‘Communist, LGBT, anti-govt propaganda among why films banned since 2020’

KUALA LUMPUR – A total of 16 films were barred from having local screenings by the Film Censorship Board (LPF) over the past few years after they were found to contain elements that could detrimentally affect public peace. 

In a written parliamentary reply, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the bans were issued as the films were found to have the potential to “affect and cause security, religious, sociocultural, and moral issues” among the public. 

Some of the reasons listed to explain why films had been disallowed from physically premiering here include that they contain political and religious elements, communist ideologies, and sexual or nude imagery. 

Other reasons provided by the ministry detail that the movies depicted scenes that promote the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) lifestyle, anti-government narratives, Islamophobic sentiments, drug usage, and cruelty. 

In total, six movies never made it to the big screens in 2020 – including an Israeli-produced film – while five films were banned in each of 2021 and 2022.

Saifuddin also assured that LPF will continue carrying out its responsibility “to protect the public from being misled by negative values depicted in movies”. 

He noted, however, that the board does not restrict creative filmmaking that aims to entertain and educate the masses while boosting the nation’s film industry to a global level. Besides that, Saifuddin said that the four aspects LPF pays attention to when going through movies submitted for approval are: public safety and order, religion, sociocultural well-being, as well as order and discipline. 

“A film is allowed to be shown as long as it does not contradict the guidelines. 

“However, if a scene or dialogue in a film is found to have isolated any of the provisions outlined, LPF has the authority to order for the film’s contents to be altered. 

“Some of the ways the movie can be edited include by cutting the scene, blurring the contents, muting the dialogue, erasing the subtitles, or any other suitable edits that do not affect the film’s storyline,” the minister said. 

He added that LPF will only issue a ban on a movie’s screening if its genre or overall storyline is “outrageous and unsuitable” for the public. – The Vibes, April 10, 2023