SCENE 1
(The commotion of a heated argument between two people can be heard. An empty stage except for a chair at one end, until a young Malay woman hurries on stage. She is visibly upset, closely followed by a young Chinese man. She is dressed in a simple baju kurung, him in a collared shirt and slacks.)
AISHA
I tak tau la ERIC its your choice. But if you don’t think you can do it, we may as well just end it between you and me right now.
(He grabs her arm and tries to console her, but she pulls away and leaves him at one end of the stage.)
ERIC
Please Aisha, I love you, really, but it’s a lot to ask. I…I just need some time to figure things out, that’s all. Give me that at least! I…I…
(His voice trails off and they make eye contact. They look at each other in silence for a moment.)
AISHA (very softly)
Fine.
(She turns and walks away. She opens a ‘door’ and closes it behind her, then walks over to the chair, where she sits, buries her face in her hands and begins to cry quietly. Lights fade over Aisha till she is out of view, with a spotlight over Eric instead. He runs his hand through his hair and kicks at the ground in frustration before walking offstage dejectedly, hands in his pockets. Light fades, end of scene.)
(Eric stands in the middle of the stage towards the audience, spotlight overhead. He begins a monologue.)
ERIC
Hi. My name is Eric. Eric Chew Chee Hoe, also known as Hoe zai. But please just call me Eric.
(He paces around the stage briefly.)
ERIC
I’m sorry you had to see that. That was my girlfriend Aisha. Well, at least I still hope so. She’s a lovely girl, I swear. She’s beautiful, smart, funny. Everything a guy like me could hope for and more. We’ve been through a lot together, good times and bad.
(He looks into the distance, hands in his pockets. SFX: A sappy love song about memories plays in the background. But then he shakes his head and ‘snaps out of it’, and the music warps and stops abruptly.)
ERIC
Anyway, things haven’t been going so well lately. Nowadays, most of our friends have either gotten married and started families. So of course we started to talk about our future together. We’re not exactly on the same page. (short pause, he paces around the stage) She wants to get married, settle down have some kids. But one of the things that’s been stopping me from popping the question was the whole conversion issue. I’ll have to change not only my religion, but my name as well. I mean, what will my family have to say? I’m not so sure I’m ready for all that!
(He pauses, looks around the stage.)
ERIC
(sadly) Yet, I don’t want to lose her. I was going to ask some friends for advice. But…
(Another part of the stage lights up to reveal an Indian man with some books, a Chinese man on a cellphone and a Chinese lady on the phone, carrying a baby.)
INDIAN MAN
(in heavy Indian accent) My friend! So sorry la, these days verrrry busy. A million apologies.
CHINESE MAN ON CELLPHONE
Aiyo brother, what you want? Yum cha? Aiya busy la. Economy now bad la, stay at home and eat better, don’t waste money.
LADY WITH BABY
(SFX: Baby crying loudly) Hello? Hoe zai? Hello? (To baby) Baby, don’t cry! Be a good boy! Hello??? Angugu chak baby don’t cry! Hello Eric? Hello???
(Lights fade, focus on Eric again)
ERIC
….Well, they’ve been a little busy. So, I’m just going to ask someone who I know won’t let me down.
(Spotlight shines onto a laptop on a desk. SFX: (Hallelujah) plays. Eric looks at audience. Lights fade, end of scene.)
(Eric sits at desk, using laptop. SFX: Clicking and typing. An extra comes out centre stage holding a placard that reads “MalaysiaNOW.com”.)
EXTRA
Welcome to MalaysiaNOW.com.
(Eric continues typing. SFX: Typing, EXTRA flips placard to reveal “Search Engine”, pulls off a white sheet of paper over search engine to reveal “Opinions mixed marriage.”)
EXTRA
You have entered the keywords: Opinions, mixed marriage, forum. Please wait.
(Extra flips new placard to reveal an hourglass. After in runs out of sand, the lights fade till EXTRA is no longer visible. Eric is visible throughout play. In the middle of the stage, there are six people sitting on chairs opposite each other. On the left are three people supporting conversion, on the right there are three against the idea. They each hang placards with their respective online usernames around their necks.)
(The first to stand up and speak is an old, intellectual looking Malay man with a beard, songkok and glasses. His username reads DatukX. )
DATUK X
I think if you love your partner, you will convert. If you are not willing to convert to your spouses' religion, then you do not love that person enough. I have friends from mixed families and most children from these families do not follow any religion.
As a result, we have a lot of free thinkers who are prone to free sex and unwanted pregnancies, alcohol and drug abuse and many other problems. This is what happens because people do not apply religious teachings to their life.
(He sits down, and then a teenaged girl stands up to speak. Her username reads CrystalFairy16.)
CRYSTAL FAIRY 16
Love is a pure and open relationship, regardless of race, religion and creed. How can one convert for the sake of love? Conversion itself becomes 'unpure' when forced through love or marriage. This is truly polluting the religion and its core belief. If you love someone, so be it. It’s selfish to force it on someone in the name of love.
(She sits down. Next up is ROSILAH, a Malay woman in a tudung.)
ROSILAH
Marriage is for couples totally in love with each other. If you love your religion, you will want your loved ones to follow that religion, not simply use it any way you like. I am a Muslim and naturally I want a Muslim husband and Muslim children. My Christian friends are the same. Because to us, we believe that narrow is the path that leads to salvation. Wide paths lead to destruction.
(A studious Chinese boy, lord_yoda, speaks next. He speaks slightly louder than the others, and with conviction.)
LORD_YODA
If you really believe that marriage is for couples totally in love with each other, then why in the world is the Muslim religious authorities forcing people to convert just to get married? Isn't love enough? Try to be sensitive to those who are in love.
ROSILAH
Huh! Those who refuse to convert can’t be considered as being in true love, that’s just youngsters in puppy love!
LORD_YODA
Excuse me? And who are you to judge that?
(Rosilah says nothing but her expression is very arrogant.)
ANGIE
(her tone is very arrogant.)
Why disturb the hornet's nest? Just follow the majority lah. If one of the partners who is non-Muslim and refuses to convert then he/she should sacrifice his/her love to save the country from unnecessary problems. Let’s not destroy beautiful Malaysia just because of one person’s actions. Think and behave rationally.
(CrystalFairy16 gets up and speaks, she stamps her feet in frustration.)
CRYSTAL FAIRY 16
Love is pure, honest and unconditional. I don’t see that there shouldn't be any reason why it will cause or stir up any p roblems even to a country. Only hypocrites among us will cause problems. If you love someone, by all means, accept him/her the way they are and not what you want them to be, or what the society have been practicing or have been doing. Don’t be such a hypocrite!
(She does not sit down, but ROSILAH gets up and speaks in an annoyed tone.)
ROSILAH
I think people who refuse to convert for the sake of marriage are the ones who are selfish. They would rather confuse their young children with different teachings rather than take a stand on whether they love religion or their lover more. If it is the lover, than forget about religion. Don’t try to interpret religion to suit your own needs. Suka suka ikut, tak senang tak ikut. Berdosa tu!
(A flamboyantly dressed man with a slightly feminine demeanor stands up and puts his hand on CrystalFairy16’s shoulder, trying to calm her down, and speaks in a friendly manner. His username is CUTIE82.)
CUTIE 82
Now now. Everyone has human rights. They deserve to choose their own path. Why should anybody’s lifestyle, be anyone else’s business? (as he speaks, he flails his wrist)
ANGIE
(speaking under her breath, disgustedly) Sei gay lo…
CUTIE82
(looks as if he is about to cry) Oh! (Then, he buries his head on Crystal Fairy 16’s shoulder, who pats him on the back sympathetically.)
DATUK X
Hahaha! (laughs heartily, then hi-fives Angie, who looks smug.)
(lord_yoda stands up at once and points at DatukX.)
LORD_YODA
What are you laughing at old man?
(he takes off his shoe and throws it at Datuk X, hitting him.)
DATUK X
Aduh!
(Everyone except for Eric get up. They shout and throw things at one another. The argument escalates into a fistfight. All the online characters begin attacking and beating each other with their placards. The lighting above them fades but they are still slightly visible. As the chaos ensues, focus shifts to a kind looking old man who walks up onstage. The placard on his neck reads
KHALID_.)
KHALID_
(He walks up to Eric’s desk and speaks to him directly.)
Son, these people can tell you all you want to hear, but at the end of the day, its up to you to decide. Everyone has their opinions on everything, you may agree with some, and disagree with others. There is no such thing as the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ thing to do. I just want you to know, I’ve been in a mixed marriage with the same woman for the past 30 years. And I don’t regret a single moment of it.
(MAN looks up at him thoughfully. KHALID_ smiles. There is a long pause, MAN looks at the ground. Then he stands up.)
ERIC
This…is my decision.
(Eric shuts his laptop.)
(Lights disappear over all online characters till they are completely out of view. Eric breathes a sigh of relief, lights fade, end of scene)
SCENE 4
(Stage is exactly the same as in the first scene, with AISHA sitting in the chair looking forlornly into the distance. MAN walks onstage. When he reaches where the door should be he hesitates, then knocks. She turns her head quickly to face the door.)
ERIC
AISHA? AISHA, it’s me, Eric. I figured it out.
(Short pause. Lights fade. THE END.)
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