Family of film directors with the ‘golden touch’

Compiled by MAHADHIR MONIHULDIN, BEH YUEN HUI and R. ARAVINTHAN

THE top three highest-grossing Malaysian films of all time are directed by the members of one family – that of famed director Datuk Yusof Haslam (pic), Metro Ahad reported.

Yusof and his two sons, Syamsul, 39, and Syafiq, 30, are now considered film directors with the “golden touch” after their movies raked in tens of millions of ringgit at the local box office.

Syafiq’s latest film, Polis Evo 3, successfully made over RM40mil after premiering on May 25.

It is the third highest grossing film after Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (RM97mil) and Munafik 2 (RM48mil), both directed by his older brother, Syamsul.

Yusof himself made history for directing Sembilu II in 1995, which was the first Malaysian film to earn RM6mil.

Yusof told the daily that he never thought that his children would follow in his footsteps as a full-time director.

“But I can’t deny that now is their time to shine. I believe that they are more creative than I was as I used to work solely from experience and followed an old-school approach,” he said.

> Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Nurul Syazwani Noh are among the personalities tipped to contest in the upcoming Selangor state election under the Perikatan Nasional ticket, Sinar Ahad reported.

A source said that Wan Saiful, who is MP for Tasek Gelugor, could contest the Sungai Ramal state seat which is currently held by Pakatan Harapan assemblyman Mazwan Johar.

The source said Wan Saiful had been spotted on the ground in Sungai Ramal attending various programmes including leading the Perikatan election machinery for the Bangi parliamentary constituency.

It was also revealed that Nurul Syazwani, who is the daughter of former Tanjong Karang Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar, will be contesting the Permatang state seat under the Tanjung Karang parliamentary constituency.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.