Kee Thuan Chye

Kee Thuan Chye (born 25 May 1954; aged 62) is a Malaysian actor, dramatist, poet and journalist. Acting in theatre, films, and on television for more than 30 years, he continues to do so. In 1981, Kee co-founded the theatre group, KAMI, in Kuala Lumpur. A noted civil rights activist, he would express in his plays whatever he could not express through the newspapers under Malaysia's repressive Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA). For speaking out without fear or favour, Kee was among the first recipients of The Annexe Heroes Freedom of Expression Awards when it was launched in 2008. In 2010, he was also voted the 34th Most Trusted Malaysian in a poll conducted by Reader's Digest.
Although social reengineering under the New Economic Policy had already begun after the 13 May Incident of 1969, it became more pronounced after Mahathir bin Mohamad became Prime Minister in 1981. At the New Straits Times, Kee Thuan Chye received numerous memos from his editor-in-chief for trying to push the parameters and opening up public discourse on what was deemed 'sensitive' issues. Firmly believing that the responsibility of a journalist to the public is to inform them of the truth, he had to battle with his superiors and as a consequence, he was often punished, marginalised, and shut out. In 1988, Kee received his master's degree in drama from the University of Essex, after being awarded a British Council Fellowship for postgraduate studies in England.
In 2001, Kee Thuan Chye became the Associate Editor of The Star in Kuala Lumpur, creating and editing the English column, Mind Our English, until retirement in May 2009. His Sunday Star column, Playing The Fool, which he began in April 2001, ran for only two instalments before it was cancelled. In his inaugural article, Kee had written that he would be speaking out frankly on social and political issues, without fear or favour. His second article, hitting out at racial discrimination in Malaysia, was published but when it came to his third article, the editors got jittery and suppressed it. The Star finally decided to terminate the column after Kee submitted his fourth article.

Civil rights advocacy

Kee Thuan Chye's political awakening began when he could not afford to pursue his master's degree unless he had a tutor's position. He applied for the post at Universiti Sains Malaysia, his alma mater, and although he was the top student in his class, the job was given to someone else. Kee then joined the now-defunct National Echo as a literary editor where he wrote scathingly about political matters. Moving from Penang to Kuala Lumpur to join the New Straits Times in the late 1970s, he saw more clearly how race had been politicised to divide the people. Mahathir Mohamad who had become the Prime Minister in 1981 was becoming increasingly dictatorial and would tolerate no criticism of him and his government in the media.

What Kee Thuan Chye could not express through the newspaper, he eventually expressed in his plays. 1984 Here and Now which spoke out frankly against Big Brother and institutionalised racial discrimination, played to full houses in 1985, followed, amongst others, by The Big Purge which brazenly satirises Mahathir and Operation Lalang.

In the aftermath of the 2008 general elections, Kee Thuan Chye rushed out his book 8 March: The Day Malaysia Woke Up in a record three months, due to the topicality of the subject matter. This was followed by 8 March: Time for Real Change in 2010. For speaking out without fear or favour, Kee was among the first recipients of The Annexe Heroes Freedom of Expression Awards when it was launched by The Annexe Gallery at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur in 2008 to recognise Malaysians who have done outstanding work in championing freedom of expression in the previous year. In 2010, he was also voted the 34th Most Trusted Malaysian in a poll conducted by Reader's Digest.

Filmography

Films

Television

Kee Thuan Chye has appeared in more than 20 television dramas, including but not limited to:

Plays

Kee Thuan Chye has written, directed, and acted in numerous plays, including but not limited to:

Scriptwriting for television

• 2009: Writing storylines for Auntie English, produced by Astro
• 2004: Co-writing the script for one episode of Singapore Shakes! with Remesh Panicker, followed by another episode, singly
• 1998–1999: Writing storylines for the 150-episode Idaman II
• 1997-1998: Writing storylines for the 150-episode Idaman

Major book publications

Apart from publishing numerous articles, Kee Thuan Chye has authored several books, including:

• Unbelievably Stupid Too! (Gerakbudaya, 2015)
• Unbelievably Stupid! (Gerakbudaya, 2015)
• Can We Save Malaysia, Please! (Marshall Cavendish, 2014)
• The Elections Bullshit (SIRD, 2013)
• Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More! (SIRD, 2013)
• No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians (Marshall Cavendish, 2012)
• 8 March: Time for Real Change (Marshall Cavendish, 2010)
• 8 March: The Day Malaysia Woke Up (Marshall Cavendish, 2008)
• 1984 Here and Now (Marshall Cavendish, 2004)
• The Big Purge (Marshall Cavendish, 2004)
• We Could **** You, Mr Birch (Marshall Cavendish, 2004)
• Old Doctors Never Fade Away, a biography (Teks Publishing, 1988)
• Just In So Many Words, a collection of selected writings in the press (Heinemann, 1992, reprinted 1993)
• Haunting the Tiger and Other Stories, edited (Berita Publishing, 1991)