TERENGGANU’S ban on the movie “Pulau” has cost the producers RM100,000 in just four days.

Fred Chong, who produced the film, said the state had proscribed the film even though it had the approval of the Film Censorship Board (LPF) and permission under the Mandatory Screening Scheme.  

“Pulau” was released nationwide and in  Brunei last Thursday after it was passed by the National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (Finas).

Chong said he has sent an appeal to Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar to overturn the ban.

“I’m not planning to sue the state government (even though) it’s clear the law is not being respected,” he said. 

“I hope Finas and LPF will help us negotiate with the Terengganu government to lift the ban on our film.”

He said the RM4 million movie has been been well received elsewhere in Malaysia and Brunei.

A cinema in Alor Setar collected RM40,000 in ticket sales while a cinema in Kuantan raked in RM30,000 in the first four days of screening, he said.

Based on the box office collections across the country, Chong estimated that the Terengganu ban on the movie has cost the producers as much as RM100,000.

Terengganu banned the movie on the grounds that it was obscene after a trailer was released featuring female characters in bikinis and intimate scenes.

The LPF has said that the film is not pornographic and that the trailer does not reflect the film that it received for viewing and approval. It rated the movie P13.

The producers has also received permission to broadcast the movie under Finas’ Mandatory Screening Scheme, which says that a film must be screened in certain cinemas within 14 days.

However, three cinemas in Terengganu have declined to screen the movie.

Chong hopes that the Terengganu government will cancel the ban as it is not in accordance with the law.

“No state law should override the federal government’s decision in this regard. The state government is banning a film it has not even watched. 

“Don’t politicise ‘Pulau’. We’re just small filmmakers who don’t break the law. Why victimise us?”

The Malaysian Film Producers Association (PFM) has asked the federal government to clarify the matter of who has authority over the screening of films.

PFM president Panchacharam Nalliah said local film industry has become the victim in the clash of power between the federal and state governments. – March 14, 2023.