MALAYSIANS KINI While Pusat Komas’ Freedom Film Festival director Lena Hendry may be an internationally recognised human rights defender, the KL-born is more comfortable away from the spotlight.

This despite the recognition from Amnesty International and other global NGOs, and a letter of support for her signed by Academy Award winners, after Lena was charged under the Film Censorship Act 2002.

It is hard to believe she has a jail term hanging over her head, merely for screening an award-winning documentary ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka’ on July 3, 2013, in Kuala Lumpur.

Unlike many of her fellow civil society colleagues and comrades, Lena revealed in a recent interview with Malaysiakini that it was only by chance she found her path to activism.

Activism “grew” on her, by way of an administrative job at Pusat Komas, an NGO which teaches the use of popular communication tools to marginalised communities all over Malaysia.

“It is not that I planned or I was very much of an activist since my student days; nothing like that. Only after working in Komas, I started to get involved in social issues, human rights issues in Malaysia,” she said.

She was reluctant to even describe herself as an activist, having clocked ‘only’ six years working on various human rights issues.

Growing up in a middle-class family in Kuala Lumpur, the youngest of four girls said she was mostly sheltered from the sufferings faced by others around her.

Under the bridge

Throughout her schooling years at Convent Bukit Nanas, Lena only knew that she wanted to major in psychology.

“I was quite interested in this whole ‘mind versus behaviour’ concept. At that time, I was also interested in observing people and see how they act,” said Lena who graduated from a local private college in 2009.

From the many fields of psychology, Lena said she was most attracted to social work as it allowed her to go down to the ground and observe a side of society often unseen.

And it was during her internship with a shelter home for children under Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam that Lena said she found her calling in activism.

“I just decided at that point that what was I wanted to do,” she said.

An encounter with a stateless family living under a bridge in Port Klang later convinced her that more must be done to raise awareness on the state of injustice in Malaysia.

Recalling the incident, Lena said the family was left behind when others in the area had moved to the nearby low-cost flats, also known as a public housing centre (PPR).

“They do not have identity cards so they are not eligible for PPR. When we came to distribute food, there were 10 of them in a tiny house.

“There was overgrown grass around the house and during rain, it will be flooded. We are talking about Vision 2020 and there are Malaysians unaware that these situations still exist in the country,” she said.

More than 9 to 5

Departing from the comforts of her own surrounding, Lena said she grew to realise that there are still many whose daily lives remain just a struggle for survival.

Upon graduation, Lena said she applied to several organisations and it was by chance that Pusat Komas had a vacancy as an administration officer.

“I know I wanted to do more. I don’t want to just ‘touch and go’, like making monthly donations. So I applied to several organisations and Pusat Komas accepted my application,” she recalled.

In the beginning, Lena said she only knew that she did not want to have a ‘9 to 5’ office job.

Like some of her peers, she had planned to work only for a few years, before leaving to pursue a Master’s Degree.

It has been more than six years and Lena now spends most of her working hours watching documentaries and coordinating entries for the annual Freedom Film Festival.

“I don’t always watch documentaries before I joined Komas, but I like movies that are different. I prefer movies that have alternative messages but when I joined Komas, I fell in love with documentaries,” she said.

Within the past few years, she noted that more Malaysians are also realising the power of documentaries in exposing issues which otherwise would remain unnoticed.

“I think documentaries - although not very famous in Malaysia - is a powerful tool, really a powerful tool. It relays fact, not fiction.

“Documentaries talk about real people, real issues. And it doesn’t even have to be a very fiery documentary,” she stressed.

Among others, she credited Fahmi Reza's ' 50 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka ' as being one of the must-watch local documentaries.

Speech a favourite

Lena's passion for freedom of expression also clearly comes through as she believes that every human right issue is worthy of a documentary.

"In the current context of Malaysia, we can talk about draconian laws. We also have issues of detention without trial, corruption, and the list goes on," she said adding that the main requirement is someone with the passion to pursue a topic.

For Lena, she has no immediate plans to get behind a camera and shoot her own documentary.

She's always keen to learn more about various human rights issues, aided by the fact that her favourite form of self-expression is speech.

"Whenever I see people, I talk to people. I am quite expressive... so maybe that is my favourite form of expression. I don’t write," she laughed.

One thing that Lena found difficult, however, is to talk about herself.

She laughed when asked to describe herself and conceded that it was the most difficult question to answer.

"Coming from a very Indian family, I don’t carry the traits of a traditional Indian.

"I am very independent, vocal. I argue with my family all the time," she said.

Lena said there were also times when she would just ignore her critics.

"I will do what I think is right. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine," she stressed.

A real job

Despite a stifling crackdown on freedom of expression in the country, Lena said she has no immediate plans to leave or migrate, joining her two sisters who are settled abroad.

But while she is convinced that she would continue on with a career in social work, the idea was initially not well received by her traditional Indian parents.

“My mum was okay, although of course she’s a bit worried. My dad said it is not a real job and I will not have enough money to buy a house, a car.

“It took time but eventually, they kind of accepted it and now they are okay with what I do. There is always that small, small, resistance, when I work long hours, travel, but they are supportive at the moment,” she said.

Her case, which is ongoing , is the biggest challenge she has had to face so far.

If found guilty, she could face up to three years’ jail and RM30,000 fine, or both, under Section 6 of the Film Censorship Act. She had also challenged the constitutionality of Section 6(1)(b) and Section 6(2)(a) of the Act in Federal Court, but lost the case on Sept 14 last year.

Acknowledging mounting support from local and international groups, Lena however said it would be best that one of those who is closest to her did not find out.

"My father is 86 years old and all of us do not want to worry him. He only reads theSun newspaper and whenever my story gets reported, we would hide the paper from him," she said.

Her father will only find out, she said, if she was eventually convicted and sent to jail.

 

 

MALAYSIANS KINI is a series on Malaysians you should know.

Previously featured:

This Malaysian youth has helped 10,000 Syrian families, and counting

'Cat-man' quits day job to save 80 feline friends

Engineer, activist, kampung rebel - Yati starts her 50th year anew

What if Hang Jebat never stood up to the sultan?

Snubbed by Masterchef, M'sian youth wins over refugees in Greece

The radicalisation of Mandeep Singh - from suits to streets

Razlan Rafii - Umno 'thug' or misunderstood modern man?

Saving Pekan Ampang, the small town in a big city

How the Malay indie publishing mafia sparked a reading renaissance

'Subversive' book club thrives in Shah Alam and beyond

'It's not just punk rock, it's punk ideology'

Paramedic goes 'white to black' to lead medic team at Bersih 4