PASKAL: The Movie

In 2018, a supertanker, Laurel 11 (inspired by the real-life MV Bunga Laurel), was hijacked by Somali pirates in the dark of night in the Gulf of Aden. The Royal Malaysian Navy picked up the distress call from the stricken ship and MT Bunga Mas Lima, which was inbound for home after a long operation at sea, was sent to aid the ship. The pirate's refusal to negotiate prompted Commander Maznan to deploy the Navy's elite special operations unit, PASKAL, to rescue the ship. The team was led by Lieutenant Commander Arman Rahmat. Two boats and a Westland Lynx (in the real-life rescue of Bunga Laurel, a Fennec helicopter was deployed) were deployed for the rescue mission. The unit's swift and stealthy tactics ensured the eventual success of operation with the pirates subdued and captured.

The team returns to Lumut, with Arman having a dilemma on whether or not to proceed with his plans for retirement. His mother's apparent distaste with his dangerous job and the painful memory of his past clouded him. Back in 2009, when he was a sub-lieutenant, Arman had undergone harsh training with a late friend, Joshua Tee Seng Wai (aka Girang), and Mohd Zariff bin Zafrudin (aka Jeb). Arman's motivations to join PASKAL was to honour his father's sacrifice. The three of them were among the best in the unit and were selected to undergo advanced training course with the US Navy SEALs. However, in a peacekeeping operation in Angola two years later, a confrontation with a rebel group while transporting a Chinese UN Observer led to Jeb unintentionally killing Joshua. Jeb, wounded in the confrontation, was dishonourably discharged after he brutally executed a prisoner with a sidearm. Arman went to Joshua's wife, Lily, to tell the bad news and Joshua was given a military funeral.

Arman continues to take care of Joshua's wife and only son, who had also developed a close bond with his mother.

Despite handing over his request to retire, Commander Maznan enlists him on a reconnaissance mission in Kota Kinabalu as a "farewell party". He and his team are assigned to capture a pirate leader named Rudi Rusli Parjo, who was involved in the hijacking of MT Orkim Harmony. However, the plan was foiled after Arman discovered Jeb at a food court with Rudi. It was learned that Rudi, through his successful pirate raids, has been hiring ex-special forces members to his ranks, and Jeb was recruited as his bodyguard.

Jeb's jealousy over Arman's achievements and the apparent dislike with the Navy's system brings him at odds with Arman since training day and it only got worse when Jeb starts to stalk Lily, as a clear warning for Arman to stay away. A CCTV footage of Jeb's car that showcased a logo belonging to an oil rig company where Lily works alerted Arman to a possible hijacking plot. Arman alerts the Navy, who in turn alerted port authorities to lock down the area. The fake security personnel team was captured by authorities, but Jeb and Rudi managed to evade capture. Jeb and Rudi eventually seized the oil rig, with Lily being one of the hostages.

Arman's team was recalled from leave and were transported to the rendezvous point at sea via a RMAF C-130 before being picked up by the Scorpène-class submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman. Two additional teams were deployed as back-up to a forward operating base aboard KD Selangor. After a change of plans, Arman's team dived towards the oil rig and secured the top deck to allow reinforcements to be brought in. As Arman and his team travelled through lanes of traps and ambushes, wounding a couple of men and killing one, Arman encounters Jeb with Lily strapped with C4 on her body. Jeb threatens to blow up the entire oil rig if Arman does not put his gun down. When Arman puts his gun down, Jeb knocks Arman down and take out his knife, challenging Arman to see who is the best PASKAL. After a vicious knife fight, Arman managed to subdue Jeb and pushes him off the rail but still grabbed onto Jeb's hand. Refusing to be captured and hating the fact that Arman won the day, Jeb still says that he's still the best and tries to shoot Arman point blank with his pistol. The bullet only scratches Arman's face, but Arman was forced to let go and Jeb fell into the sea, presuming his fate to be death.

Rudi and another pirate attempts to escape by crossing the filipino waters with a boat but was chased with a navy boat. Just before they can cross the filipino waters, they were shot. Their corpse and the boat crossed the filipino waters abandoned.

All the hostages are rescued and brought back to shore, with the wounded sent for treatment. Arman's mother, finally understanding her son's sacrifice, acknowledges him and apologises, saying that his father would be proud if he was alive.

In a ceremony, Arman and his team were awarded honours by the fleet commander. At one point, Arman laments about not knowing the full names of the members who he served with, in which Misi, his chief petty officer, replies that "How many kingdoms know nothing of us?", a direct reference to a quote by Blaise Pascal in a book titled Pensées. Later, as the Fleet Commander brings Arman to a memorial site where his father's name was inscribed, the Commander reveals that Arman's father once served under him and told that his father's duty was a calling from God, in which it will be a sin if there's no one willing to do it.

PASKAL was directed by Adrian Teh.[8] it is based on actual events of the Royal Malaysian Navy's Special Forces Team during the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Angola in 1998, and the successful rescue of seized MV Bunga Laurel's trade vessel in 2011. The cost of filming was about 10 million RM. The shooting was conducted at several locations within and outside of Malaysia, including Lumut, Semporna, and Istanbul, Turkey.

• PASKAL: The Movie at IMDb
• "PASKAL The Movie". www.atfilms.com.my. Retrieved 21 March 2019.