RHB Bank dissects underlying social tensions in Merdeka Day film

RHB Bank's national day film titled “Teguh Bersama” (Stronger Together) dissects the underlying tensions that commonly plague the nation’s social fabric while highlighting the one thing that always keeps Malaysians together and at peace - their shared love for their homeland.

Done together with FCB SHOUT, Teguh Bersama is a story about a group of school children who found themselves at odds with one another after being tasked to work together to paint a mural for their school. What started out as a harmonious and cooperative project quickly turned into a debacle of one-upmanship, verbal disagreements and even physical altercations. However, when a catastrophic force threatened to derail and destroy the entire project, what divided the students quickly became what united them in the end.

The film, which first launched on 8 August and currently runs on all of RHB's social and digital channels, has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, according to the bank. 

Abdul Sani Abdul Murad, CMO of RHB Group, said: “This film is an incredible reflection of the Malaysian spirit and RHB’s brand belief of ‘Together We Progress’. Living in this multi-racial, multi-cultural and democratic country, it’s inevitable that we find ourselves disagreeing with one another time after time. But, at the end of the day, we all want what’s best for Malaysia because it is a home that we share,”

“And like true siblings, we always put aside our differences, come together and stand up for one another whenever adversity strikes. That’s just who we are as Malaysians, and often, it’s this quality we possess that has helped us weather many storms since our independence 65 years ago,” he added.

Wang Ie Tjer, FCB SHOUT’s head of creative, said: “Malaysia, being such a diverse nation, has an inevitably complex social fabric. Hence, we are delighted to be able to capture the essence of what national celebrations mean to us with such a simple, meaningful and uplifting spot. Huge appreciation to our production partners at PRS Films and GT Records for helping us bring this beautiful story to life.”

Ong Shi Ping, FCB SHOUT’s co-owner and chief creative officer added: “The past two and a half years of challenging times have proven that Malaysians will always rise to the occasion together when it matters most, and we hope this film serves as a timely reminder for us to continue upholding our unique brand of unity.”

Earlier this year, RHB also launched a separate film in celebration of the Chinese New Year titled “A Spark for a Change”. The film aims to spark hope for sustainable progress this Chinese New Year by telling the true story of 10 children hailing from a small fishing village in Teluk Intan, and how they inspired the villagers to be mindful of their waste, said RHB.

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