Malaysia, on paper, has done rather well with schooling. Primary education is compulsory and reached near-universal enrolment on paper. Overall, the system appears reassuringly functional and tidy and yet... in 2025, more than 27,000 primary and secondary students dropped out of public schools.
Then there is the matter of children who were never allowed through the school gates in the first place. According to a 2024 UNICEF report, all 41,000 school-age refugee children registered with UNHCR in Malaysia are entirely locked out of formal education. Even informal schooling through alternative learning centres reaches only one in three of them.
This quiet, structural absence of educatoin is the starting point for RHB Bank’s Ramadan film, Ruang Harapan (Hope), created by The Shout Group. Running at a rather confident 5 minutes and 56 seconds, the film is inspired by the real-life work of educator and activist Siti Rahayu Baharin, founder of Buku Jalanan Chow Kit.
Festive brand films that tackle social issues are often dipped in saccharine. Cue swelling violins, inspirational smiles and a neat moral about kindness fixing systemic inequality in a couple of minutes flat. Ruang Harapan takes a more real route.
The film begins with Siti pushing a small cart of books through the streets of Chow Kit, an area known for transient housing, migrant communities and children who often fall outside Malaysia’s education system. Instead of waiting for these children to come to school, the protagonist brings the school to them. The cart becomes a tiny travelling classroom where children gather, read, listen and learn in the alleyways where they live. Over time, this simple effort grows into a permanent learning space where they can study safely and consistently.
RHB has long grounded its festive films in social initiatives that matter. Ad Nut appreciates that this resists the usual Raya tropes to explore the idea of an open house in the midst of festivity. Ad Nut will spare you a minute-by-minute recap of the five-plus minutes of drama, but the final scene between the protagonists is disarmingly candid and intense. This is no swelling sermon about overnight transformation or a glossy charity tale. The film shows the grind, the patience, heart and stubborn compassion required to make even the smallest dent in a much larger problem.
“Education and knowledge are among the few forces in this world that truly do not discriminate. They do not ask where you come from, what you own, or what documents you carry," said Abdul Sani Abdul Murad, group chief marketing officer, RHB Bank. "As Malaysians gather with loved ones this Hari Raya, this story serves as a poignant reminder that the most meaningful open house is not defined by how wide we open our doors, but by how fully we open our hearts."
“It is ultimately a question to society: How open are we, really? Are we willing to make room for others in our spaces, in our systems and in our future?" asks Tjer, executive creative director at The Shout Group.
A pertinent and poignant question to leave hanging in the air. Festivals, afterall, are centered around immaculate dining tables groaning under the weight of food, laughs and chatter. All lovely, Ad Nut has no beef with a generous spread. But every now and then it helps to remember that the idea of an open house can stretch well beyond the living room. Sometimes it looks like a classroom that didn’t exist yesterday. Sometimes it looks like a cart of books parked in an alley.
And if even a few viewers pause their festivities to think about that, Ad Nut would call this Raya film rather well spent.
CREDIT
RHB Bank
Group Chief Marketing Officer: Abdul Sani Abdul Murad
Head, Group Brand Comms: Tunku Hazli Tunku Tolha
Manager, Group Brand Comms: Anwar Amin
THE SHOUT GROUP (FCB SHOUT)
Co-owners: Shaun Tay & Ong Shi Ping
Managing Director: Syahriza Badron
Executive Creative Director: Wang Ie Tjer
Creative Director: James Voon
Senior Brand Director: Timothy Teh
Copywriters: Katrina Azman & Zaffirah Zakuan
Senior Producer: Cheong Wai Leng
Production House: D Moving Pictures
Director: Dick Chua
Producer: Jocny Lai
Director Of Photography: Oscar Tong
Music, Sound Design & Composer: GT Records
Executive Producer: Ram Nabil Chia
Sound Engineer: Shaktyvel Neelamekan
Post House: Film Troop Post
Producer: Kai Sheng
Offline Editor: Vikster
Online Artist: Ler Lian Jing
Colorist: Beh Jing Qiang
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Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific
