10 May - Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently took to social media to help promote and sing praises for the biopic, "Anwar: The Untold Story", which recently held its premiere in Malaysia. On 9 May, the 75-year-old politician shared a series of photos from the event, which was attended by the cast and crew of the movie, and admitted that the storyline, which revolves around his political struggles, truly touched his heart. "This film also reminds me of the pain and burden borne by Azizah, the children and our friends. Although the entire dialogue and narration are not totally the same, the issues raised in the work are real events," he wrote.
He also complimented the movie team for a job well done, saying, "My salute to the wonderful production team for being able to condense decades of storytelling into a film lasting about 90 minutes." The upcoming movie, directed by Indonesian filmmaker Viva Westi ("Jenderal Soedirman", "Serambi"), is executive produced by satirical cartoonist Zunar. It stars Farid Kamil and Acha Septriasa as Anwar and wife Wan Azizah, and the challenges they face from the moment he was appointed the Financial Minister to the time of his firing as Deputy Prime Minister in 1998.
Songstress Siti Nurhaliza performed the song, "Menjaga Cintamu", composed by Indonesia's Andi Rianto and written by Sekar Ayu Asmara, as part of the soundtrack of "Anwar: The Untold Story". "I am grateful when the PM praised it. It means that he is satisfied with the efforts made by the songwriters and me, especially since I was not well when I was recording the song," she said. Siti stated that she was having a sore throat while she was recording the song and had wanted to try and record the song again, but that Andi loved the raspy tone of her voice, and told her that it suited the feel of the song. "The song Menjaga Cintamu was produced for a figure like Anwar who sacrificed a lot alongside his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was often patient and held back a lot of feelings throughout their struggles," she said.