Tanda Putera 'ban' in Penang shows DAP hypocrisy, says Hisham

The move taken by the DAP-led Penang government in asking cinema operators in the state not to screen the Tanda Putera movie is proof of DAP's hypocrisy in fighting for press freedom and freedom of speech, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.

Hishammuddin, however, said he was not surprised with the move as he knew that DAP would only fight for something that would benefit them.

"It is obvious that DAP has looked at the screening of the movie through racist eyes," he said in a statement here yesterday.

"Why didn't the Penang government say anything when a movie insulting the Malays is produced for public screening?" he said, adding that it was clear that the Penang government's move was politically motivated and aimed at hiding the truth about the country's history.

'Tanda Putera', directed by Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba, is a historical biographical film about Malaysia's second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and his then deputy Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman set around the time after the 1969 racial riots.