Respect for one and all
With race being a much talked about subject, Star2 went in search of tan Hong Ming with the toothy grin, of the famous Petronas Merdeka commercial fame, to see what his thoughts are this National day.
IT has been six years since our hearts were captured by one of the most memorable Merdeka television commercials ever. The charming advertisement, directed by the late and highly respected filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad, candidly depicted then seven-year-old Tan Hong Ming professing his love for schoolmate Umi Qazrina.
Beyond the pure and sincere affection the ad, aptly titled Tan Hong Ming In Love, exhibited, it was a lesson in the concept of colour-blindness, and how a Year One pupil could see beyond racial barriers and appreciate his friend for who she was.
Today, Tan knows what he knew even back then – that racial integration can be achieved if we all learn to accept and embrace our differences, instead of defining ourselves by them.
“I see my friends as Malaysians because even though we are of different races and religions, we all live in peace and respect each other,” he said in a recent e-mail interview.
Time has not eroded his perspective and the courteous and bright teenager went on to suggest that Merdeka should be about the coming together of the people of Malaysia. “I understand the history of Merdeka, and I feel we should celebrate it together as one proud nation,” the Klang Valley-based Form One student said.
Tan participated in the commercial because he thought it would be fun and was simply curious about the whole process. He enjoyed watching the award-winning ad (Gold Winner at the 2008 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival) when he was younger, but as a growing boy, the novelty has naturally worn off for him today and he would like to move on, despite the fact that over the years the commercial has garnered much attention worldwide on YouTube.
Umi, the young girl fea- tured in the commercial, has moved on to another school, but the two remain friends, which is a testament to their unwavering belief in the concept of racial acceptance, unity and integration.
Tan remembers the award-win- ning Yasmin very fondly, picking up on one very important life lesson from her. “One thing I learned from Yasmin is be yourself, don’t be scared to show the real you. What I remember best about her was her bubbly smile,” he said of the director who always championed racial unity and family values, exemplified in her movies like Sepet and its sequel Gubra, and the numerous television commercials she directed before passing on suddenly of a stroke, aged 51, in 2009.
Not just a sales pitch, 1Malaysia should be a practice, and nobody can teach us that better than our children, like Tan and Umi. And what better way to celebrate than to watch the commercial one more time and give a little nod to Yasmin for so ably representing all that is 1Malaysia in under two minutes!