Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 6): Malaysian censors said their decision to snip the Bahasa word “binatang-binatang” or “animals” from a Singaporean film was to prevent misunderstanding, especially among the Malays in the country.

Malaysian Film Censorship Board chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid said the decision to seek the removal of the word was made in accordance with local film guidelines, and that translation and use of improper words in the dialogue should be filtered.

“Animals have been used in reference to friends,” he said.

“That was not the right word to use. When we do censoring, we will base it on our own guidelines.

“In the story, it shows a man talking to his statue. When translated into the Malay, the man said, ‘This evening we will meet my friends’ but the statue replied ‘this evening we will meet the animals’.

“There are three reasons (for the cut). First, the statue made the assumption that the friends are the same as animals. Second, the statue thought that the man had wanted to meet his friends who are also animals.

“And third, the Malays may interpret this as an insult because ‘kawan-kawan’ and ‘binatang’ have different meanings,” Halim told The Malaysian Insider.

He said misunderstanding could arise over the conversation in the film over the use of “kawan-kawan” (friends) and “binatang” (animals).

The film concerned is a documentary title “Singapore Gaga” by Singaporean filmmaker Tan Pin Pin, which was scheduled for screening at the Titian Budaya festival to celebrate the republic’s ties with Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur this month.

Tan withdrew the documentary as a result.

Halim said it was Tan’s right as a film director to pull out of the festival.

But he said the censorship board’s request was a “small” one and did not involve changing the entire scene in the film.

“That’s their decision. She (the director Tan Pin Pin) decided to pull out. All we asked for was to ‘mute’ the word. It was less than one second.

“We never asked her to cut out any scenes. And we just asked the director to delete the word in the subtitle.”

Halim added that if film directors were not satisfied with the censors’ decision, they could still refer the matter to the appeal’s board.

Tan posted the censorship board’s demand on her Facebook and scoffed at the reason given under the Film Censorship Guidelines Ministry of Home Affairs Part II:2.1.1,  which touches on dialogue that “can create doubt and restlessness among citizens and finally may cause a security threat, disturbance of public peace and national defence”.

“I have decided to keep the film intact and hence would need to withdraw the film from the event, which I have done.

“Censorship is arbitrary and nonsensical. Security threat indeed!” Tan said.

She said the festival organiser had appealed to the board but were rejected last week.

Singapore GaGa, a 2005 film, was rated one of the best films about the island republic by The Straits Times.

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