Local filmmakers reportedly charged for wounding religious feelings

The director and producer of local film, Mentega Terbang have reportedly been charged under the penal code for intentionally wounding the religious feelings of others in Malaysia through the film.

While filmmakers Khairi Anwar and Tan Meng Kheng pleaded not guilty to the charges, the film was initially banned in Malaysia last September after it was condemned for showing scenes that appeared to go against Islamic religious teaching, according to Reuters.

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Produced by Anomalist Production in association with Meng Kheng Entertainment and released in 2021, Mentega Terbang depicts a Muslim Malay girl who processes her mother’s death by researching the teachings of other religions on what happens after death.

If found guilty, Anwar and Tan will have to pay fines and serve a one-year jail sentence, added the report.

The charges ought to be withdrawn as they send a chilling message to the film industry and filmmakers in Malaysia, N Surendran, Anwar and Tan’s lawyer reportedly said. 

In response, the government has said that it wanted to curb racial and religious content that could be harmful as they were both sensitive issues in a Muslim-majority country and have denied allegations of stifling dissent.

Rights groups such as Article 19 and Human Rights Watch have deemed the charges unacceptable and called on the government to review laws that curtail freedom of expression in the country.

To circumvent government censors, Malaysia’s crowdfunded film Pendatang premiered on YouTube instead of cinemas as it dealt with the topic of race and religion in the country, according to media reports.

The film is set in a dystopian reality where. under the law, any contact with a race other than one’s own is prohibited because it is deemed detrimental to the harmony and stability of the nation. It follows a Chinese family who finds a Malay girl living in their attic and who go through all odds to save her life for being in the strictly Chinese district.

When it comes to freedom of expression on social media, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil has reportedly warned against abusing the freedom of speech in Malaysia by making unfounded allegations or statements that can threaten a country’s democracy.

Through the creation of various content on social media such as TikTok, those with opposing views are free to state their opinion, minister Fahmi said.

While he stressed that freedom of speech remains healthy in Malaysia and continues to be prioritised, he also said that this freedom does not give individuals the freedom to slander, as reported by The Star.

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