'Pulau' intended to promote Malaysia's islands and diversity, says movie producer

'Pulau' producer Fred Chong says the intention of the film is to promote Malaysia's islands and diversity. Photo: Jazmy Juma/Instagram

Pulau producer Fred Chong said the intention of the film is to promote the beauty of Malaysia’s islands and cultural diversity.

His statement came after the film’s trailer drew flak from the public for allegedly displaying “explicit and suggestive” scenes.

Speaking to mStar, The Star’s Malay language portal, Chong explained: “Our intention is to promote the beautiful islands and exotic scenery Malaysia has to offer.

“With beautiful natural locations like sandy beaches, jungles, hidden caves and waterfalls which are featured in the film, we aim to showcase the beauty of Langkawi to the whole world.”

Aside from promoting Malaysia’s islands, Chong shared that Pulau will highlight Malaysia as a diverse country.

“The cast members come from different backgrounds that are unique; there are Malays, Chinese, Indians and Eurasians.

“The (local film) industry needs to show the audience that Malaysia is a family consisting of multiple races and cultures ... that everyone is living together in harmony. That’s the vision I had when making Pulau,” he clarified.

According to mStar, the Malaysian Film Producers Association (PFM) has rubbished accusations that Pulau contained pornographic materials after conducting a pre-screening following Finas’ Mandatory Screening Scheme.

Earlier, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that he is of the opinion that the trailer was not suitable for viewing.

The Star reported Fahmi had personally contacted Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) after the release of the trailer, and it's understood that the producer agreed to withdraw the trailer and prepare a new edit.

According to Fahmi, he was also made to understand that based on the report he received, there is a possibility that some of the scenes that were cut somehow made it to the trailer.