“I’m telling you, Santa Claus is Malay! Think about it — he lives in a random corner of the world, doesn’t work all year round while his colleagues toil, and when he does work, it’s just to do deliveries.”
Yup that’s how multi-hyphenate (writer, standup comic and creative director at local production company Pun Intended) Suffian Hakim, thinks. The creator of the popular Harris Bin Potter satire is proud to be Malay despite having made poking fun at its stereotypes his business.
“One can make all the jokes he wants about his own race without being accused of being racist,” he believes.
The 27-year-old is also proud to be, excuse the racial slur, mat. Though nationwide definitions vary, he thinks his middle-class family background and having lived in a really ghetto part of Singapore while attending a low-ranking primary school makes him one.
But whatever he says, Suffian has become a figure that Singaporeans and the Malay community can rally around.
His literary parody of the world-renowned Harry Potter series has captured much attention for its bold brand of humour, one Singaporeans can fondly relate to.
“Support local humourist literature!” begs this heartwarming, impoverished artist, who’s relying on Publishizer and charitable hearts to help him realise his short-term dreams.
This is my conversation with a young man determined to rewrite his own destiny.
Describe yourself in a single breath.
I’m a football-playing, Oasis-listening, Kit Kat-eating, Yakult-drinking, displaced Malay boy.
Why displaced?
I grew up in a bad neighbourhood and in a school rife with gang associations — it was basically f**ked up. I could have still been in the streets right now, but I owe a lot to my dad who made sure I did well in school. I idolised and adopted his trademark style of humour too.
Speaking of humour, who were your favourite colleagues to work with on Random Island (local television show)?
My bro Fakkah Fuzz. He was the first friend I made, after I got to know the producers. He’s always the standup comedian, but I live for the moments when he’s not. When he’s just being Fuzz, he switches to this sensible, sensitive guy who’s worldly wise and less constricted. Mike Kasem too. I used to hero-worship him and think, “this guy is so cool,” because he was from the first batch of MTV Asia hosts. We clicked and started hanging out after one shoot together. He’s very professional and knows exactly how he wants to perform every skit. His Cesare Milano character, for example, he has the Italian accent and mannerisms down to a T. He has mind-blowing talent, but what I learnt from him is that talent alone is not enough, because he’s one of the most hardworking performers I know. You know how your childhood heroes will disappoint you one day? Mike is one childhood hero who never disappointed me.
How did you get into filmmaking?
When I was freelancing for Random Island, I came to feel like acting was very ‘himbotic’. I coaxed the producers to let me write some scripts and that’s where I started learning filmmaking on the fry. I had previously taken a filmmaking module in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, but I bombed it because filmmaking is very technical and I was impatient. As writers, we tell other people’s stories, but as filmmakers, we tell our own stories. I feel that local productions can be better and that there is a market for something more intelligent than inane soap operas.
Do you think Singaporeans have imagination?
Yes, just that we hardly have platforms to express it. Growing up, the arts scene and any scenes that promoted vibrant expression were not thriving. Kids only had ACT3 and school hall theatre performances. Now, look at all our homegrown YouTube channels and standups – these people have stories to tell and are telling them through mediums that others can relate to. This has changed our nation from one that preaches economic viability and pragmatism, to one that gives out huge grants to aspiring filmmakers.
Did you think you wasted time working for magazines, publishing agencies and social media agencies, before pursuing your artistic goals?
No. I always knew since my polytechnic days that I wanted to be a writer, but didn’t know exactly what kind of writing I wanted to do. In school, people would affirm me that I was a good writer, but school is school — you can get 90 out of a 100 for certain subjects, but grades are no indication of how you will do in the outside world. My twisting career path let me try everything out, with all my hits and misses.
How many characters from Harris bin Potter are based on real people you know?
All of them! Harris himself is supposed to be the modern mouthpiece of the Malay people. Pakcik Dollah, for example, is based on my grandfather, whose thoughts were always all over the place. The Stoned Philosopher is an amalgamation of my best friends like (local singer) Paul Twohill and my buddy from junior college, Aizat, who always gives me the best advice. What’s the best or funniest feedback you’ve received about your stories? This woman once told me that she wants to be the pen at my book signing. I’m not used to getting this kind of attention! I also once met a girl in a bar who told me, “I just read the funniest thing ever!” And showed me some excerpts from the Harris bin Potter website.
What then made you recently decide to pursue your degree in mass communications?
The reason I’ve always hated school so much is because I feel that a piece of paper should not validate who we are as people. However, I’ve an obligation to my family and the things I’m working on right now are risky. I realised that require a safety net in case these don’t work out and I have to take on a stable full-time job.
Check out Suffian Hakim’s work and show him your support at his Publishizer page.
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