Anwar Ibrahim calls for fewer restrictions on Malaysian filmmakers

Anwar said an industry forced to repeatedly seek official approval for individual scenes could not become more creative or competitive, calling for fewer restrictions on filmmakers at a time when Malaysian productions were outperforming Hollywood titles at home.

But his remarks came less than six weeks after Malaysia’s Court of Appeal upheld the government’s ban on the independent film Mentega Terbang, and nearly three years after Cannes-winning Tiger Stripes reached local cinemas only after cuts its director disowned.

The government is also preparing a national film policy through 2035, raising the question of whether Anwar’s call for creative freedom can translate into looser rules or remain bounded by Malaysia’s long-standing sensitivities around religion, culture and morality.

“Where is creativity if there are too many constraints and restrictions?” Anwar said on Monday at the opening of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas), outside Kuala Lumpur.

He said filmmakers should not feel “too pressured and constrained” to the point of having to ask “five times” whether a scene would be approved.