While online news is abuzz with the revelation of a fake water crisis being acted out at a residential apartment in Petaling Jaya for a BN advertisement, a blog has revealed the identity of one of the 'extras'.
Pointing to a photo of a long 'queue' by dozens of outsiders who descended upon the Happy Mansion flat to take part in the shooting of the film, the blog identified one of them as Mohd Ali Baharom, the lead character of the infamous 'butt protest' outside the home of Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan last May.
"Observe closely the main actor in the production of the film 'Selangor's Water Problem' which is aimed at running down the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor. And look at his commando hat too!" quipped a posting on Kelab Greenbog, which is among the top-ten most popular pro-PR blogs.
Ali, president of a little-known group called Malay Army Veterans Association, shot to infamy when he appeared with a group of middle aged men at Ambiga's Bukit Damansara home to protest the Bersih 3.0 rally which had then just concluded. Carrying explicit posters condemning Ambiga and passing lewd remarks on opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, they stood with their rears facing Ambiga's gate. Prior to that, Ali had confessed to paying RM250,000 to a fake agent in return for a Datukship.
Harakahdaily is unable to verify Ali's presence on the set in Petaling Jaya this morning, where residents woke up to see a hive of activity outside their units. Streams of people, numbering about 200, many of them outsiders, were seen lining up to fill their pails from a water truck, with occasional instructions given to them to show anguish over lack of water.
The shooting was later revealed to be part of the BN Federal government's campaign in its battle with the Selangor state government over water management. Each 'extra' is believed to have received RM50 for their acting role.
While the Federal government insista that the Klang Valley is faced with water shortage, the PR-led state government has dismissed it as a pretext to build the Langat 2 dam and to increase water tariff as demanded by controversial water concessionaire SYABAS, a move strongly resisted by the state.
When approached by reporters from news portal Malaysiakini, producers Cheong Wai Leng and Chow Chun Son refused to give details of the film, saying they were bound by their contract with the sponsors.
State exco and Sri Andalas assemblyman Xavier Jayakumar meanwhile compared the film shooting to the 1997 film 'Wag the Dog', showing how spin doctors and film producers colluded to fabricate a war on the media in the run-up to the US presidential election.
"I think this is the desperate move of a bunch of guys who have lost everything and have no idea what to do," he was quoted by Malaysiakini as saying.
-Harakahdaily
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