THE death of versatile entertainer Adibah Noor last year robbed Malaysia of a "national treasure", said award-winning filmmaker Mark Lee See Teck.
Like many other fans and friends of Kak Dib (as Adibah was affectionately known), Lee honours Adibah as a Bangsa Malaysia icon on par with Tan Sri P. Ramlee, Datuk Sudirman Arshad, Yasmin Ahmad and Mamat Khalid who brought everyone together with their timeless "works of screen and song".
BIG-HEARTED STAR
"Kak Dib was the embodiment of Bangsa Malaysia, on and off screen.
"Besides being a multi-talented star, she had a big heart and endeared herself to everyone who worked with her, including myself," said Lee in a recent interview to promote his film Eraser.
Eraser was Adibah's final feature film and its director (and one of the screenwriters) Lee describes it as a befitting swan song for her.
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
Lee released it exclusively on streaming service Amazon Prime yesterday.
He also plans to enter the film in local and international film awards over the next year.
"Eraser may not sound like an original story, but it is a story that is close to my heart," said Lee.
"It is a love story involving a Chinese girl and a Malay boy who are schoolmates and who bond over an eraser which bears the Jalur Gemilang on it."
SHORT FILM
Lee said Eraser was actually released as a three-minute short in 2014.
"Since it received good feedback, I decided to turn it into a 98-minute feature film, with a bigger cast too."
He added that Dhiya Ariffin and Alyssa Lee, who played hero Azman and heroine Xiao Li, reprised their respective roles.
ABUSIVE UNCLE
"I got Adibah to play Azman's compassionate mother Khadijah, and actor-director Namron to play his father, Ahmad."
Lee brought in veteran 1990s star Angela Chan to play Xiao Li's mother Ah Yoke and Adibah's fellow Juang co-star Steve Yap to play her abusive uncle.
"I had a star-studded list of cameos, including from Bront Palarae, Jun Lojong and Prakash Murugiah."
LIVE WIRE
Lee said the feature film focused on how Azman's parents — especially his mother — treated Xiao Li's family with compassion.
"I filmed Eraser over 20 days around the Klang Valley last year. Kak Dib was the 'live wire' amongst the cast who lifted our spirits with her wit, wisdom and motherly advice."
CODE OF HAPPINESS
Lee had earlier directed Adibah in a film titled Code Of Happiness which will be out in September.
"It was a joy working and spending time with Kak Dib. To be honest, she was easily the most wonderful, compassionate, friendly, funny and positive-thinking person I have ever met, and when I received the sad news, I cried like a baby," said Lee.
SILVER LINING
"One bit of advice from Kak Dib which I will cherish forever, is that we must always look forward and never look backwards. Every cloud has a silver lining, and if we look at it, things will get better."
Lee initially thought of releasing Eraser in August to coincide with Merdeka, but brought it forward to June to coincide with the first anniversary of Adibah's death.
Adibah died of cancer on June 18 last year at the age of 52.
NATIONAL FLAG
"The titular eraser in the film symbolises our country, since it has the national flag on it.
"Every time our heroes make mistakes in their written assignments, they have to use the eraser to correct those mistakes.
"In the process, the eraser becomes smaller and smaller," said Lee.
Similarly, if we Malaysians make mistakes doing things that jeopardise national unity, our nation will become "smaller" too.
INTER-RACIAL LOVE
Lee is aware that films of inter-racial love have been aplenty over the years, but he feels that the message "never grows old".
"We must always emphasise Bangsa Malaysia, in food, music, film and love. Unity is strength, and this strength has to be preserved, so it is always good to remind viewers of this in an entertaining way," he said.
"Cultural diversity is our biggest strength."
PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
Lee, whose most recent film The Present Man was nominated for the Malaysian Film Festival 2022, has just completed a psychological thriller, Lubuk, which stars Jun, Tony Eusoff, Megat Sharizal, Alvin Wong and Chew Kin Wah.
It will be screened next year.
SPECIAL AWARD
Lee hopes that the Malaysian film industry will establish a special award in honour of Adibah for versatile talents.
"Versatile talents are one in a million, and I strongly believe that honouring them is the best way to honour Kak Dib's legacy."