KUALA LUMPUR – Police are investigating threats against the director and screenwriter of the film Mentega Terbang after both of them lodged police reports.
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan told Bernama that both individuals received threats yesterday, including paint splashed on a Proton Saga belonging to one of the complainants.
Hussein said a note was also found near the car with words that “contained criminal threats against the complainant’s life”, Bernama quoted him as saying.
This threat occurred at an open parking lot in Taman Dagang Jaya, Ampang at about 6.30am, Hussein added.
The matter is being investigated by the Ampang Jaya police under Sections 507 and 427 of the Penal Code.
The second complainant reported damage to the film crew’s vehicle with paint in Kajang yesterday at about 3.15am. A note with threatening words was also found inside a white envelope.
Hussein said the second complainant also received a message by phone threatening himself and his family.
This incident will be investigated by Kajang police under the same sections of the Penal Code that pertain to committing treachery and criminal threats, which carry penalties of a fine or imprisonment, or both.
Hussein said police take these threats seriously and urged the public with information on the matter to contact the nearest police station or to inform the investigating officers, inspector Mu’az Mazlan at 017-978-8804 (Kajang) or inspector Alif at 018-983-4211 (Ampang).
Yesterday, Mentega Terbang director Khairi Anwar Jailani, 30, told The Vibes of the death threats he and his family received over the movie that discussed religious differences on the afterlife and on Muslims eating pork.
He received a note that said “You and your family must die” in addition to having red and black paint splashed on his car.
Other written notes read: “Islam must rise #MentegaTerbang”, “Remember your family’s safety Mentega Terbang”, and “Mentega Terbang don’t challenge Islam”.
Khairi in his police report had also said that his colleague, actor Arjun Thanaraju, faced similar intimidation – his car was splashed with paint and he also received threatening notes.
Khairi yesterday said he and others involved in the film had previously received threats on social media, but these have now escalated into real-life aggression because the government failed to act on threats made on social media.
Amid complaints by non-governmental organisations about the film, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said the film went against Islamic theology, while the Home Ministry, which oversees the Film Censorship Board, said matters relating to the film were outside its purview, as the movie was only screened online.
The 2021 film, first released at the Jogja-Netpac Film Festival had several police reports lodged against it for containing scenes “disturbing to Muslims”.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, whom Khairi had named as a government figure who failed to act, yesterday tweeted his condemnation of the intimidation Khairi and his film colleagues had received.
“Follow the law, don’t take matters into your own hands,” Fahmi tweeted. – The Vibes, March 17, 2023
