2 Sept – "Tanda Putera" has been the subject of scrutiny lately with its political controversy and though these factors might seem like a good reason for people to buy movie tickets, the movie has still yet to call itself a box office success. The Shuhaimi Baba directed film reportedly performed below expectations when it came to ticket purchases at cinemas across the country. It has not been very popular with the local audience, while a source revealed that only a handful of seats were occupied for each screening. "Tanda Putera" has so far raked in a total of RM420, 000 for the next three days of screening since its opening on 29 August 2013. "The weak results at the box office is because many people thought that the film was going to be banned in the entire country, but that reason was only true for Penang," Shuhaimi Baba stated.
The controversial film, which cost RM4.8 million to produce, was a joint effort by the National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) and the Multimedia Development Corporation about a story of Malaysia's second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and his good friend, then Home Affairs Minister Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman. Several groups have complained that the movie had portrayed minorities in a bad light, with some alleging the film does nothing for national integration, but instead, stokes hatred. This also resulted in Penang to only release the film on 30 August, rather than 29 August like the rest of the country. Earlier on the state refused to show the film at all but they risked having their licences revoked. "Creative license does not give anyone the license to spread lies that may cause racial disharmony and conflicts," said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng over the directive that the state first issued to ban all screenings of "Tanda Putera".