ABOUT

The former Prime Minister of Malaysia, who was charged with corruption amounting to billions of Ringgit in the infamous 1MDB scandal, recently received a Royal pardon which halved his jail sentence. Coupled with the fact that severe punishments and long prison sentences imposed on commoners who had to resort to petty crimes to survive were becoming more and more common, the subject of injustice had been at the tip of most Malaysians' lips in recent times.

Aside from that, the racial divide between the three major races of Malaysia - Malay, Chinese and Indian - has become more apparent in Malaysia's social fabric, all thanks to the aggressive racial policies and politics employed by the politicians as they continue to wrestle for power. This had cause many Malaysians to lose faith in being able to co-exist harmoniously in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society.

As a challenger brand, RHB's brand purpose is to 'Make Progress Happen For Everyone'. To inspire Malaysians that they too can achieve progress, RHB has been using the festive occasions of Malaysia to champion the true stories of real Malaysians who have made progress happen for their communities.

As a brand that is known for not shying away from the difficult environmental and social subjects, RHB decided to tell a true story for Eid 2024 that would inspire the nation and prove that justice and racial unity are actually inherent in all Malaysians.

This film is based on a true story.

In 1998, Malay lawyer Ahmad Zaharil witnessed an Indian woman being brought into the courthouse. Upon learning that the woman stole a pencil case for her son in order to fulfil her promise for his good grades, and the fact that she could be imprisoned up to 7 years, Ahmad Zaharil decided to represent her pro bono.

Ahmad Zaharil went above and beyond his call of duty to defend the stranger. Thanks to Ahmad Zaharil's relentless efforts, the Indian woman was finally released on Good Behaviour Bond by the Chinese judge.

About 20 years later, a young lawyer approached Ahmad Zaharil in the courthouse and introduced himself as the son of the Indian woman. Ahmad Zaharil efforts did not only ensure justice was given to the woman, but also gave her son the opportunity to progress in life by following his footsteps.

As of writing, the film garnered over 41 million views, over 340,000 likes, close to 8,000 comments and approximately 50,000 shares, making it the best-performing film of all time for RHB and the most viewed Eid film in the country of the year. And these figures are merely from the brand's social media platforms. The film sparked thousands of conversations among netizens, with majority of them indicating how the film inspired them to put aside racial differences to work together in building a fairer society.

The film became a viral sensation overnight. It made headlines on the national papers and national television and spawned a plethora of 'reaction videos' by Youtube content creators from all over the world. It was featured prominently by Malaysian, regional as well as international media and even the current Prime Minister of Malaysia sent a personal congratulatory note to the representatives of the brand.