Yeehaaa..back in KL...
Written on 11/20/2004 02:56:00 am by sikapitan
So how was your Raya? I was in Penang for 7 days, from last Wednesday till two days ago. Just like I wrote in the previous entry, it wasn’t half as bad as I thought it would be, though cramming everyone into a typical terrace house meant I had to sleep on the couch most of the time, and not a particularly large one at that. But we had Astro, and I managed to fill up my time playing Football Manager 2005, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Don’t read this if you don’t like ‘poyo’ things: In two seasons I managed to win the FA Cup, League Cup, Charity Shield, Premier League and Champions League, using basically the same crop of players Man United are having right now. So Sir Alex, when do you want to give way for me?
Let’s get on with this whole Raya business, and it is a business now considering the commercialism of the whole thing. I’m not complaining though, just making an observation. Is it normal for you guys to be stuck in front of the TV during Raya period? My family, extended and all, live off TV every time we get together. We just love watching all these Malay shows on TV, from musicals to ‘blockbusters’. A few observations on the Raya programming on TV:
1. Please get that Pakcik Macam-macam Ada off the air. It was cute at first but the whole ‘Ada Riaaa Ada Rayaa’ ad just looked pathetically cheap. Now I just want to smack the old man right out of his songkok and that isn’t a pleasant thought to have during this glorious month.
2. Why are they showing depressing melodramas during Prime Time? Seriously, almost all the TV drama that was shown had some dark somber tone surrounding it. ‘Quran Buruk’ was especially depressing, almost as pathetic as the whole ‘Pondok Buruk’ series. If the Chinese watched TV during this period they would have thought we Malays like nothing better than to live in Kampung, having affairs, disrespecting our parents, gatal, and we are piously unrealistic, surrounded with lots of supernatural beings, or just simply stupid.
3. Musicals are getting a bit boring isn’t it? The problem is that there aren’t enough genuine stars here in Malaysia. We all know that Ning is a wonderful singer, but she can’t carry a show by herself, because she’s not a star. So what do our beloved TV stations do? Get Siti. So Raya this year is filled once again with Siti Nurhaliza. It’s not that I don’t like her, in fact I can be called somewhat of a fan of her music, but I just think it’s silly to see her face every hour or so on every TV channel.
4. What’s with the commercials this year? There appears to be a genuine lack of creativity. It’s so sad and pathetic. What makes it all the more depressing is that it’s all lies. Take Petronas “Tale of Two Mothers of Police Officers” ad as an example. Now, Petronas has always been noted for their strangely unique way of ushering in this month of festivity by placing sad ads. Remember the one with the two brothers who goes on a bus to meet their father and his new wife in the city? Well, this year, they tried to be clever about the whole thing and fell flat on their face. It’s not for me to say, but where the hell do you find this whole Malay and Indian mom cooking together in the same house and stayed friends forever for years? And that Indian guy at the end with one of the lousiest acting I’ve ever seen in a Petronas commercial... “Aleh, takkan la semua iklan Petronas kena ada yang mati kan” in a supposedly nonchalant way..screw his ass, if they put out any more of those crap I’LL go and kill someone from Petronas...man…
I like that Deepavali Tenaga Nasional commercial where the whole Indian family waited for the whole house to be lit up. It isn’t politically correct, nor is it morally positive (as it encourages power wastage), but it’s light-hearted, comical and more importantly, it is unrealistically real (go figure). And it’s way way better than any advertisements purporting unity and all that. Propagandas abound. The other day I was in OU with my best friend, and I’m the only Malay guy there with an Indian buddy. Does Petronas exec really have Indian buddies? I just hope they stop all the bullshit. Political correctness is overrated. I might call him ‘macha’ and he might call me ‘belacan’ but behind all that he’s there when push comes to shove, and that’s more important than being politically correct now isn’t it? Believe in your intentions.
5. This year’s Prof A. Razak Mohaideen’s year, because I count no less than 5 of his films shown on TV before and after raya. There was Jutawan Fakir, Mistik, Cinta Kolesterol, Hingga Hujung Nyawa, Anak Mami, Kuliah Cinta blab la bla (I guess there’s way more than 5 then). And he’s also got two movies showing simultaneously at the same time in the cinemas. If his shows are any good, I wouldn’t have much to complain, but they’re mostly crap. I’m not one of those fence-critics who only know how to diss without really understanding Malay cinema. I actually follow almost all Malay shows and entertainment news, so don’t call me biased. I think he’s a money-maker, churning out formulaic script that’s so typically pathetic yet commercially viable that it makes you wonder why you aren’t a millionaire director.
Oh man, I’m sleepy. Maybe I’ll have more things to kutuk by tomorrow. Oh yeah, it’s after Ramadhan, so must I still be nice? See what I mean about intentions?
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