KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — In his first appearance on the political stage, actor-cum-producer and now politician, Datuk Afdlin Shauki said that he joined PKR as he wanted to see Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim become prime minister.

In his speech at the “Meet Anwar” event here, Afdlin who received his membership to the Setiawangsa division in front of a packed audience later, also praised Anwar for appreciating artists like himself.

Afdlin who was originally trained as an architect before his foray into the entertainment industry, related as to how challenging the industry has been for a while now, adding that he does not get any “jobs” like before.

Now the chief executive of Petra Vision Works Sdn Bhd under Datuk Vinod Sekhar’s Petra Group, Afdlin likened artistss to “labourers who get to be in magazines.”

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“Anything that you need [Anwar], from the media perspective, we are ready to help.

“Why am I here is because I believe that last time, I wanted to make people happy, secondly I want to help people and thirdly, my dream which I mentioned about earlier, is to see Anwar becoming our prime minister,” he said in his speech.

In his speech, Afdlin said that he had initially planned to spend his old days by doing charity work, but began thinking about his children’s future, along with other children here.

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He said the “only way” for every Malaysian to be taken care of, is to have Anwar lead as prime minister.

“This is because among many, and I know as I have met many. There is no one who respects artistes like Anwar,” he added.

Afdlin also took a veiled jab at two-time former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whom he accused of never supporting the art industry.

“I have met him to seek help for the filming industry. He said to read books,” Afdlin said, mimicking Dr Mahathir’s tone later.

Afdlin said those in the industry like him are thinkers who work hard to solve problems every day, relating to the content they aim to create.

However, he lamented that their welfare is not cared for, and are left without the Employees’ Provident Fund and Social Security Organisation savings.

Besides Afdlin, retired rapper Altimet also joined PKR this week and appeared in the event tonight.