KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Several images of a briefcase full of RM10 notes floating on the water over 10,000 km away in Bristol, the United Kingdom caused a stir when they started spreading over the internet.

British news portal Bristol Live reported that it may have been part of an elaborate stunt to protest the involvement of Malaysian conglomerate YTL Corporation Bhd in the proposal to build a controversial arena in the city located in southwest England.

The photos were posted by Twitter account @totterdown_, showing an open briefcase filled with the red-coloured notes, floating on a shallow water feature in front of the Bristol City Hall.

“Spotted these images on Reddit — titled ‘Malaysian cash keeps floating into #Bristol’ guess someone is maybe trying to make a point about the @bristolarenal and YTL,” said the tweet, which mentioned an unofficial Twitter account of the arena.

Advertisement

The tweet included the hashtag #SaveBristolArena, and Bristol Live reported that the account has been “a vociferous critic” of the proposal.

The portal said the stunt may allude to the entry of YTL into the controversial debate over the arena, after it announced its plans to convert a hangar at Filton Airfield located north of the city.

 

Advertisement

 

Originally opened in 1910, the airfield last owned by BAE Systems was used as a private airport by Bristol’s aerospace industry.

Bristol Post reported that it was closed in 2012, and then sold to YTL in 2015 for an undisclosed sum.

The paper reported in March this year that YTL announced its plan to transform the Brabazon Hangars into a world-class arena to rival London’s O2 and Birmingham’s NEC.

Bristol council had planned to build a 12,000-seater arena near the city’s Temple Meads station.

The tweet came on the eve of its mayor Marvin Rees’ announcement yesterday, confirming that the land in the city will not be used for the arena, despite already spending £12 million to prepare the land, according to Bristol Live.