The Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) and Film Censorship Board (LPF) will continue to provide the national film industry with greater space to produce creative, fresh, critical and high-quality works.
At the same time, KDN said it would continue to uphold its responsibility to safeguard security, public order, societal harmony and national interests firmly and professionally.
"Openness in creative expression and responsibility towards national interests must go hand-in-hand. This balance is crucial in building a Malaysian film ecosystem that is mature, competitive and trusted by society,” it said in a statement today.
KDN, through LPF, also welcomed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's suggestion that the national film industry be given greater space to create, experiment, express views and develop creative and critical thinking.
It said the aspiration was in line with efforts to empower the Malaysian film industry to remain innovative, competitive and relevant to societal changes and technological developments.
KDN also explained that classification and censorship are two different but complementary processes under the Film Censorship Act 2002 (Act 620).
It said classification determined the suitability of content according to the audience's age category, while censorship evaluated content comprehensively based on laws, policies and guidelines in force.
"Hence, assigning an age classification does not mean a film is exempted from the censorship process. Every film still goes through the censorship and evaluation process by LPF.
"However, content does not necessarily require cuts if the evaluation finds that the content is still suitable to be retained under the designated age classification,” it said.
KDN said evaluations took into account scenes, dialogue, audio, themes, behaviour and narrative context, allowing creativity to develop without compromising LPF's responsibility to safeguard the public interest.
It also said the space provided through age classification did not exempt LPF from ensuring all content complied with laws, policies and guidelines.
"Should any content be found not to meet these stipulations, LPF will consider appropriate actions or adjustments based on the context and its level of risk,” it said, adding that content that could not be adjusted to meet the stipulated requirements would not be approved for screening.
KDN said LPF would continue to streamline its censorship approach to be more progressive, responsive, professional and suited to the industry's development, with evaluations based on content, context and risk.
"In implementing this approach, public and national interests remain the primary consideration. Content that has the potential to jeopardise security and public order, religion, morals, as well as the socio-culture of society will continue to be given appropriate scrutiny,” it said.
LPF also takes into account national interests and international sensitivities when evaluating content that could affect Malaysia's image, societal harmony or the country's relations with other countries. – Bernama
