THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR NEW FINAS CHAIRMAN POST

With Melaka conferring the DMSM award to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan which carries the title of Datuk, I figure, heck, since he has contributed so much to our film industry he should also be appointed as the FINAS's new Chairman replacing Tan Sri Dato Dr Jins Shamsuddin.
He (Shah Rukh) has all the right credentials - he is global, he has star power, he knows where Malaysia is, made a few video clips here and there in Malaysia, he has rubbed shoulders with Malaysia's elite and even the fact that he is not a Malay can be considered (currently) politically right (government can use him to help solve the Hindraf problem maybe) and oh yes, he is knowledgeable about movies - and heck he is a lot handsomer than Jins.

Datuk Shah Rukh Khan - Melaka's tourism ambassador.

I have received a lot of angry SMSs about Shah Rukh Khan receiving the Datukship. From friends in the industry and also non-film people. They question the reasoning behind such a move.

My father, who has directed more than 20 award winning movies, who was also one of the pioneers of the Malay film industry and wrote lyrics for P. Ramlee including Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, who was also one of the original founders of ASAS 50, and to date wrote three books - only got his Datukship from Melaka in the year 2001 - exactly 44 years after he made his first movie Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup. That's a long time and a lot of contribution to the nation.
His movies, including Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan and many others, have been screened world wide and won awards.
Yet, it took him 44 years to receive his Datukship.
Shah Rukh Khan shot a couple of video clips in Ayer Keroh including one for the movie One Two ka Four (which was not received well by the movie going public and the critics). According to Melaka CM YAB Datuk Seri Ali Rustam, the clip promoted Melaka to India and the world, and because of this Shah Rukh Khan is eligible for a Datukship.
Using that same logic, John Milius and Nick Nolte should both have received their Datukships from Sarawak for promoting the state in the movie Farewell To The King, and so too Sean Connery for the movie Entrapment which was shot in Kuala Lumpur.
And whomever wins the F1 in Sepang should also be given Datukships for bringing Malaysia into the spot light once a year.
It seems our State governments have been very generous this year.
One guy won the silver medal at the Olympics - and received a Datukship. Imagine what title he would have received if he had won the gold medal! A TanSriship maybe!
Hey why not travel to space and make teh tarik and you too can get a Datukship. Yes. Swim the English channel, travel to the North and South Poles, be the world squash champion or number one, receive a Datukship!
Come come, do something spectacular and get a Datukship.
Myself? Nahhh nothing I have done entitles me to a Datukship. All I've done is made three movies of which two have been screened in many places around the world. I've also assisted John Milius in the movie Farewell To The King. I was also TV3's first producer creating Nona and Kuali. I was also part of the group who first organised the country's first International Defence show. I then created a company that was amongst the first to get MSC Status and then I led investors to pump more than Rm15 million to participate in the country's eGovernment initiative and started the first network of e-service centers allowing people to their theory road test on computers. I was one of the few filmmakers who was part of the corporate scene. I wrote two books - one already published by Muzium Negara.
Produced many television series over the last 20 years including one TV series entitled Melaka and another Teater Novel. I produced a ten-minute video of Melaka's 600-year history for the Melaka museum. I brought an international exhibition to Melaka during the SAS outbreak. Nothing much compared to Shah Rukh Khan's four minute music and dance clip in a movie shown around the world.
But to tell you the truth, I don't begrudge all these Malaysians who received their Datukships. Why? Well, because they are all Malaysians.
Michelle Yeoh too is Malaysian (an Ipoh lass). And yes, she promoted Hongkong and Hollywood movies! Not a single Malaysian movie okay?! But she's Malaysian. So she deserved her Datukship. So too her husband I guess from marrying a Malaysian-born actress. Wonder why Tsai Ming Liang hasn't received a Datukship.
But Shah Rukh Khan? Is he Malaysian? Does he own any Malaysian companies? Does he do charity in Malaysia? Does he have Malaysian roots? Was his grandfather twice removed a Melaka resident? Does he know where Melaka is? Does he know who Hang Tuah is?
Does he know who Ali Rustam is?
Even the conspiracy theorists have come out of the wood works. One, a friend of mine told me that the wife of one of our top leaders is very close to Shah Rukh Khan - in fact, she is smitten by him. I have even heard of rumours - these are rumours okay and not substantiated in any way - that said there were a lot of bills that were not settled when a movie involving SRK wrapped. This included a hefty hotel bill. The amount? Nearing a million Ringgit.
This powerful woman demanded one of our ministries to settle the bill and not make a big fuss about it. It was done. What is a mere million ringgit write off to get onto the good books of this powerful woman? That's how powerful this lady is rumoured to be okay?
So maybe the leaders in Melaka wanted to appease this fiery lady and offer her favourite Bollywood film star a Datukship. Everyone now wants to get onto her good side because she will be one the most powerful and most influential women in the country soon okay. So, if you give her favourite Bollywood star a datukship, maybe, she will say good things to her husband and then maybe they will get into the good books of her now very powerful husband.
Maybe.
There's soooo many funny things happening to our country now, that I can't seem to write my scripts. Why? How can I compete with real life? It's so dramatic, so comical and so scary.
So to keep within the spirit of this current flux, why not appoint Datuk Shah Rukh Khan as the new FINAS Chairman? I sokong! I too want to get brownie points with the country's most powerful woman.