Tanda Putera premieres tonight

The controversial film Tanda Putera which depicts the May 13, 1969 racial riots is premiering to select audiences tonight ahead of a public release next week.

The film, which portrays the relationship between Malaysia’s second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein and his deputy Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, has been alleged by the opposition as being offensive to other races.

After being slated for an initial release in September last year,Tanda Putera will finally see the light of day on Aug 29 nationwide, and its director Shuhaimi Baba (left) toldMalaysiakini that she was “relieved”, refusing to elaborate further.

Over 200 people were invited for the gala premiere at GSC Signature in The Gardens at Mid Valley City, including several press outlets, cinema managers, distributors, film stars and officials from the National Film Board (Finas).

However, Malaysiakini was not part of the guest list and was restricted from entering the premiere or interviewing the Tanda Putera filmmakers.

“You know why we didn’t invite you,” one of the organisers toldMalaysiakini while asking its reporters to leave the venue.

While trying to obtain comments from Shuhaimi, Malaysiakini were told by an organising official to stop “harassing” the director.

Malaysiakini had published a review of the film in February where the writer described it as a it could serve as a propaganda tool for one community - but hurt the feelings of other communities.

While Tanda Putera gears for release, the status of another controversial film, The New Village, which allegedly “glorifies” communism and has been objected to by Umno Youth, is currently in limbo.