Reaching Citizens Through Wayang Pacak

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - The adult generation in the 1950s and 1960s will recall the Wayang Pacak, literally movies being screened in open areas using a projector and a screen affixed on two poles.

But there is more to it, just before and in between the screening, messages for the benefit of the society were relayed.

The Wayang Pacak was among the fundamental medium then for the Information Department to relay messages regarding the government's development polices to the people, healthcare, epidemics and even mundane matters like how to use the latrine and the benefits of a balanced diet.

It was more of an informal communication and was effective especially in small towns and rural areas lacking in communication medium and where much of the people then were illiterate.

The Wayang Pacak is among the ingenious outreach method employed by the Information Ministry then (now Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture) to keep the people informed at a time where communication channels were limited and a young nation was facing serious challenges.

The New Wayang Pacak

As Malaysia was developing fast, by late 1970s the Wayang Pacak and many of the down to earth outreach methods like distributing flyers and pamphlets went into oblivion. Today with access to information just a click away, the Information Department too had changed its strategies to remain relevant.

But last December the Wayang Pacak made a come back, only this time with a new name - Layar Bestari.

One may ask why regress in this cyber age but the people in the Information Ministry are well aware of the missing human touch in the cyber world that had to be compensated to win over the people’s hearts.

Quoting Zurina Hassan, the former deputy director of the information publication department: “Regardless of the globalisation era, the Information Department is relevant, and in fact it is needed more than ever because in this current world without borders and the prevailing IT culture, we have lost friends and colleagues and this void is what we want to fill by enhancing face to face communication.”

Maybe the testimony to this fact is the audience who numbered in thousands during Layar Bestari’s premiere in Kapit.

Following Wayang Pacak’s revival in Kapit, those especially in their golden years started sharing past experience on how they used to carry mats and food to the field where the screening took place.

Many even remembered the generators used and how the Wayang Pacak introduced them to the outside world and entertainment.

Down The Memory Lane

Malaysians of the older generation will also recall how the Information Department vans with speakers on their roofs and the information officers went around villages and small towns imparting messages.

Bahtiar Adi, 56, recalled that back in his village in Sarawak the information officers did not dwell into politics or world issues, but were engrossed with daily routines like the proper way to brush teeth and maintaining cleanliness at home.

That is in Sarawak. In Kuala Kedah, the information officers went to the ground to persuade the people to use lavatories, instead of answering nature’s call anywhere they liked.

An octogenarian, Aminah Taib, 80, recalled how she was taught by an information officer to mark the election ballot sheet properly.

“We were told not to cross the candidate that we did not like, but cross the candidate of our choice. That is why I never spoilt any votes.

“We were also taught how to identify mosquitoes that spread diseases through the posters in the community halls,” she said reminiscing the visits by several information officers to her village of Rembau, in Negeri Sembilan.

The War Against Communist

The same informal communication approach played a crucial role in the war against communism from 1950s to 1970s.

The National Security Council psychological warfare expert (1970-1993), Datuk Dr Wan Ismail Wan Mahmood in an interview with Bernama noted that: “The nerve war is like hitting two birds with one stone that is winning the minds and hearts of the people and crippling all the enemy’s efforts.”

According to Dr Wan Ismail, among the approach taken was dropping flyers over the enemy lines.

These flyers carried news on the condition of the family members left behind by the communist or pictures of their deceased family members to run down their spirits.

“In the nerve war, we provided comments on what the communist ideology was all about and the threat it posed, and at the same time we tried to convince the communist members to surrender,” he said.

Sending The Message Thorugh Radio and TV

Along with the Wayang Pacak, the radio also proved to be a good alternative due to its vast outreach in the rural areas.

Subliminal messages were encrypted into the radio drama as can be seen in “Kebun Pak Awang”, a favourite programme in those days.

When the Felda land scheme was being developed, the radio drama “Fajar Di Bumi Permata” received high ratings. And to cater for the town dwellers, a drama that dwells on bread and butter issues “No 5, Persiaran Satu” was aired and it enjoyed a big following.

In this respect, the Information Ministry has proven that with technology it is not only possible to create good entertainment but also relay the information for the people in the easiest manner.

Before the advent of television, the mobile stage Pentarama not only helped to entertain people with songs, dances, sketches and music but also develop talents.

Among the big names to emerge from Pentarama is Jamal Abdillah, Salleh Yaakob, Mas Idayu and musicians like Jaffar Idris (Jari) Sham (Zurah) and Rosli Selasih.

“Ceria Berinformasi” was Pentarama’s slogan in 1971 reflecting the changes in the concept and delivery of information for the society following the May 13 incident.

While the TV and radio line up their own programmes, the Pentarama has its own itinerary. Last year alone about 100 shows were held along with community activities like gotong-royong, sports and leisure.

Due to the close links between the community and RTM through the radio and TV programmes, Kumpulan Pendengar and Penonton (K2P) was established that was later changed to K3P in 1989 after Utusan Malaysia became part of the setup.

With the changing tides and greater challenges, the K3P was renamed as Komuniti Bestari in 2004 to further educate and empower people.

The Spirit Of Loyalty

The villagers have been approached, the viewers and listeners made into a family but how about the younger generation?

To engage the younger generation, the Kelab Setia (Loyal Club) was established.

And with the present IT savvy generation, many of the Kelab Setia created their websites that serve as the interactive communication forum.

The website belonging to the Government Methodist Secondary school in Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, Sibu, has seen almost 40,000 visitors since 2007.

The first information center opened in Java Street in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 20, 1945 was the focal point for many to visit and read books, listen to the radio and view the photos exhibited.

Some were students who just came to collect pamphlets and reference material at the information counters.

But now it is the cyber age, the Public Information Centre (PMR) has replaced the information center where one need not physically be present to access information because it can be accessed online from anywhere.

Gawai Dayak Day

Meanwhile, the Information Department also has another role - organizing major events.

For example last week, on June 7, the national level Tadau Keamatan Festival was organized successfully by the department in Kota Kinabalu and on Saturday, the information officers were in Kuching for the Gawai Dayak Open House at the Stadium Perpaduan.

With the theme “Satu Malaysia Segulai Sejalai” this event served as the testimony to the unity and tolerance among Malaysians of different ethnic background and religion.

The Dayak community consisting of the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu celebrate Gawai-Dayak on every June 1 as a thanksgiving for a good harvest. Rohana Mustaffa

Source: http://bernama.com (12 June 2009)
Photo: http://dppkgombak.blogspot.com

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