. But their failure is not because of their mistake but
because of colonialism at that time, British rule, with the help of well…that’s the other thing they were
disappointed about.

12. Because for the first time, if you look at the hartal, it was moving towards creating this new bangsa
(nationality). Because at that time, that sense of nationhood did not yet exist.
The thing that I find amazing is that they were able to see the divide-and-rule policy that the British
imposed on them, and they fought against that. The Putera-AMCJA was a manifestation, for the first time
in our nation’s history, of the different races getting together and uniting. And the hartal was truly bigger.
If you look at the People’s Constitution, they wanted to give birth to a new bangsa. They were conscious
about breaking the Malay-Chinese-Indian racial categorisations. They wanted a new nationality, regardless
of race.
One other thing I learnt from my interviews was that at independence, what was born was a nation, not a
bangsa. That’s why we have this problem today of having three main races, when actually we should only
have one, Bangsa Malaysia.
And their mentality was different. If you talk to Lim Kean Chye, race was not in their consciousness, which
is very strong today. I think the unity that they talked about was not about race. It was more about class. It
was about uniting all the people to go against the British to fight for independence. So, we could have been
something different than what we have today.
We could have been. We still can.
Ya, we still can. That’s why this story is very inspiring, for me, and I hope for other people as well.
What plans lie ahead for you and for your film?
Well, for sure, now that the film is made, I want people to watch it [chuckles]. So, we have plans to have
more screenings. I am planning, after (Hari) Raya (Aidilfitri), beginning from Oct 20, in conjunction with
the 60th anniversary of the Malaya-wide hartal, I want to bring this film on a nationwide road tour with
screening and discussion.
So, I want to have a screening and discussion in every state, in schools, colleges, universities, anywhere.
Public halls, civic halls, any place that can screen the show.
I’d like to ask lecturers, students or any non-governmental organisation or community group who can, to
help me organise these screenings. I can come, anytime, anywhere. Just need to contact me at my e-mail (at
fahmireza@gmail.com). That’s the plan now.
What about funding for such an effort?
Yes, I’m sourcing for funding and if anybody would like to contribute, that would be welcome.
Because we really don’t have money. When we did this film, we did it on a limited budget of RM5,000
from Komas. And we used up all the money, basically on equipment and expenses. None of my crew got
paid. And everything goes to petrol, and transport and accommodation, research. So, to bring this on tour, I
need people’s help to organise. Because we did this project out of our own pocket, all of us.
What do you think the total cost was in the end?
For the film, alone? RM5,000.

13. If we had to pay the crew, I don’t know how much it would have come up to. Because I myself don’t know
what the rate is out there.
But I know that RM5,000 is definitely not enough! [laughs]
But you had some support from individuals, right?
Oh, ya. So, the money from these contributors will go towards the tour. Because that was the original plan,
that once the film was made, it would be a shame if it wasn’t screened as much as possible.
Do you have any plans for making another film?
Oh, ya. I’m planning a sequel to this documentary. So this story will focus on the period between 1945 and
1948. So, the next film will focus on the 1948 Emergency up to 1957 when we gained independence.
If you want to know what the story is about, wait and see.
When are you planning for a release?
I’m targeting middle of next year.
The research is done. I’ve got the story. It’s just a matter of finding people.
Will it be a documentary as well?
Yes, a documentary. This same format.
Have you started filming already?
Not yet. But I’m sharing all my research online on my blog (10tahun.blogspot.com). So, if people need
more information, they can just go to my blog.