Asia Dance Channel

She was a pioneer in education, nationalism and politics in Malaysia. She was the first Malay woman leader to fight for the freedom and independence of Malaya. And because of her contributions, she gained much respect from the people and she is the most influential woman in her era. This woman is Tan Sri Zainun Munshi Sulaiman, or affectionately known as Ibu Zain. She would be 105 years old if she still lives today.

The younger generation will never know how difficult life was before Independence, and how hard men such as Tunku Abdul Rahman fought for it. We must not forget that women also played a part in fighting for independence and this musical tells us a story of one such woman.

In conjunction with ‘Bulan Kemerdekaan' (Independence Month), a musical was staged at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur from 12 to 18 August 2008, to pay tribute to Ibu Zain and her journey in life. It portrays tales of her childhood, youth, and adulthood. The story highlighted the years of Japanese occupation, her political journey with Pergerakan Melayu Semenanjung (PKR) and United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and the honors she received from her achievements.

The musical began with the scene of Ibu Zain's childhood. She was born in Jasin, Malacca and grew up as an active and energetic lady. Although she was smart, she had to stop her education and forget about her ambition to become a doctor because society at that era did not allow women to pursue higher education. Her father who was a religious teacher (Guru Agama) in the village had the foresight to send her to an English school. The education that she had received eventually shaped her into an educator of the nation. She became a teacher (education), an author (nationalist) and also an independence fighter (politics).

She became a government probationary teacher at the age of 19. She had the vision and belief that education will free them from the reigns of the British and the Japanese. She then joined the Johor chapter of the Malay Women Teachers Association (MWTA) from 1930 to 1949. The association founded ‘Bulan Melayu,' a Jawi publication for women teachers, which is the counterpart of the men's ‘Majalah Guru.' Soon after her mid-30s, she became involved in politics.

She experienced the crucial era of the English colonization, Japanese invasion, Communists', Calamity, the rise of opposition for Malayan Union until the independence of Malaya.

She also experienced the sail of time as a single mother to three children, and at the same time, she was also the leader for Kaum Ibu (Mothers in UMNO) which really stretched her body and soul.

“Ibu Zain Musical” was produced by Siti Rohayah Attan, and was written and directed by Rosminah Mohd Tahir (who directed Musical Lantai T. Pinkie in 2006). Nik Nizam Jaafar was music director while Sharip Zainal Sagkit Shek was choreographer.

“I combined both contemporary and traditional dance elements in the musical to create a contrast in the storyline, which involves not only our nation, but also the Japanese and the Westerners” said the choreographer, who is pursuing a degree in dance at the National Arts Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara).

The dance acts showed us the mixed culture that we were exposed to during the British and the Japanese occupations. The first dance scene was the Zapin dance that portrayed the cultural dance in Johor where Ibu Zain grew up in her adolescent years and adulthood. The combination of ballet (Western) and Silat (Asian) tells us the story of the colonial era where the western culture had influenced our Asian culture. The mixture of both cultures in the dance act turned out brilliantly. The graceful dancers succeeded in conveying the spirit of patriotism through the dance.

Besides the dance, the music that uplifted the musical was beautiful. 20 new tracks (a mixture of traditional and contemporary songs) were composed by Nik Nizam for the two-hour musical.

This musical, which is the story of our country's heroin, is an eye opener and it reminds us of how lucky we are now, how much we should appreciate the life we have. Anyone who had watched this musical would learn the meaning of patriotism and feel grateful for the deeds of our forefathers. This musical somehow brings to life the perseverance of our heroin to the next generation.

The script was well written and the message, clearly delivered. The story really touched the audience and some even shed tears at the end the play.

Children play an important role in this entire musical. Their presence brightens up the musical and held the audience's attention. The children in the musical represent innocence, cheer, ambition and so forth. It was a breathtaking scene when we looked at all the kids dancing and singing.

But what made the musical amusing was the comical scene that was inserted in the middle of the play. At least, those who wanted to fall asleep were refreshed with laughter. Personally, we felt that the funniest part was when the three teachers – Cikgu Munah, Cikgu Ramlah and Cikgu Jumilah ‘bersyair sempoi'. They bring out our Malay culture “bersyair” in the hilarious way.

The cast received generous rounds of applause because they played their roles very well. The experienced casts included familiar names such as Liza Othman, Dato' Rahim Razali, Hisham Ahmad Tajuddin, Mazlan Tahir, Mazin Ameen Siraj, Catriona Bahrin Ross, and Avaa Vanja. The dance choreography was fairly decent with only occasional sparks. The brilliance was in combining western and eastern cultures in the choreography. The dancers in this musical should also get fair compliments. They delivered the story very clearly even though dance was perceived to have played a minor part.

Overall, we think that the musical was excellent. We give them four out of five stars for their excellent work!