Malaysia's film censorship needs an update

 

Film and movie censorship in Malaysia seems to be moving in the right direction.

In August this year, National Film Development Corporation Malaysia CEO Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib said the Film Censorship Board (LPF) now relies more on age classifications instead of extensive cuts to movies.

Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? Movies are given age classifications so that only those of the appropriate age can watch them. It makes no sense to have age classification if the movies are still going to be cut.

But read carefully. Azmir mentioned that they will not “rely on extensive cuts”. That means the LPF will still make cuts when they think it’s needed.

And so I say again that this defeats the purpose of having age classifications, but I guess it’s still progress even if it is very slow.

Lauded abroad, censored at home

Then last week, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said Malaysian films should not be cut for a local audience, especially if the films are winning awards and representing the country internationally.

Teo was referring to the film “Tiger Stripes”. Directed by Amanda Nell Eu, it won the prestigious Grand Prize at Cannes’ Critics Week at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2023.

Back here in the country, the film was cut so extensively that the director, upset, said it was no longer the movie she had originally made.

Tiger Stripes was also Malaysia’s entry for the Best International Film category at the Academy Awards during that particular year.

Teo said in Parliament that it is very strange when a Malaysian film can win all kinds of awards internationally, but Malaysians at home can’t even watch the complete version.

This year, a Malaysian film was selected to be screened as a World Premiere at the International Rotterdam Film Festival.

The film, “Curi Makan (Ali and Ben’s Spicy Meat)”, was directed by Feisal Azizuddin and produced by his brother Iskandar Azizzudin under their company, Feisk Productions.

The film has yet to be screened in Malaysia, and the Azizuddin brothers did not reveal why. They said that a Malaysian release is uncertain at the moment, but they definitely want and hope that the film reaches cinemas at home eventually.

Let the people judge

Personally, I do not believe in censorship because I think society should decide for itself, not an authority or even a collective representative.

I’m in favour of societal censorship. If a society collectively feels a film is bad, they can just ignore it. If they think it’s ok, then it is.

My reasoning is that if a majority of the people in a society feel a film is unworthy, they can ignore it and the film will fall into obscurity. But if a film is accepted, then everyone will watch it.

Basically, society decides for itself without it being dictated to them.

With that being said, the system is what we have. Even my last film, “Jom Kita Ke Laut”, which was released in the cinemas, had to go through the censorship board.

We were lucky that it was passed without any cuts and given a P12, which means that everyone of all ages can watch it, with those under 12 needing parental guidance.

Just because the system is how it is doesn’t mean that we can’t improve it. If we want to have a mature society with a mature film industry, we need to make sure that Malaysians are knowledgeable and exposed to different things, and once we are, we can learn to make the best decisions for ourselves.

I think both Azmir and Teo are making statements to push things in the right direction.

However, being in the industry right now, I don’t think I can be blamed for being impatient. More needs to be done, and the right people who are in power need to be open to listening to what needs to be done properly.

They need to listen to the real stakeholders and experts instead of acting holier-than-thou and thinking that they know better.

I think in this day and age, society no longer wants or needs people telling us what to do based on their own personal standards. We need to make these decisions ourselves and together. - Mkini

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ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT