Will Kedah Utilise Fan Bingbing S Star Power

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In May 2024, Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh appointed Fan Bingbing as Melaka’s Tourism Friendship Ambassador to promote the Visit Melaka 2024 campaign. Her role was created to boost international tourism to Melaka, particularly from China.
It turned out to be a resounding success. She generated significant buzz, particularly in boosting the state’s visibility on Chinese social media platforms like WeChat. For her contributions to Melaka’s tourism sector, she was conferred the Darjah Pangkuan Seri Melaka with a Datuk title in Aug 2025.
Earlier in October 2024, she began her role as the lead actress in Mother Bhumi, a Malaysian-Italian co-production. It is a historical drama film written and directed by internationally renowned Chong Keat Aun, a Malaysian.
The film received eight nominations at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards and won three last Saturday, including Best Cinematography, Best Original Film Song, and Best Leading Actress for Fan Bingbing.
The Golden Horse Film Festival founded in 1962 and based in Taiwan, is one of the four major Chinese-language film awards. The others are the Hong Kong Film Awards, Golden Rooster Awards and Hundred Flowers Awards. Fan won the best actress award by Hundred Flowers in 2004, and the Golden Rooster in 2007.

 Fan has also acted in more than 10 feature films produced outside mainland China, such as a French and a South Korean film, both in 2011, and an American film in 2013. In 2014, she appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past, a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics.
Hence, it was a masterstroke by the Melaka government to cash in on the popularity of Fan, which has much more drawing power than normal advertising and promotions. But will the Kedah government be equally smart, now that the opportunity to cash in on Mother Bhumi has fallen on its lap?
Mother Bhumi was filmed in Kedah in and around a village on the border with Thailand. The director Chong chose this setting because of his personal connection to the area and its rich culture and history. He grew up near the border and experienced the region’s unique mystical traditions and Siamese ethnic group.
The film showcased Kedah’s landscapes and culture through Fan’s role as a rice farmer and shaman. All the authorities have to do now is to identify the various sites including the village and paddy fields in the film, and the landmarks visited by Fan such as the Zahir Mosque and the Kedah Royal Museum.
 The state government could also approach Chong, a Kedahan, for ideas on how the film could draw more international visitors to the state instead of continuing with the run-of-the-mill approach that lacks effectiveness and is more like a ‘syiok sendiri’ exercise. 
YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course and an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a tourism and transport business consultant.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT. 
- Focus Malaysia.

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