The play, about Vietnamese boat people, was denied a performance permit by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur ( DBKL, Kuala Lumpur City Council) on grounds that it was “diplomatically embarrassing to the government”. At the time, the authorities were dealing with the Vietnamese refugee crisis on the East Coast of Malaysia. In 1986, performance permits were approved for the play and it was staged, without incident, in KL and Ipoh. (Source: Chin San Sooi/Marion D’Cruz).