Rosyam: TN50 event was under control

Actor says he handled situation well after he is rapped for scuffle in front of PM

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Rosyam Nor, who moderated the National Transformation (TN50) dialogue session when a headline-making scuffle happened, said he had the situation under control.

“I’m not new to being a moderator. I was mature enough in handling the situation. If it was someone else, it might have been quite difficult for them to handle,” said the producer-actor.

Rosyam was criticised by netizens for failing to moderate well following the incident on Wednesday when producer David Teo and actor-comedian Sulaiman Yassin (known as Mat Over) fought right in front of the Prime Minister during the dialogue at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya.

He also said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak liked the way he had handled the proceedings.

“I’m very experienced in handling programmes for government agencies.

“For the TN50 event, I had asked the PM to go for a relaxed session and begin with a selfie,” he told mStar, The Star’s Bahasa Malaysia portal, yesterday.

As an artiste, Rosyam said he was disappointed with what had taken place when people in the industry were given the opportunity to air their opinions.

He added that Najib had given a positive response to the ideas put forward and answered 90% of the questions raised.

“The PM even agreed to have a similar dialogue again,” he said.

Persatuan Seniman Malaysia president Zed Zaidi urged artistes who were not present at the event to refrain from weighing in on the issue as it gives a negative image of the performing arts world.

“It would only complicate matters. What they watched on the viral video is not the whole picture,” he told mStar.

He was responding to the Instagram post by comedian and filmmaker Afdlin Shauki, who blamed Rosyam for failing to control the situation.

Afdlin’s post on Thursday evening was accompanied by a grainy video of two dwarfs in a boxing match.

He also questioned the purpose of Rosyam aggravating the situation by stating “dia ni memang kurang ajar (he is really uncouth)” in reference to Teo speaking to Najib.

“Isn’t it better to just apologise for artistes who were overly eager to stand out? Our Prime Minister was relaxed, under control, and there were many bodyguards to control the situation,” Afdlin added.

He urged Zed to take action over the incident.

Seniman represents some 6,000 members of the entertainment industry.

On Thursday, Teo, the CEO of Metrowealth Pictures, and Mat Over had said they were putting the ugly episode behind them and urged Malaysians to do likewise.

The incident happened after Teo raised his voice at Rosyam for focusing only on those seated in front, and Mat Over then darted over to slap Teo for allegedly behaving rudely in front of Najib.

I’m not new to being a moderator. I was mature enough in handling the situation.

Datuk Rosyam Nor