PETRONAS taps on the nostalgia of Sudirman Arshad in National Day film

In conjunction with Malaysia’s upcoming National Day and Malaysia Day, PETRONAS has released a nostalgic brand film titled ‘Rai’. The film features the late Sudirman Haji Arshad’s song Warisan and depicts the spirit of friendship and unity, bound by the nostalgic power of music.

Set in 1986, the film begins with a former PETRONAS employee named Amri, who picks up a cassette and reminisces about the time he and his friend, Maniam, moved to Kuala Lumpur as newly employed PETRONAS employees. 

Don't miss: Telekom Malaysia blends music and generative AI for national day

Created in collaboration with Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS), the film also transports viewers back in time to Sudirman’s concert in Chow Kit. Amir falls in love at first sight with Su Lin, a dance performer for the concert, and ends up embarrassing himself to impress her.

“The 70s and 80s was a time of immense transformation in Malaysia. Cities were blossoming with the advent of capitalism, industrialisation and commercialisation, and PETRONAS was at the very heart of our nation’s evolution," said Iskandar Putra, group business director at MBCS.

“Our National Day and Malaysia Day film is inspired by the nostalgia and melody that continue to unite people across generations and cultures in Malaysia,” added PETRONAS general manager of group strategic relations and communications, Mohd Fazli Ibrahim.

“Embodying the festive theme for 2023, ‘Roots of Our Future’, this film centres on the shared history and heritage that have united Malaysians throughout the years,” he also said..

Sudirman’s song, Warisan (heritage) tells the story of one’s love for their country’s heritage and is described by Amir to be a song that best tells the story of Malaysia. As Sudirman’s 1986 Chow Kit concert saw 100,000 people gather and many more tuning into the concert on their televisions, the concert was portrayed to be a moment where Malaysians came together as a family despite their differences to enjoy the blessings that they have.

The film also commemorates PETRONAS’ 49th Anniversary. Ibrahim adds, “For us, this nearly five-decade milestone shares the same spirit as the National Day and Malaysia Day film, where past success lays the foundation for future progress.”

PETRONAS has also been bolstering its digital capabilities. Recently, its digital arm, PETRONAS Digital, entered into a strategic collaboration with Microsoft and Cegal to accelerate digital innovation for the upstream value chain. 

The collaboration was formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by PETRONAS' digital chief executive officer, Phuah Aik Chong, Microsoft Malaysia’s managing director K Raman, and Cegal’s CEO, Dagfinn Ringas. Also present at the signing was PETRONAS’ VP of group technology and commercialisation, Aadrin Azly. 

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