Read this article forwarded by a member of Yasmin Ahmad’s Muallaf on Facebook today – to which my comment would just be, “Go make your own movie, Mr. Highandmighty.” I am not defending Yasmin Ahmad, nor am I in total disagreement with what’s written by Kamil Maslih and Arif Nizam Abdullah. But it is day and night between criticising constructively and finding faults endlessly. A critical mind is one that is able to come up with solutions prior to laying out flaws.
These journalists think that the movie had failed to portray the beauty of Islam. But they made no suggestions whatsoever on how THEY would do it or how it should’ve been done. I mean, if you have never seen a rose, you can’t expect it to look like a tulip, can you? And to reshape a rose to look like a tulip just because YOU can’t appreciate a rose…is downright bigoted.
Having said that, the beauty of God or faith is not to be portrayed and drummed about. It is to be shared as it is to be sought. What you can share and what you can find is very personal – between you and Him. If you can’t appreciate or share, and if you don’t like what others can, keep your opinion to yourself. Why bother sharing?
And since when did the Malaysian Muslim community appoint Kamil Maslih and Arif Nizam Abdullah to be their representatives who decide what movies are offensive and what not? And oh, hear this:
Barangkali bagi penonton di sana, tarikan utama Muallaf adalah kerana hampir keseluruhan dialog dalam filem itu menggunakan bahasa Inggeris.
My jaw dropped to the floor when I read this statement! If this was a joke, it wasn’t funny and these two reporters have just succeeded in making themselves the top two most un-funny clowns of the town!
What do you make out of this notion? That Singaporeans are so deprived of movies in English? That Singaporeans would not understand this movie if it was in full Malay/Chinese/Indian? That Singaporeans wouldn’t understand the English subtitles if it was in full Malay/Chinese/Indian? That Singaporeans don’t really care what Muallaf was all about – but because it is mostly in English, they watched it anyway?
You see why I read these newspapers once in two or three months at the very most? Because their reporters/journalists are so funny I am afraid I will be over-entertained and cannot stop laughing – not only at statements similar to above, but at their state of mind. Sorry state!

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