HIGHLIGHT
Was 'Polis Evo 2' Inspired By These Real-Life Malaysian Hostage Situations?
Unless you've been living under a huge rock, you would know that one local movie is currently dominating cinemas nationwide: 'Polis Evo 2'.
Starring local stars Zizan Razak and Shaheizy Sam, 'Polis Evo 2' revolves around Inspector Sani and Inspector Khai, who were sent on a snooping mission on a remote island on the east coast.
However, things took a twisted turn when a group of terrorists led by one Hafsyam Jauhari attacked and captured the island. To make matters worse, both Sani and Khai were seperated from each other; Sani was captured by the terrorists along with 200 other hostages, while Khai was trapped in the village area.
Together with a police officer from Indonesia named Rian and four special forces members sent by the Malaysian government, Khai and Sani have to fight their way out of the village, defeat Hafsyam and rescue 200 hostages.
#NoPressure.
Although the 'Polis Evo 2' director or writers did not mention where they got the inspiration for the movie from, we have a feeling that these real-life hostage rescue missions could've played a small part in the storyline:
#1 AIA building hostage crisis (1975)
What happened:
On 5 August 1975, five members of the Japanese Red Army - a militant organisation intent on overthrowing the Japanese government - stormed the American Insurance Associates (AIA) building in Jalan Ampang, which at the time housed the United States and Swedish embassies. They took more than 50 people hostage.
The JRA demanded that the government release several of their imprisoned leaders, and if they don't meet their request, they will massacre all of the hostages, which included the United States consul and the Swedish chargé d'affaires.
The crisis lasted five days, with then Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak and Home Minister Ghazali Shafie actively involved in negotiations.
How did it end?
Fairly peaceful, thankfully. No casualties were reported, although scores of policemen were injured in a firefight during the early days of the siege.
After five days of intense negotiations, the Japanese government relented and agreed to release five JRA leaders, who were then sent on an airplane to Kuala Lumpur.
To ensure that they have a safe passage, then Deputy Transport Minister Dato' Ramli Omar and secretary-general for the Home Ministry Tan Sri Osman Samsuddin Cassim were exchanged with the terrorists as hostages. When the plane touched down in Kuala Lumpur, the hostage-takers got onto the plane with their freed leaders and flew to Libya.
Omar and Cassim were later released unharmed on 10 August.
#2 Pudu Prison siege (1986)
What happened:
Arguably one of Malaysia's most high-profile hostage situations, the infamous Pudu Prison siege happened on 17 October 1986. A Singporean criminal by the name of Jimmy Chua, together with five other prisoners, rushed into a prison clinic and held two medical officers hostage.
Armed with sharpened shoe heels and other improvised weapons, they demanded that the authorities reduce the charges against them. Chua, who was being held at the Pudu Prison for killing a police officer, repeatedly demanded that the prison authorities to free him and his friends, as well as a getaway car and some cash.
The stand-off lasted six days, and when things seemed like it would drag on some more, the police found the perfect opportunity to strike.
How did it end?
On 22 October, a Unit Tindak Khas (UTK) team led by ACP A. Navaratnam quietly stormed the clinic with the help of an inmate, who signaled the team when he noticed that Chua and the hostage takers were sleeping.
Caught by surprise and probably weak from the ordeal, the hostage takers barely put up a fight as the mission was completed in less than a minute!
No casualties were reported, as the UTK team went in with only batons and rattan canes as then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had given orders to resolve the crisis without bloodshed.
On 10 October 1989, Chua and the other prisoners were hanged after being convicted for kidnapping.
#3 The MV Bunga Laurel hijacking (2011)
What happened:
On 20 January 2011, a Malaysia-operated chemical tanker called MV Bunga Laurel was attacked by a group of Somali pirates 300 nautical miles east of Muscat, Oman. At the time, the tanker was carrying RM30mil worth of lubricating oil.
Armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols, seven of the 18 pirates boarded the ship and trapped 23 Filipino crewmembers on board. Before the crewmembers retreated to a specially designed security compartment to hide, they activated the Ship Security Alert System and cut off the power to the ship's lights and main engines.
KA Bunga Mas Lima, an auxiliary ship belonging to the Royal Malaysian Navy, picked up the distress call and subsequently deployed an attack helicopter and 14 Pasukan Khas Laut (PASKAL) members to attempt to take back the ship.
How did it end?
After one night of trailing the tanker, Bunga Mas Lima dispatched two boats carrying 14 commandos to board the tanker with a Fennec attack helicopter providing reconnaissance and aerial gunfire.
The pirates and the commandos engaged in an intense firefight, while the pirates' mothership, which was loitering nearby with the remaining pirates, was unable to approach Bunga Laurel to provide support.
In the end, the Malaysian forces successfully took back the tanker with no casualties reported from the rescue team. They managed to capture four pirates and rescue all 23 crewmembers.
Of course, the scenes in 'Polis Evo 2' were highly dramatised to make the movie more entertaining because hey, what's an action movie without lots of explosions and outrageous fight scenes, right?
Find out how Inspector Khai, Inspector Sani and Rian fight their way out of a hostage situation in 'Polis Evo 2', which is currently in cinemas.