Tanda Putera makers cry hired guns, conspiracy

Linking the attacks on the controversial May 13 movie to the nation's future, the makers of 'Tanda Putera' continue to hit out against their detractors.

The period film has now moved from the silver screen to the small screen via the pay-per-view Astro First channel.

In the latest instalment of the protracted 'Tanda Putera' saga, the filmmakers contend that they are up against hired mercenaries and "cyber bullies" paid to criticise the film.

"It's true that some (critics) have been hired to attack us. We recognise them by their writing, which was especially spread around with a certain agenda to de-motivate filmmakers so we will not make any more historical films," the filmmakers say on the film's official Facebook page.

"This is all a plot as part of a larger conspiracy. Many do not realise this. We will tell you about this in greater detail soon as this involves the country's future."

This was their response to a question posted on the page as to why the film does not acknowledge the contribution of leftist Independence activists like Burhanuddin Helmy.

Specifically, they said that they do not deny the leftist contribution, but the fact is the film is about second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein and his deputy, Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.

Interestingly, they said, the film is also about first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra.

This, despite Tunku being featured sparsely in the film, in a portrayal that some film critics claim makes the founding PM look like a "blithering fool".

"The country's history features the success of its leaders and most of these leaders are from the BN. We cannot avoid this as it is our history and as such should be accepted with an open mind.

"But politicians and their supporters know the difference between politics and nationhood, as well as national leaders but they pretend not to so they can make unethical comments."

'Jealous people demoralising Malay filmmakers'

The flimmakers said that opposition politicians chose to be "narrow-minded" in order to "cover up the fact that they are not as democratic as they say".

The comments are part of four essays written in response to questions posed by commentators on its Facebook page, posted in stages from Sept 30.

In the other essays, they said 'Tanda Putera' went through several rounds of pitches for the government grant "against dozens of companies", and were among four that won grants.

"Some received RM300,000, others got RM2 million while others received RM5-7 million according to their production costs," they said.
 
According to the National Film Development Corporation (Finas), which partly funded the film, 'Tanda Putera' cost RM4.7 million to produce.

The filmmakers said others who did not succeed were sore about it and many of the detractors of 'Tanda Putera' were "jealous" and "vengeful".

"Is the relentless attacks... to bring down the morale of Malay filmmakers because our message is very effective?...

"Those who understand the local film industry will know that only Malay filmmakers can sustain themselves through films using the national language. These are the people who struggle for the industry.

"Are (the critics) trying to de-motivate us to boost Malaysian films which do not use the national language?"

In reality, they said, there was no racial angst within the Malaysian film industry, which is "harmonious" and "involves various races".

"It is just opposition politicians who try to intervene in the entertainment industry. The wise will not fall for this trap."