Ah Kew The Digger, a documentary by film-editor Khoo Eng Yow which premiered last Fri Apr 23 at The Selangor Chinese Assembly all, presents us with a story that seems on the surface to be about one man’s deeply nostalgic obsession with things purely Chinese. Lee Eng Kew, 39, son of cake-selling hawkers, is a self-styled field historian. Living on meager means, he spends his days visiting graves around Taiping and the neighbouring towns, Kuala Sepatang, Matang, Larut and even Penang, surmising the history of the land through the biographies engraved on the tombs.

The documentary, which starts slow, picks up at the point when Ah Kew, seated on the greenish stones of an elaborate grave, starts telling the story of the person resting under: Chung Keng Kwee, the first leader of the notorious Hai Xan Secret Society, made a Kapitan by the Brits. Then there is his arc-rival, Dato’ Saw Ah Chong, leader of Ghee Hin Secret Society, whose death has spawned hilarious urban-legend variations, and who is honoured not by a tomb but a temple.

The most inspiring must be Ng Boo Bee, who came to Malaysia penniless, but was so resourceful he became the Amazon.com of Taiping, supplying everything from timber to railway to houses for the British. In doing so, he also created employment for his fellow immigrants. When he died, the funeral procession took four hours. His body was preserved for two months because British generals and businessmen who knew him wanted to sail back to pay him their final respect.

Ah Kew is an engaging, eloquent story teller. He is candid, deadpan and self-deprecating, and talks about these historical figures as if he grew up with them. The outsider air about him makes you wonder if he might not be from another time. His portrayal of these immigrants, in their violence, their savviness and their humanity, reveals the struggles of individuals trying to survive, trying to make new beginnings in the ‘Migrant Nation’ (as Malaysia was known back then to the Chinese). These folks, whether intentionally or not, helped shape the country’s history. Ah Kew The Digger vividly recalls a time when people, instead of waiting for hand-outs, carved themselves into the landscape, carved the landscape around them. Their final resting places, set in this soil, bear the undeniable testament to their Malaysian spirit.

Director Khoo Eng Yow tells me that he is planning a whole series, featuring historians from Perlis downward. But there is the problem of money. The documentary is spliced with amusing interviews with people whom Ah Kew had approached for sponsorship, and who had rejected him. In the end, he survives from loans from his parents and friends. I simply don’t understand why a person doing work as important as this has to grovel for funding.

The next screening is on May 6, 8:30pm, at The Stonor Centre (03-2141 9620). If you wanna help out the project, call Khoo Eng Yow at 012-3979947.

Songwriters Round at Alexis Ampang: Relaxed

From late last year, Alexis Ampang has been hosting jazz concerts by pianist David Gomes and his wife, the elegant voiced Junji. When Pete Teo went there recently, upon the invitation of David, he found the restaurant not as edgy as No Black Tie (which may not be a bad thing). “But I was surprised,” he wrote on his weblog, “by how good the acoustic was and how relaxed everything felt. Put it this way – bistro or not, it beat the hell out of 90% of the music venues out there.”

Pete Teo quickly seized the chance to revive the Songwriters’ Round. So, on Fri Apr 30, you get the bloody witty Rafique Rashid, the folkish-poppish Aki (in Mandarin), the Kate Bush-Jewel hybrid Shelley Leong, and passionate indie band Disagree in unplugged mode. On Sat May 1, it is the plaintive, wistful Eugene Ng (in Mandarin), the Dolores O’Riordan-Tracy Chapman hybrid Sara Lo, the raucous rock-&-roll band Qings & Kueens in an acoustic set, and newcomer May-E who works at a driving school and sings in Malay. Pete says, “If you buy me enough drinks, I might play in the open-mike. Ok?” Okay, dude.

Anyway, congratulations to Pete Teo on winning AIM’s Best Music Video (‘Arms of Marriane’) and Best Album Cover. Both rightly deserved. Were it up to me, he would have rightly deserved the Best Local English Album and Best New English Artiste too, which, in any case, went to Too Phat and Reshmonu respectively. Oh well, they are all good lah.

I Have Dreamed: We kissed in the shadows

Sean Ghazi is absolutely not real. Not only is he a triple threat – sings, dances and acts – he is also a triple charm: good-looking and sensitive and funny. How is it possible that any King of Siam would want to behead someone like that? I mean, won’t you marry your all princess daughters to him?

Sean Ghazi, if you don’t already know, was in the West End production of The King & I as well as the subsequent Hollywood version of the latter, Anna & The King, in the same tragic role. He was also in West End’s Miss Saigon, and the Singapore version of Rent (oh, and the Germany version and the London version as well!). He was recently nominated for the Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for his solo concert Baby Grander, staged last year. If you haven't heard Sean, whose voice is as sweet as it is expressive, it is time you check him out.

In his new concert, I Have Dreamed, Sean is joined by his sexy West End co-star Aura Deva, and the sassy, big-voiced Izlyn Ramli, while the music is directed by the disgustingly gifted wonderboy Adam Farouk, all of whom, as far as I am concerned, are also not real.

Stones in his Pockets: Far and away

While Irish dancing comes stomping at us like so many quasi-Celtic variety shows, here’s a play that tries to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not. A Hollywood production comes to a small Irish town to film a cheesy love story, and the lead actress seduces an Irish extra in order to ‘research’ her role. But deep in this comic examination of big starbound dreams, is also a heartbreaking story about small dreams. When I saw this in Hong Kong two years ago, I laughed and I cried. Stones In His Pockets is a brilliant commentary on the real stories that we tend to ignore in our worship of the cinema in all its epic, generic wonders.

It is unfortunate therefore that ticket prices for the Malaysian presentation of this play (with the original cast) are on the epic scale too. I was hoping that those simple folks, for whom the play is about, could have seen it and be moved like I was. Oh well, rich people can be moved too, I suppose. As they say, beg, steal or borrow…

The 11:30pm screening on this Saturday midnight comes with drinks (Guiness Stout?) and food (Guiness Stout?).