A DAP assemblyperson has urged the government to seriously reconsider Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's invitation to Indian superstar Rajinikanth to film the sequel of the movie “Kabali” in Malaysia.

Najib reportedly extended the invitation to superstar Rajinikanth during his recent visit to India.

Seri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer said this movie, which was a big hit in the country last year, does more harm than good.

“The government should instead encourage the local Indian film industry by supporting local Indian directors and artistes.

“Support the production of local Indian movies, which would promote the positive traits and values of Malaysians, such as unity, courtesy, cultural diversity, respecting the elders and so on,” Rayer (photo) said in a statement today.

He was referring to what he described as the “Kabali" culture, which he claimed was rife in schools, especially among Indian students.

He said joining gangs like 04, 24, 08 and 36 was now becoming a trend in schools.

“This is where students pay monthly protection money to these gangs and go through elaborate initiation rituals, including getting their bodies tatooed with the symbols of these gangs,” Rayer said.

Manifestation of the 'Kabali' culture

Rayer said an incident in a school in Klang last week was actually a manifestation of the “Kabali” culture.

According to a Bernama report on April 23, two video clips went viral on social media, showing a group of men, believed to be members of Gang 24, causing a stir outside a school in Klang.

The report said the first video showed a group of people shouting and holding a banner with '24' and 'TD4' displayed on it.

The second video showed a cake with the words 'SMK Sri Andalas', '24' and 'Apache' written on it, Bernama reported.

Rayer said such culture was “spreading silently like wild fire at an alarming rate”, especially among Indian students in secondary schools.

He said the movie 'Kabali', although a hit, shockingly promoted all the negative elements in society

These include elements of violence, murder, gangsterism, disunity (a battle between Chinese and Indian dons), drug dealings and gangsterism.

Rayer also said it was rather irresponsible for Education Minister Mahadzir Khalid to say that the school should just expel all the boys who were arrested in the incident in Klang last week.

“Expelling them from school will only contribute to another vicious cycle of unemployment and an increase in crime as these boys would resort to robbery, and drug peddling as their only source of income, as history and statistics have shown,” Rayer said.

“We urge Mahadzir and Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan to set up a special task force to rid schools of the culture of joining secret societies, especially among the Indian students,” he added.