Themes

dfm2u People had been analysing the themes of the story – and this is amazing. But I point to one theme that was constantly overlooked in the discussion of the drama and that is the importance of education and society inclusivity. And by education it does not necessarily only mean Islamic or religious education – but holistically, everything else that falls under the broad term of ‘education’, including sex education. To make it direct, I loved the progressive portrayal of the importance of sex education in this drama. Clearly, this drama proves how sex education is important in any society. And how much it curbs ignorance (such as that portrayed by Amirul in his assumptions of HIV) in a society. It reminds us again that there is a need for us to strike the balance between religious knowledge and other knowledge on the world to make sure that we are grounded and in touch with reality. Indeed, any form of knowledge that leads us to Allah swt is a form of knowledge to be embraced (thank you sis Aida Azlin for opening my eyes to this). People need to be taught about what to avoid in order to avoid them. Teaching sex education does not make one lustful.

Also on the issue of HIV, I love how this drama sheds light on the fact that HIV is something that is not too bleak. I mean yes, we should all avoid HIV, but it is not the end if you are diagnosed with it. Evident here is when Adam explains to a seemingly innocent Amirul on the myths of HIV.

Also, people give little credit to Mukhriz’s character arc. Malay Drama Remember that one episode where he went on a campaign at the red light districts to spread awareness on the importance of having safe sex? Yes, I expected them to elaborate more on this but I was really thankful that they included this bit in the drama. Mukhriz is a doctor. His occupation requires him to cure patients. But being a doctor was not an occupation but a responsibility to him. To be bestowed with knowledge that could alleviate the lives of others is one that he sees as an ‘amanah’ more so than an advantage. And I believe this was why he participated in the campaign. Again, an incredible writing for a character. We should all aspire to be like Mukhriz (I hope he really got together with Deeja in the end.) This was an important portrayal of a positive, inclusive and non-judgmental society that aims to alleviate the society through empathy – a value of compassion promoted by Islam. Mukhriz was aware of his role in the society. We contrast this with the portrayal of the pakcik masjid who boasts of his ‘deeds’ but condemns people like Nur without doing anything to help them out of it. Do we want to be a Mukhriz or do we want to be ignorant and negligent like the pakcik?