KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 ― The Barisan Nasional (BN) government is trying to promote its allegedly “divisive” account of the May 13, 1969 racial riots through the controversial film “Tanda Putera”, DAP lawmakers have said.
DAP’s Liew Chin Tong claimed that minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and BN was “racialising” the May 13 riots, a move which he said was “divisive”.
“To blame May 13 on the Chinese or any ethnic group is divisive.
“It is wrong to racialise May 13. There were many dimensions of the incident,” the Kluang MP said.
Liew was referring to Nazri’s comment last Saturday, where the minister of tourism and culture said: “The Chinese community as a whole is not responsible for what happened in 1969, only the individuals, they are the ones who should feel guilty.”
Liew also took BN to task over “Tanda Putera”, which he viewed as BN’s attempt to rewrite history and bring up the May 13 riots again.
“The attempt to rewrite history reflects the sad state of affairs.
“Forty-four years after the incident, this sudden need to resurrect the ghost of May 13 just shows that BN is bankrupt of ideas,” he said.
Liew suggested a truth and reconciliation commission as a way for the country to move forward from the bloody riots in 1969.
“If BN refuses to move on and kept harping on May 13, instead of [fictionalising] it, perhaps a truth and reconciliation commission is a good way out.”
DAP’s Zairil Khir Johari said that “Tanda Putera” is part of a bigger contest among different versions of the national narrative on the May 13 riots, saying that the film appears to be pushing the “divisive” official account.
“Generally speaking, I think May 13 is a bit more complicated than ‘a few Chinese individuals’. History as we know is merely a point of view, and from what we hear this film appears to be a government-funded attempt to reinforce its version of ‘reality,’” the Bukit Bendera MP said.
Zairil accused Umno, the mainstay party in BN, of creating fear among the Malay community with its official account to continue their decades-old grip on power.
“In this case, it benefits the government to propagate the story of Chinese instigators with Communist links, in order to continue perpetuating the culture of fear amongst Malays. This is how Umno stays in power,” he said.
He added that this narrative was being forced on Malaysians through avenues such as the National Civics Bureau (BTN), films and schools.
Zairil felt the BN government’s narrative of the 1969 events was “divisive”, saying that the country needs a narrative that does not spread fear and hatred.
“We need one that is inclusive, that is just, that accords respect for human rights, that does not oppress and spread fear and hate against minorities.”
Last week, Nazri said the Chinese community should not feel slighted over the controversial film “Tanda Putera”, which allegedly portrays the former as having sparked the May 13 riots in 1969.
“I personally feel that there are many Chinese Malaysians who are very Malaysian and they will not involve with this and they should not be blamed because of a few Chinese individuals who were involved,” he also said.
Nazri, who said he has watched the film that premiered on August 29, called the movie “well-researched” and reflective of the “reality” of the turbulent period in the country’s history.
But “Tanda Putera’s” director Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba has previously said the film was a work of fiction despite earlier vouching for its “historical accuracy”.
Shuhaimi also explained that “Tanda Putera” is essentially about Malaysia’s second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and his deputy Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman — “two men who gave up everything, including their lives for the country”.
“Tanda Putera”, which was originally slated for release on September 13 last year, was produced at a cost of RM4.8 million provided by FINAS and the Multimedia Development Corporation (Mdec).
