FEBRUARY 11 — So everybody’s raving about it... the latest totally made-in-Malaysia movie Ola Bola. So must catch it, right. And I am glad I did. Yes, it’s so cliché, corny... so totally predictable, so heavy-handed playing on emo and hype. But hey, it’s so… Malaysian. Right down to even the bowls used in the kitchen, the fun-fair of a past era, the hairstyle, the dressing... all were pat down to a perfect ‘T’. 1980s was my time growing up, so I could appreciate how the set-up of each scene was done with such painstaking detail and authenticity.

Of course you don’t have to be a football fan to get sucked into the passion of the movie, for as one reviewer puts it, Ola Bola goes beyond football. It strikes a chord in the heart of every Malaysian; we cannot help but root for the team, notwithstanding the imperfect acting of an unknown cast. Obviously the movie is meant to tear at our heart-strings and make us shed a tear or two. So what? Perhaps if we can be moved by a bunch of flawed characters doing the right thing for the right reason, then just perhaps there is a glimmer of hope for this nation of ours, which has surely seen better days, like our national football team.

Many are bemoaning the current state of  affairs in our land in every field (pun intended), be it politics, economics or social matters. With good reason too, if we just consider what’s happening. We have called our own nation all sorts of names — bankrupt, destitute, basket case, failed state, and of course, hopeless. Many think a change of guard is the cure-all for the mess we are in. Out with the old, in with the new. Really? It might work, for a while, I dare say. But if history teaches us anything, it’s that empires rise and fall, great leaders live and die, golden civilisations lose their glitter and crumble into the sands of time eventually. For the simple reason all man are fallible.

I don’t know about other Malaysians, but all I want as an “anak Malaysia” is simply good governance. I don’t expect miracles from leaders, just a measure of responsibility to administer honestly with the power given unto them. I also don’t expect miracles from citizens, only that we live in this country we call ‘ours’ at peace with God and with our fellow human beings, with the same measure of responsibility to contribute to its betterment. Translated it just means we all do our ‘job’ as Malaysians to the best of our ability in good conscience to God and country. Is that too much to hope for? Well, if I were to buy into every negative thing that’s being said about this, that or the other happening in Malaysia, it would appear a lost cause, and I would be better off  flying off to a different shore to live out my life on earth. Or I could just quit by default and keep griping, gossiping or glossing over (depending on your perspective of things) the ills of this country.

There are always ‘camps’ we choose to be in, just like in Ola Bola. Some of us would surely relate to the captain’s sister and the goalie’s father. Both sacrificed their own personal dreams for their families, both resented and couldn’t see the ‘point’ of a brother/a son being all sold-out over kicking a ball around. Likewise, some of us can’t get ‘worked up’ over Malaysia. We have other more important things to take care of... like earn a living, feed the kids, buy that house... which are all indeed important, of course. So let’s just leave it to the politicians to argue and fight; all the same. We have ‘sacrificed’ enough. Let’s just live, let live and get by, somehow anyhow. Maybe it just hurts too much to care anymore.

We could be like the captain himself who has to learn the hard way about submission for the common and better good instead of playing to the tune of his own ego. So what will it take for us to give up our rights, privileges or freedom for someone who doesn’t have the same skin colour, or who comes from a different back-ground? Will there ever be a time when one Malaysian can, not only say to another Malaysian, “I cover you”, but mean and do it?  

Maybe we are like the buck-toothed reserve, quietly warming a seat for years on the side-lines, until the call to arise comes. Will we continue to hang on to a dream about a united Malaysia, even though it seems so impossible now? Perhaps many times we too have felt like the wannabe No.1 striker, who feels betrayed because the truth wasn’t told and life’s ‘unpredictables’ challenge our motivation to continue to do what should be done, whether as an individual  or as a member of this society of humans called Malaysians. Why would we want to fight on, when the effort isn’t going to get us the reward we desire? It’s a little like trusting in God; why believe anymore when it’s not working out our way?

Irrespective of viewpoints, ultimately the very human humans in Ola Bola all got caught up in the pride of being part of something bigger than a mere game of football. I saw that something bigger in the grand cinematography of the movie. The jaded cynic says all those sweeping landscape panoramas of green hills, blue skies, and everything nice are so contrived. Seen it all before, been there, done that. That may be so. But for me, they remind me of how beautiful Malaysia really still is. In spite of all the ugliness of Malaysians. In spite of all the gloom and doom which continue to hog the headlines. In spite of all the misunderstanding, misconception and missing the mark of true nationhood. I know Malaysia’s name is being dragged through the mud, but I don’t want to be one of those joining in pulling it down. In spite of all that appears hopeless, I choose to look up still, with faith and hope, not in people, parties, government or in hope itself. But in the God who created a Malaysia so beautiful, and blessed me to be a Malaysian. For when all else — systems, politics, leadership, law — fail, there is only God to hope in. 

Is there any reason I can find to ‘stay’ with Malaysia? Stay as in don’t give up on her, like God doesn’t ever give up on all of us, even though we give up on Him. Well, call me a die-hard romantic... I think there is. Just like how God sticks with me through thick and thin simply because He loves me and thinks I am worth it, I will stick with Malaysia, because she is beautiful and worth fighting for, because I love her.  That moment of truth came when the guys in the film were belting out off-tune that old patriotic song — one I hadn’t heard for so long, but which I still remembered singing once upon a time... 

Inilah barisan kita Yang ikhlas berjuang  Siap sedia berkorban, Untuk ibu pertiwi! Sebelum kita berjaya  Jangan harap kami pulang Inilah sumpah pendekar kita Menuju medan bakti! Andai kata kami gugur semua Taburlah bunga di atas pusara Kami mohon doa, Malaysia berjaya! Semboyan telah berbunyi Menuju medan bakti!

... ’now these three remain: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love...’ (1 Corinthians 13:13). 

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.