Local movie Mat Kilau creates history, rakes in RM47mil in 11 days

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Mat Kilau film purely fictional, not for historical reference: historian

Ranjit Singh Malhi is an independent historian who has written 19 books on Malaysian, Asian, and world history. – Pic courtesy of Ranjit Singh Malhi, July 12, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR – The Malay blockbuster film Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (Mat Kilau: Rise of the Warrior) should only be promoted as a work of pure fiction and should not serve as a reference for the nation’s history, says Ranjit Singh Malhi.

The independent historian, who has written 19 books on Malaysian, Asian, and world history, said this is because the film is littered with factual and historical inaccuracies, which could mislead the public into believing that its scenes depict actual events that transpired in the past.

For example, one of the glaring factual mistakes in the movie is in the opening scene showing British officer H.C. Syers and Sikh military policemen mounting an attack on Pahang Malays at Kuala Tembeling while pursuing three “rebels” in 1890.

Ranjit pointed out that Syers had gone to Pahang only in 1891, and that no such brutal attack by Syers and his men ever took place.

Furthermore, he said, other scenes, especially those involving the silat martial arts style of fighting and the weapons used are incorrectly portrayed.

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