belated High notes

So near, yet sometimes so far -- that's our estranged neighbour across the Straits.

But like twin brothers or sisters, the causeway and bridge, and soon another bridge not too far, will cement us with our Brudder or Sisder across the problematic straits, now straightened out.

Yes, I note here belatedly, two High notes of good cheer.

April 26, 2005 marked the dawning of a new spring for Malaysia and Singapore. Like teenagers, they sometimes fight over the same girl, have lovers' spats, fight like dogs and cats. Hey, who says equatorial countries don't go thru cold winters?

The two countries ushered in a new season of bilateral relations with the signing of a treaty in the city republic by Foreign Ministry's Secretary-General Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, and Singapore's ambassador-at-large Prof Tommy Koh, witnessed by their foreign ministers, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and George Yeo, respectively.

This signalled an end of the problematic land reclamation activities in Singapore's territory yet seemingly touching Malaysian horizon, a perception that strained the brotherly ties that had seen Singapore married to Malaysia not so long ago for just a honeymoon period. Other issues on the negotiation table now seem not so insurmountable after all, thanks to relatively young PMs Lee Hsien Loong and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Maybe there could be a second time around with a newer generation? As they often say, Politics is the Art of the Possible.

The second high note is of glad tidings for the arty, farty community, commonly referred to by the media here. I know arty, but why farty? (I beg your pardon here, I digress; not a transgression, I hope.)

According to a The Straits Times/ANN report I spied in The Star of April 20, 2005, Singaporean film-maker ERIC KHOO scored a coup for his country -- his Be With Me beat 799 internatinal films to have the honour to open at the Cannes Film Festival early next month.

The director's first film for eight years, it will premiere in the festival's Director's Fortnight category. Legendary icons who have had the same honour include Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and Nagisa Oshima.

A jubilant Khoo, 39, said: "It shows the possibility that Singaporean films can go international."

Singapore Film Commission director Seto Lok Yin called it "a signal achievement" for Khoo.

Signal indeed, for Khoo made the movie on a relatively low budget of S$200,000 (RM460,000), and Be With Me was shot in just 15 days last November.

It's about the love and hope of everyday people, from cradle to grave. It stars (ggod news for late starters!) mostly first-time actors, notably 62-year-ol deaf-mute THERESA CHAN, and Khoo's 61-year-old former English tutor CHIEW SUNG CHING.

This writer, thirty-something-young-at-heart, is also some sort of English tutor, running a Sunday column desiderata.english; he wonders if any producer/director would extend him a "break" like Khoo's generous take-on on SC CHIEW?

Khoo's coming debut adds another feather in the cap for an Asian who dared to dream. This must lift the hearts of the likes of YASMIN AHMAD and her crew, and her young cast. Yasmin caused quite a stir with a Ministerial production promoting civil society on TV, with a Malay youth acting strange and rude -- too successfully, I add, for his own good that some members of Malaysian public were convinced that he was in real life truly kurang ajar for not giving up a seat to a pregnant lady on board a train! The persevering and independent-minded director did Malaysia proud by also winning another international award in France some weeks back with Sepet, also produced at a low budget of RM1million, for which I paid tribute with an earlier post titled a date with SEPET (March 21, 2005).