Tanda Putera vs the New Village

When local production the New Village reaches the cinemas, I will probably go and watch it. Y'see, I'm a fan of Chinese movies, from Bruce Lee to Fu Sheng, Jacky Chan to Ip Man. if it's true, as they claimed, that this movie is politically-motivated and that it's the intention of the people behind the movie to make heroes out of the (largely Chinese) Communist guerillas who waged war against the Yang diPertuan Agong, right after the World War ll to even after Merdeka, well, I say good luck to them. A lot of Malaysians may be gullible and probably don't know their history, let alone the American history, but very few are ready to believe that Abraham Lincoln was, actually, a vampire hunter! You get my drift? 

But if the New Village is not coming soon to cinemas near us, I think you'd understand.

Coming Soon for over a year now

We still remember Tanda Putera, don't we? That movie by award-winning Shuhaimi Baba portrays Tun Razak, the father of current PM Najib, as one of the national heroes during one of the most trying times in Malaysia's history. He and his deputy, Tun Dr Ismail, who both tragically died early deaths and mourned by an entire nation. 

Despite its good intentions, Tanda Putera hasn't been shown to the public! Reason? Because there are politicians like Lim Kit Siang and his hound dogs who saw it (based on the trailer and FB forums) as politically-motivated, racially seditious or/and personally slanderous etc. 

No thanks, also, to the relevant authorities who had no balls to stand up to Kit Siang, Kua Kia Siong, and other movie critics like them.  

What Tanda Putera had to go through last year, the New Village will have to go through now. The national censors have okayed the New Village (just like they had okayed Tanda Putera) but the date for its public screening, originally slotted for the Merdeka month of August, has now been suspended. We can't blame Kit Siang and his barking dogs here but there have been complaints that the New Village may be politically-motivated, racially seditious and/or may revive the Communist movement in Malaysia. Sounds familiar? 

What goes round comes around. 

-rocky's bru