Cinemas may lose their licence, warns Shuhaimi

Cinemas which do not show the film Tanda Putera could have their licences revoked as the film is under the compulsory screening scheme, said director Shuhaimi Baba. 

"If the cinemas cancel the screening without our permission or that of the National Film Corporation Malaysia (Finas), their licences can be revoked," she was quoted as saying by The Star's Malay news portal mStar Online.

She was commenting on the Penang government's request that cinemas in the state do not screen the film, which opposition leaders claim distorted history.

Shuhaimi (right), who is known in the industry as Shumi, said that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was "narrow-minded" and victimised artists.

"If he really wants to block the film in Penang, then this is something immature and done with prejudice.  

"He should be able to differentiate between his narrow politics and the country's creative industry," she was quoted as saying.

According to the Finas website, the compulsory screening scheme mandates that films under this scheme must be screened in the biggest hall of every cinema for 14 consecutive days. 

However, cinemas could screen the film in a smaller hall if several criterias are met, for example, if the viewers in the initial hall were less than 30 percent of its total sitting capacity for the first four consecutive days of its screening. 

A cinema could also withdraw the film from screening if the same criteria were met, but a report must be submitted to Finas to justify this decision.

Films that qualify to be on the scheme are local films or films made by joint-venture companies where Malaysian citizens are the largest shareholders. 

This morning, Golden Screen Cinema (GSC) and Lotus Five Star said they would not screen Tanda Putera in Penang, following the request by the Penang government.