Nova Goh

The Love of Tapang Tree

Nova Goh

With her days numbered, Madam Ong decided to unveil her deepest secret to her son — Ming. With the camera all setup, she spoke of her early life as a wife of the commander of a guerrilla force during the British colonial era in Borneo, Sarawak. A love story in times of war. She was one of the only two survivors to live to tell the tale. Moved by Ong’s story, her son decided to teamed up with the Director and contemporary dancer — Kuan, to retrace Ong’s footsteps, in hope to know more about her personal story as well as the untold history during the era. Along the journey, Kuan got more and more attached to Ong’s story, being a women herself, she was particularly moved by the love that Ong showed for her former husband — Commander Yong, whom Ong would symbolise as a Tapang Tree, the strongest tree in Borneo rainforest, a tree that gave her all the support she needed in life. The day Yong was shot death, the Tapang Tree fell, Ong’s world collapsed.

The Last Ring Ladies

Nova Goh