Time Out For A Reality Check

In 1995 Fidel Ramos - he called Contemplacion a heroine - was so frustrated when Goh Chok Tong failed to grasp the uproar in the Philippines caused by the execution of Flor Contemplacion, he bundled a stack of local papers and couriered them over. There it was, splashed in large font on the front pages, the name of our sovereign nation prefixed by a four-letter word expletive. Our sheltered prime minister, and most Singaporeans, were shocked and awed by the wanton rage of a foreign people. It was never understood that Contemplacion could be a cause célèbre for Filipinos to vent their frustration over the helplessness, abuse, and mental stresses that many overseas workers face around the world. The Alex Boncayao Brigade, a Communist terrorist group in the Philippines, threatened to punish Singaporean and Filipino officials.

Which is one good reason to stop finger pointing about right and wrong.

"The Act of Killing" just won best documentary at the 2014 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards. Based on the mass killings of 1965–66 that followed Suharto's overthrow of Sukarno, it tells the story of gangsters Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkadry. It was a time when anyone opposed to the military dictatorship could be accused of being communist, and murdered. Anwar is revered as a founding father of the right-wing paramilitary organization Pemuda Pancasila that grew out of the death squads. The organization is so powerful that its leaders include government ministers. Jusuf Kalla, Vice President of Indonesia (2004 to 2009) and potential candidate in the upcoming Indonesian presidential election 2014, is on screen extolling the spirit of Pancasila Youth, "Gangsters are people who work outside the system... The word 'gangsters' comes from 'free men'. This nation needs 'free men'... We need gangsters to get things done."

At the reenactment of the Kampung Kolam massacre, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport Sakhyan Asmara has this to say of the filmed violence, "Don't erase it! Use it to show how ferocious we can be! In fact, we can even be worse! So, think of it as a simulation of our rage - if anyone disturbs our country."

Pancasila Youth has 3 million members. Their leader Yapto Soerjosoemarno has a clearer message, "All Pancasila members are heroes. From exterminating communists - to fighting communists and left-wing extremists - and those who want to destroy our country... We Pancasila must take a stand. They say Pancasila Youth is a gangster organisation. If we are gangsters - I'm the biggest gangster of all!"

The scariest part about the movie is that American director Joshua Oppenheimer's co-director had to remain anonymous, couldn't appear at the BAFTA awards, because of the secrecy needed to protect him. As the last scene fades, and the credits roll, you will note most of the staff involved in the production are also named Anonymous.