by Zulaikha Zulkifli
Malaysiakini
Nov 8, 2012
The decision to postpone the airing of the film Tanda Putera to next year was made by the cabinet, said Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim.
Rais said the decision was made after the cabinet ministers found that there were elements that are “inappropriate” to be screened.
“The cabinet has decided for the benefit of the people, that the official premiere of the film is postponed as it contains scenes that may cause conflicts.
“This is because it shows the tragedy of May 13 which is disputed by various parties,” he added.
He said this in reply to reporters after launching the state Himpunan Kasih Sayang at Kampung Puah Lembah this evening.
The controversial film had been postponed for the second time, to next year.
Prior to that, the film was initially scheduled for screening on Sept 13, this year but was delayed to Nov 15, citing lack of promotion.
The historical film revolves around the second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein and his deputy Ismail Abdul Rahman in their effort to pull the country together after the race riots on May 13, 1969.
‘Some scenes found to be bias’
Rais had defended the delay, claiming that some of the scenes were not reflective of actual history.
The RM4.8 million film was produced by Pesona Pictures Sdn Bhd in cooperation with the National Film Development Malaysia (Finas).
“The cabinet and its members who had watched (the film) thought that it was proper for it to be postponed because some scenes were found to be bias, for example in the murder (scenes).
“There was decapitated head and secondly, for example, urinating on the flag pole,” he said.
Asked if the film will be remade in light of this, Rais replied: “I don’t think so. I think there will be an evaluation meeting between the director and Finas because this film is Finas’ and the government spent money on it, it was not produced privately”.