Govt has no intention of using Finas Act to restrict social media users

PETALING JAYA: The government has no intention of using the Perbandanan Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia (Finas) Act 1981 to restrict Malaysians from uploading their videos on social media.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said Malaysians had misinterpreted his response to Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi in Parliament on Thursday (July 23), where he said all filming required a licence, including any done on social media.

The Indera Mahkota MP said it is compulsory for producers of these films to apply for a Film Production Licence and Film Shooting Certificate (SSP), regardless if they are from a mainstream media outlet or personal media.

In a later statement Saifuddin explained that social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube did not exist when the Act was passed in 1981, and he said that the Act needed to be updated.

"I explained in a press conference in my 100-day report card on June 20 that the Ministry is assessing all the laws that come under it.We are open to suggestions to improve all these laws and not just the ones debated in Parliament to be relevant with the times," he said.

Saifuddin's response came under heavy criticism from social media users, who felt that it was ridiculous for them to obtain a licence to upload videos to those platforms, especially when they have been doing so without one.

Saifuddin's response comes shortly after Finas accused Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera of not having the proper licence to produce its documentary, titled "Locked Up in Malaysia's Lockdown".

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia came to Al Jazeera's defence, saying that local and foreign broadcasters never had an issue when producing news documentaries in the past.

On Sunday (July 19), Saifuddin also said his Ministry would check if the controversial documentary on the broadcaster's 101 East segment was licensed by Finas before it began production.

Here is Saifuddin's statement in Bahasa Malaysia:

PENJELASAN ISU LESEN PERFILEMAN FINAS

Terdapat laporan yang tular berkaitan dengan keperluan lesen FINAS untuk perfileman berikutan jawapan saya kepada soalan yang ditujukan oleh Ahli Parlimen Kluang di Dewan Rakyat pada pagi ini (23 Julai 2020). Sebahagian daripada laporan tersebut memberi gambaran yang tidak tepat sehingga membawa kepada makna yang berbeza daripada maksud jawapan saya.

Ketika menjawab soalan itu, saya hanya menerangkan tentang undang-undang yang sedia ada, iaitu Akta Perbadanan Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia 1981 [Akta 244] yang diluluskan Parlimen pada tahun 1981.

Akta tersebut telah digunakan selama ini, iaitu oleh kerajaan-kerajaan terdahulu, termasuk BN dan PH. Pada 1981, teknologi pada masa itu tiada langsung media sosial seperti Tik Tok, YouTube dan sebagainya.

Kementerian Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (KKMM) ambil maklum bahawa Akta ini perlu penambahbaikan.

Ini telahpun saya nyatakan dalam sidang media Kad Laporan 100 hari saya sebagai Menteri KKMM pada 20 Jun 2020, iaitu KKMM sedang menilai semula semua undang-undang di bawah pengawasannya.

Perlu ditegaskan bahawa kerajaan PN tidak pernah dan tidak berniat menggunakan Akta ini untuk menyekat kebebasan peribadi individu dalam media sosial, iaitu fenomena yang tidak wujud ketika Akta ini digubal.

Oleh yang demikian, kami di KKMM terbuka untuk menerima apa-apa cadangan dalam memperbaiki bukan sahaja Akta dibahaskan pagi tadi, malah, semua undangundang di bawah pengawasan KKMM supaya bersesuaian dengan kehendak semasa.