KUALA LUMPUR: Government efforts to spur the development of the country's creative industry are not aimed at promoting a culture of hedonism or sidelining religious values, culture and the community's identity, says Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said the Madani government prioritises balanced development between economic progress, the growth of the creative industry and the cultivation of good character and spiritual values among the public.
He said granting entertainment duty exemption from 2027 does not mean the government is relaxing controls on performances by international artistes.
"The full exemption from entertainment duty applies to movie tickets and local theatre performances in the Federal Territories from 2027.
"Every application for performances by foreign artistes is subject to scrutiny by the Foreign Filming and Foreign Artiste Performance Application Committee (JK-PUSPAL), in accordance with the conditions and guidelines that must be observed, including those relating to security, public order and the values and sensitivities of Malaysian society," he said.
He said this when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2027 (Budget 2027) at the policy stage for the Communications Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 29).
Fahmi said security agencies, including the Home Ministry, the police and the Immigration Department, were also involved in the committee, alongside the Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which provides input on religious matters and the sensitivities of the Muslim community.
In the film industry, he said the government, through the National Film Development Corporation (Finas), continues to encourage the development of local films, but content screened to the public remains subject to scrutiny by the Film Censorship Board, in line with the Film Censorship Act 2002.
He said the development of the creative industry is balanced with various educational and religious programmes, such as Majlis Ilmu Madani, Forum Ilmuwan Malaysia Madani and Program Malaysia Bermunajat, including programmes attended and led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Fahmi said the creative economy is not limited to entertainment, but also encompasses film, music, performing arts, animation, digital games, literary publishing, fashion and culinary arts, all of which have the potential to generate jobs, income and investment.
As such, he said, the sector needs to be further strengthened through talent development, the production and commercialisation of local works and wider access to international markets to enhance the competitiveness of Malaysian talent and intellectual property. – Bernama
