For a long time now, the National Film Censorship Board (LPF) has been the brunt of jokes and criticism, and very rarely the recipient of praise. Film buffs and filmmakers alike may bear similar grouses, but the issue of censorship is probably as old as the world itself.
But recently, when Yasmin Ahmad’s Gubra and Amir Muhammad’s semi-documentary, Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (The Last Communist), were passed without cuts, Malaysians raised their heads in surprise. Two potentially controversial films allowed to be shown without cuts? Impossible!