Firemen, school students get free movie treats for Anwar propaganda film as claims of box office flop grow
It comes amid claims by producers who accuse cinema operators of sabotage following poor turnouts.
(Malaysia Now) – The government has reached out to school students and firefighters with free screenings of a propaganda film depicting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as a graft fighter, days after producers accuse cinema operators of sabotaging the movie following a poor response from the public.
This came on the back of claims by producers that the movie has been attracting full houses in cinemas nationwide, alongside a campaign by supporters of the prime minister to get crowds to fill up cinema halls by offering free tickets.
The latest instalment in the campaign takes the form of a letter to Form Six students of a secondary school in Putrajaya, inviting them to join Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to watch the movie “Anwar: The Untold Story”, an Indonesian-made movie set in the 1990s when Anwar was the deputy prime minister under Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s government.
MalaysiaNow’s attempts to reach Fadhlina and her ministry officials for comments on the letter have been futile.
A memo from the director of the Fire and Rescue Department urging staff and officers to attend a free screening of ‘Anwar: The Untold Story’, and (right) a letter to students of a school in Putrajaya inviting them to join Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to watch the movie.
Meanwhile, a short clip making the rounds shows PKR’s Selayang MP William Leong addressing the audience before the movie screening at a cinema, while repeatedly urging them to join in shouts of “reformasi”, Anwar’s battlecry after he was sacked by Mahathir in 1998 over allegations of immorality.
On May 20, staff and officials of the Fire and Rescue Department also attended a free screening, joined by the secretary-general of the local government development ministry Noor Azman Taib and other top officials.
The staff of the department was invited through a memo from the office of the director, urging them to attend a screening at a cinema in IOI City Mall in Putrajaya.
The aggressive promotion of the movie prompted many social media users to post remarks laced with sarcasm, one of which questioned why there were still empty seats in a cinema hall despite tickets being “sold out”.
Last week, producers claimed the film brought in RM1 million on its first day of screening, only to later say that it was not given screening slots as requested by cinema operators.
The claim drew strong criticism, with many saying it showed the film was not well received despite much fanfare by supporters of Anwar.
