The Malaysia Day documentary special celebrates the glory days of Malaysian football, writes Dennis Chua
PRODUCER Basir Siswo describes his latest documentary, for Malaysia Day, as “piecing together a 36-year-old of jigsaw puzzle that has been stashed away in the store room for a long time”.
“The highlight of the entire production was the emotional reunion of Team Malaysia 1980 members as they put on the national football jerseys once again and walked into Merdeka Stadium to relive their memories,” says Basir, who is a fan of that dream team.
Basir played in the Singapore youth team in the 1970s and 1980s. He has made documentaries for 20 years, and has spent three years as a producer in Al-Jazeera from 2006.
His Malaysia Day special is the new documentary, Harimau Malaya 1980, which celebrates the glory days of Malaysian football and the legends of the 1980 Harimau Malaya team.
UNTOLD STORY
Harimau Malaya 1980 premieres today at 9pm on Astro Arena (801/ HD 802), Astro SuperSport (810/ HD 831) and Astro on the Go.
Basir says Harimau Malaya 1980 is the untold story of the 1980 football team (also known as the Dream Team) and its inspiring quest to beat the odds to qualify for the Moscow 1980 Olympics.
For the first time in 36 years, the squad members are reunited for this documentary which features exclusive interviews with football legends including Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Hassan Sani, James Wong, Datuk Santokh Singh; their coach Karl-Heinz Weigang; veteran sports commentator Zulkarnain Hassan; family members of the players who have passed on; and former Foreign Minister Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen Tengku Ismail.
Meanwhile, Astro group chief executive officer Rohana Rozhan says this documentary traces the players’ laughter, tears, struggles, achievements and their triumphs leading up to the team’s qualifying for the Moscow 1980 Olympics.
“We would like to tell the story of our Malaysian heroes, who, against all odds became Malaysia’s most inspirational football team, and their journey that captured the hearts of all Malaysians.
“We hope their story will continue to inspire generations to come. The 1980 Harimau Malaya team is truly Malaysian and their story amplifies and reminds us of the importance of teamwork, unity in diversity, and the strength in accepting the differences in each other before we can progress to achieve great things.
“Astro conceptualised this documentary over the last six months, and while it comes hot on the heels of the success of the movie Ola Bola, the latter is a work of fiction based on the real team,” says Basir.
“Harimau Malaya 1980 is the true story based on extensive research, and we are glad that the Ola Bola production team and its director Chiu Keng Guan were willing to share their research materials with us.
“The documentary reveals that it was never smooth sailing for the team. It amplifies the lesson that unity is strength, and positive results come to those who think positively.”
BROTHERHOOD
Director Azly Murad, who has done 10 documentaries, admits that the biggest challenge in making the hour-long documentary was finding South Korean players as Huh Jung Moo and Kim Kang Nom who were involved in the Olympic-qualifying match at Stadium Merdeka.
“It took us two months to wrap up the documentary, and we interviewed 12 people — including 10 footballers — over the same period.”
What moved Azly most during the filming of the documentary was witnessing the genuine bonds of brotherhood developed between the dream team and their coach Weigang.
“They embraced each other and tears rolled freely when we got them together for a shoot at Stadium Merdeka. They were overwhelmed with emotion when they stepped into the stadium where they attained nationwide fame beating the South Koreans.”
Chin Aun, the captain of the team, says: “We would like to thank Astro for the production of Harimau Malaya 1980 and for providing us with the opportunity to share first-hand our story of what went on behind-the-scenes in the eventful journey to the Moscow 1980 Olympics.
“It was my second qualification for the Olympics, and I was the only member of the team who went to the previous Olympics in Munich in 1972. The game in 1980 was a lot faster and tactical than in 1972, but we made it through sheer hard work, team work and our never-say-die spirit.
“The fact that we shared hostels while training bonded us like a family. As a result, we gave our all to the game.”
For Weigang, their journey in search of glory at the Moscow 1980 Olympics was an emotional one, filled with personal sacrifices and the struggle to achieve the impossible.
“Those days, there was no social media, and thus there were less distractions. This made every player give his all to the game, and their hours of training together made them bond into a formidable team.”
Sabah-born striker James Wong says that recounting their personal experiences for the documentary was a truly a sentimental journey.
“It was meaningful when we got together as a team for the shoot,” says Wong who played in the Malaysian Youth Team in 1969 as a goalkeeper, before becoming a striker in 1971.
He scored the decisive final goal which defeated the South Koreans in 1980, following a pass from his fellow Sabahan Hassan Sani.
Datin Maria Selvie, wife of the late goalkeeper Datuk R. Arumugam says her husband would have been so proud.
“We were very united. No fights, no squabbles. We also underwent training in Fraser’s Hill and Terendak Camp in Malacca to be tough, strong warriors for the beautiful game,” says Santokh.
Hassan Sani has always looked up at Mokhtar, who has greatly inspired him.
CIMB and Milo are the sponsors for Harimau Malaya 1980. All sponsorship and advertising contributions will go to the veteran footballers.
Harimau Malaya 1980 airs on these dates:
• Astro Arena (801/ HD 802), today, 9pm (Bahasa Malaysia version)
• Astro Astro SuperSport (810/ HD 831), today, 9pm (English version)
• Astro Prima (105) and Maya HD (135), tomorrow, 10pm (Bahasa Malaysia version)
• Astro AEC (301/ HD 306), tomorrow, 4.30pm (Mandarin version)
• Astro Vaanavil (201), tomorrow, 9pm (Tamil version)
