Local action film mogul and friend to policemen nationwide Yusof Haslam and his son, actor and director Syamsul, have been dragged to court over what an award-winning novelist says was their plagiarisation of one of his novels.
Author Elias Idris said he noticed that he might have been wronged when in October 2013 he watched a Malay film enttitled Bohsia: Jangan Pilih Jalan Hitam on Astro Ria – a movie he says is rife with similarities in theme, plot, characters, and messages to his novel, Aku Bohsia.
The 2009 movie in question had Syamsul Md Yusof credited as its writer and director. He also had an acting role in the movie.
Syamsul was nominated for Best Screenplay for his work on the movie at the 22nd Malaysia Film Festival (FFM). The movie was also in the running for 2009’s Best Film at the Anugerah Skrin.
Elias published Aku Bohsia in 1995, writing under the pseudonym Anne Natasha Nita.
Bohsias are young women of loose morals, stereotypically thought of as accompanying motorcycle gangs, or mat rempit.
The lawsuit filed on November 24 last year named Yusof, Syamsul, and Yusof’s production company Skop Production Sdn Bhd as defendants, reports The Star Online‘s M Mageswari.
After speaking to the novelist’s lawyer in chambers, High Court Justice Azizah Nawawi set October 19 for the first hearing. She also ordered the defendants to amend their counterclaim to Elias’s suit by March 31.
In the countersuit filed January 5, Yusof and Syamsul accused Elias of slandering them and tarnishing their reputation through the novelist’s blog.
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