But the former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said the film, which drew fire from DAP leaders for its racially charged portrayal of the party, was a disservice to those who had sacrificed their lives to defend the country.
“The film seems to portray the idea that the Malay Army were asked to continue fighting the new enemy DAP, as a continuation of the war against the Communists,” said Zaid writing on his blog today.
Yesterday, Communication and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak instructed producers to remove a scene showing an ethnic Chinese man standing next to a Mercedes-Benz with “DAP165”, which is a play on the word “DAPigs”, a common insult hurled by DAP critics on social media.
In the scene, the man is shown looking at the Parliament building, while a voice-over in Chinese says: “We don’t need to go to war, we just need to use our brains to control the economy.”
Zaid described the movie as yet another “stupid and evil work”, adding that such so-called patriotic movies had been a norm in the run-up to Merdeka celebrations.
“Last year, it was ‘Tanda Putera’ accusing Chinese of sparking the May 13, 1969 tragedy,” said Zaid.
“Don’t waste time watching this film,” he added.
He said the film was a sign of Umno’s growing fear of Pakatan Harapan.
“That is why they try to divide Malay and Chinese Malaysians. Many Malays have accepted DAP and this is why Umno and its propaganda unit would like to see Malay hatred towards DAP.”
The movie is directed by Jurey Latiff Rosli, and features among others veteran Malay drama actor Ahmad Tamimi Siregar.