Despite the cabinet deciding against airing the controversial Tanda Putera film until after the next general election, the leader of the same cabinet, Najib Abdul Razak, appeared keen on showing it to only selected segments of the Malaysian populace.
The reason is likely that the film is a double-edged sword, serving as an effective propaganda tool but which may well offend other communities.
While both the Malays and Chinese were depicted as turning on each other during the May 13 riots in the film, the latter were often characterised as the aggressor.
The show opens with a group of Chinese who appeared to be Communist sympathisers attacking a party worker, urging that the 1969 general election be boycotted.
The victim was later revealed to be an Umno member as a news flashed with the headline: ‘Umno party worker killed’.
A voice then narrates that victory marchers had chanted “Melayu balik kampung” (Malays should go back to their villages), hurting the feelings of Malays and thus triggering the May 13 race riots.
In the build-up to the tension, it showed a group of Chinese youth vandalising campaign materials and who were later shot by police when fleeing, causing anger among the Chinese community.
Later, an angry crowd of Chinese protesters assembled and their leader said don’t give reasons for the police to arrest them as they could take “revenge” during the general election, six days later.
After the general election, it showed several scenes, presumably opposition supporters of Chinese descent, laying claim to to Selangor after the incumbent Alliance (present day BN) failed to obtain a majority to form the state government.
The antagonists
A scene showed a group of Chinese on a lorry entering a Malay kampung, declaring that the area now belonged to them, causing tension as police attempted to prevent a clash.
Another scene showed a group of Chinese youth urinating on a flag pole bearing the Selangor flag outside the residence of then-state menteri besar Harun Idris.
They declared that Kuala Lumpur - then still part of Selangor - as belonging to them and the menteri besar should get out.
At a protest, the crowd chanted Chinese slogans. A Malay police officer there later shifted uncomfortably when he was told that they were chanting “Malays go die”.
In yet another scene in Setapak, a group of Chinese refused to allow two Malay youths on a motorcycle to pass, claiming that the area now belonged to them, and subsequent beating up the duo when they persisted, until police intervened.
The duo, beaten bloody, subsequently made it to Kampung Baru where a rally led by then-menteri besar Harun of Umno was ongoing.
Enraged by this, the Malay crowd took it out on a passing vehicle whose driver was Chinese and he was killed. Later, a similar Chinese crowd also went about hunting for Malays.
In another scene at a cinema, the screen suddenly blacks out, replaced with Mandarin words which asked Chinese to leave the venue, which they do.
A man then shouted in Malay why there was Chinese words on the screen and demanded for the show to be put back on. Then suddenly, the remaining audience in the cinema was massacred.
Throughout the build up of tension and race riots, there was a mysterious Chinese man who observed the happenings, and he was later revealed to be a Communist leader - indicating that they may have had a hand in orchestrating the mayhem.
This was likely derived from former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman’s book, entitled May 13: Before and After published in the same year of the riots in which he blamed the Communists.
Countering alternative takes
However, the film also sought to portray Umno leaders then as having taken every precaution to prevent the racial riots.
Prior to the Umno rally going awry, Harun was shown reiterating that the rally should be peaceful and urged participants to put away their weapons.
Even when the participants became out of control after witnessing the two bloodied youths, Harun had repeatedly shouted for them to stop, until he suffered chest pains.
The scene appears to counter the version of the May 13 riots by author Kua Kia Soong in his book entitled May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969.
Kua’s book had blamed, among others, Harun for orchestrating the riots in a bid to oust then-premier Tunku Abdul Rahman.
The book, which was based on British declassified documents detailing observations by foreign diplomats and correspondents using dispatches in the country, also appeared to receive another rebuttal as the film portrayed these sources negatively.
In one scene, a group of foreign correspondents were shown arguing with an official as they were not allowed out due to a curfew, and subsequently said they would write with their “imagination” since their movement were restricted.
The National Operations Council chairperson and subsequently second premier Abdul Razak Hussein also shot down a foreign diplomat for disputing the casualties figure from the riots, demanding their source of information, to which the diplomat was unable to answer.
The portrayal is a good reminder to audiences of the May 13 racial riots - version as told, and which spectre is often raised, by the establishment.
The film also focused on a group of multiracial class of students and their lecturer who were threatened by Malay and Chinese mobs.
Despite their efforts to help each other regardless of race, they eventually drifted apart due to racial fears but later made up as the country pulled away from its dark history under Abdul Razak’s premiership.
The scenes made up about an hour of the film, while the in the second part, the attention shifted towards Abdul Razak and his deputy Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.
Idolising Abdul Razak
Though it also touched on the struggle against the Communist threat, the New Economic Policy as well as BN’s 1974 general election victory, they were in flashes as the attention was on the two men.
Both of them were gravely ill but concealed their sickness from their families and struggled to perform their duties in the short life they had.
It also told of their close friendship, where in one instance, Ismail had asked Abdul Razak to take his personal doctor for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1973 in Canada after learning of the latter’s illness.
Ismail died of a heart attack while Abdul Razak was in Canada. Abdul Razak later insisted that Ismail be buried in the Heroes’ Mausoleum.
The pace of the second part was significantly slower than the first, but was emotionally manipulative.
It portrayed Abdul Razak's slow and painful death and his family’s struggle to cope with the predicament.
As his condition deteriorated, one of his sons, Johari, spent most of the time by his deathbed but there were mentions of one “Jib” does make an appearance over the phone, presumably present-day Premier Najib.
After Abdul Razak’s death, there were several flashes of Abdul Razak interacting with common folk and how he had touched their lives.
One example was when he visited a run-down school and met a teacher who wore a torn tie.
He immediately instructed for facilities to be upgraded, the children be provided with necessities and even got the teacher a new tie, who went on to work at his office.
The film’s portryal of Abdul Razak was simplistic, with the bulk of it dedicated towards idolising the former premier whom had overseen several landmark policies of BN such as the New Economic Policy, Malay as the national language and Felda schemes.
No doubt large parts of the film were indeed based on research materials but they were religiously derived from the official version.
It is akin to flipping through a secondary school textbook, one-sided and shallow in its presentation but lacking in depth and hardly thought-provoking.
The film’s portrayals resonate well with BN’s age-old message, but airing it to the general populace now will likely solicit controversy and debate which may prove risky so near to a general election.
The reason is likely that the film is a double-edged sword, serving as an effective propaganda tool but which may well offend other communities.While both the Malays and Chinese were depicted as turning on each other during the May 13 riots in the film, the latter were often characterised as the aggressor.
The show opens with a group of Chinese who appeared to be Communist sympathisers attacking a party worker, urging that the 1969 general election be boycotted.
The victim was later revealed to be an Umno member as a news flashed with the headline: ‘Umno party worker killed’.
A voice then narrates that victory marchers had chanted “Melayu balik kampung” (Malays should go back to their villages), hurting the feelings of Malays and thus triggering the May 13 race riots.In the build-up to the tension, it showed a group of Chinese youth vandalising campaign materials and who were later shot by police when fleeing, causing anger among the Chinese community.
Later, an angry crowd of Chinese protesters assembled and their leader said don’t give reasons for the police to arrest them as they could take “revenge” during the general election, six days later.
After the general election, it showed several scenes, presumably opposition supporters of Chinese descent, laying claim to to Selangor after the incumbent Alliance (present day BN) failed to obtain a majority to form the state government.
The antagonists
A scene showed a group of Chinese on a lorry entering a Malay kampung, declaring that the area now belonged to them, causing tension as police attempted to prevent a clash.
Another scene showed a group of Chinese youth urinating on a flag pole bearing the Selangor flag outside the residence of then-state menteri besar Harun Idris.
They declared that Kuala Lumpur - then still part of Selangor - as belonging to them and the menteri besar should get out.
At a protest, the crowd chanted Chinese slogans. A Malay police officer there later shifted uncomfortably when he was told that they were chanting “Malays go die”.
In yet another scene in Setapak, a group of Chinese refused to allow two Malay youths on a motorcycle to pass, claiming that the area now belonged to them, and subsequent beating up the duo when they persisted, until police intervened.
The duo, beaten bloody, subsequently made it to Kampung Baru where a rally led by then-menteri besar Harun of Umno was ongoing.
Enraged by this, the Malay crowd took it out on a passing vehicle whose driver was Chinese and he was killed. Later, a similar Chinese crowd also went about hunting for Malays.
In another scene at a cinema, the screen suddenly blacks out, replaced with Mandarin words which asked Chinese to leave the venue, which they do.
A man then shouted in Malay why there was Chinese words on the screen and demanded for the show to be put back on. Then suddenly, the remaining audience in the cinema was massacred.
Throughout the build up of tension and race riots, there was a mysterious Chinese man who observed the happenings, and he was later revealed to be a Communist leader - indicating that they may have had a hand in orchestrating the mayhem.
This was likely derived from former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman’s book, entitled May 13: Before and After published in the same year of the riots in which he blamed the Communists.
Countering alternative takes
However, the film also sought to portray Umno leaders then as having taken every precaution to prevent the racial riots.
Prior to the Umno rally going awry, Harun was shown reiterating that the rally should be peaceful and urged participants to put away their weapons.
Even when the participants became out of control after witnessing the two bloodied youths, Harun had repeatedly shouted for them to stop, until he suffered chest pains.
The scene appears to counter the version of the May 13 riots by author Kua Kia Soong in his book entitled May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969.Kua’s book had blamed, among others, Harun for orchestrating the riots in a bid to oust then-premier Tunku Abdul Rahman.
The book, which was based on British declassified documents detailing observations by foreign diplomats and correspondents using dispatches in the country, also appeared to receive another rebuttal as the film portrayed these sources negatively.
In one scene, a group of foreign correspondents were shown arguing with an official as they were not allowed out due to a curfew, and subsequently said they would write with their “imagination” since their movement were restricted.
The National Operations Council chairperson and subsequently second premier Abdul Razak Hussein also shot down a foreign diplomat for disputing the casualties figure from the riots, demanding their source of information, to which the diplomat was unable to answer.
The portrayal is a good reminder to audiences of the May 13 racial riots - version as told, and which spectre is often raised, by the establishment.
The film also focused on a group of multiracial class of students and their lecturer who were threatened by Malay and Chinese mobs.
Despite their efforts to help each other regardless of race, they eventually drifted apart due to racial fears but later made up as the country pulled away from its dark history under Abdul Razak’s premiership.
The scenes made up about an hour of the film, while the in the second part, the attention shifted towards Abdul Razak and his deputy Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.
Idolising Abdul Razak
Though it also touched on the struggle against the Communist threat, the New Economic Policy as well as BN’s 1974 general election victory, they were in flashes as the attention was on the two men.
Both of them were gravely ill but concealed their sickness from their families and struggled to perform their duties in the short life they had.
It also told of their close friendship, where in one instance, Ismail had asked Abdul Razak to take his personal doctor for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1973 in Canada after learning of the latter’s illness.Ismail died of a heart attack while Abdul Razak was in Canada. Abdul Razak later insisted that Ismail be buried in the Heroes’ Mausoleum.
The pace of the second part was significantly slower than the first, but was emotionally manipulative.
It portrayed Abdul Razak's slow and painful death and his family’s struggle to cope with the predicament.
As his condition deteriorated, one of his sons, Johari, spent most of the time by his deathbed but there were mentions of one “Jib” does make an appearance over the phone, presumably present-day Premier Najib.
After Abdul Razak’s death, there were several flashes of Abdul Razak interacting with common folk and how he had touched their lives.
One example was when he visited a run-down school and met a teacher who wore a torn tie.
He immediately instructed for facilities to be upgraded, the children be provided with necessities and even got the teacher a new tie, who went on to work at his office.
The film’s portryal of Abdul Razak was simplistic, with the bulk of it dedicated towards idolising the former premier whom had overseen several landmark policies of BN such as the New Economic Policy, Malay as the national language and Felda schemes.
No doubt large parts of the film were indeed based on research materials but they were religiously derived from the official version.
It is akin to flipping through a secondary school textbook, one-sided and shallow in its presentation but lacking in depth and hardly thought-provoking.
The film’s portrayals resonate well with BN’s age-old message, but airing it to the general populace now will likely solicit controversy and debate which may prove risky so near to a general election.
'CARRIE RINA' is a pseudonym. The writer is a film enthusiast who had the opportunity to watch the film at one of its previews held for different groups over the past months.
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