Story Of Tribal Girl Who Made Parents Proud Goes Viral As East Msians Celebrate
MALAYSIAN DIGEST
This week, Sabahans and Sarawakians will be celebrating the annual rice harvest celebration, or Pesta Kaamatan and Pesta Gawai respectively.
The diversity of Malaysia's social landscape allows Malaysians to celebrate and experience different festivities throughout the year.
Sabah celebrates Pesta Kaamatan today and tomorrow while Sarawak will be celebrating Pesta Gawai on Wednesday and Thursday.
Petronas released an almost four-minute web film entitled Renai last Wednesday, May 25 that portrays the values of tolerance, strong family bonds and the need to be grateful, some of the values that the two celebrations teach.
This year's Gawai-and Kaamatan-themed commercial, which has garnered more than 460,000 views since it was released, features the life of a girl named Renai, who lives with her mother in Bario, Sarawak, and the sacrifice that her parents made to secure her future.
Renai's parents had to endure being separated, with the mother making a living in Bario, while her father works hundreds of kilometres away at Mount Kinabalu, Sabah as a mountain guide.
The film ends with Renai, who is shown to have succeeded in life, returning to see her proud parents.
Philip Rom Kulle, the film director, said that the web film featured a different tribe to see the celebration from a different perspective as the Gawai is specific to the Ibans and Bidayuhs in Sarawak.
“It gives a different view of life in Sarawak, which comprises a diverse population.
“The message that we want to convey through this film is the joy and spirit of the Gawai celebration, which is also celebrated and embraced by people of different races in the state.
“And we believe the same applies to the Kaamatan festival in Sabah,” he said.
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Curiously, the web film also does not show any indications of any celebrations but apparently it was an intentional decision.
“We do not want to do another story where it feels too touristy, where the media has always portrayed us (Sarawakians) in traditional costumes.
“And there are no indications of any celebrations in the film, where it ends with a greeting and that solely focuses on the moral of the story,” Philip said.
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