An invitation

"Majlis Bahasa Melayu Singapura mengundang... Encik Sanif untuk membentangkan kertas kerja mewakili Singapura dalam Sidang Antarabangsa Kesusasteraan Asia Tenggara (SAKAT) sempena Sidang MASTERA ke-20 di Brunei Darussalam..."

I still remember some time ago when I began television (late 90s), I was tasked to produce a documentary about Cikgu Muhammad Ariff Ahmad. Perhaps this might not sound like a big deal to many folks but many colleagues then were genuinely concerned. Well, you see, my command of the spoken Malay language was - to put it kindly, rather substandard (and it still is in some ways). That would have meant I will be communicating 'full-frontal' with the Sasterawan aka *The Esteemed National Literary Figure* himself on an almost daily basis while I researched about his life. They were concerned about how I would be communicating with him. It was a challenge for me but Cikgu Ariff (good-humouredly) was kind enough to let me go on and converse/direct him in English (and yes, a smattering of Malay when I can). 

To cut the long story short, I went on to produce 2 half-hour episodes of Cikgu’s life and continued to produce another 2 half-hour episodes of another esteemed Sasterawan, the late Cikgu Masuri SN.

During the many conversations I had with Cikgu Ariff, he once casually chipped in that I still remember to this day. He said, “…biar bualnya kurang, asal jangan hilang jiwa dan bahasanya”.

I had just completed my first feature film, Sayang Disayang, about the Nusantara. So there! Another day, another adventure, baby!

Kalau bukan kita siapa lagi, kan..?

And yes, I humbly accepted the invitation. Wish me luck!