Village People Radio Show2007
Introduction
Body of Work
One of the leading lights of the Malaysian New Wave, Amir Muhammad travels to Southern Thailand to interview dozens of former members of the banned Communist Party of Malaya. Living in exile as farmers, these men recount the days of military struggle. This documentary deals with the propaganda war fought against the Communist Party of Malaya — a party that comprised largely agnostic ethnic Chinese. Within the party, however, was a faction of Malay Muslims who refused to be silent and eventually took up arms. Now living in southern Thailand, the retired party members open their doors and recall the decades-long struggle and the ease with which they reconciled radical communism and their Islamic faith. The candid interviews are interspersed with a Thai radio soap opera about a king who imprisons his wife on suspicions of adultery, adding a satiric layer to the proceedings. This film is a sequel to his acclaimed 2006 documentary, The Last Communist.