4. The licensing of films by Finas must not be used as a form of control and censorship. The recent reported remark by Zakaria Abdul Hamid, the chairperson of Finas, that all video recordings must have a license from his agency to ensure said video recordings do not “incite unrest or cause a public nuisance” is very telling of how Finas perceives its role. This is also clearly indicative of: (i) an overlap of roles between Finas, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Film Censorship Board; (ii) a breach of the covenant of industry self-regulation under the Communications and Multimedia Act, and; (iii) a double layer of censorship and film content control.
We appeal to Finas to stay true to its role of “uplifting, nurturing and facilitating” the development of the Malaysian film industry, as stated in Section 6 (1) of the Finas Act, and not function against the interest of filmmakers. If Finas enforces regulations under the law to censor and penalise filmmakers, it will go against its own objective and purpose. It is imperative that Finas not allow itself to be used as a tool by the current regime to silence dissent and target media companies like Al Jazeera simply because their documentary places the State in an unfavourable light.
On the other hand, the Communications and Multimedia Minister must immediately uphold his pledge to amend the Finas Act to protect freedom of expression and media freedom. As key and invested stakeholders and allies, we are willing to engage in a dialogue with the minister in order to seek a sustainable roadmap to align our laws to protect the right of freedom of expression and public interest.