Can Anwar’s call for ‘freer’ filmmaking help ease Malaysia’s censorship rules?

Can Anwar’s call for ‘freer’ filmmaking help ease Malaysia’s censorship rules?3-MIN READ3-MIN0ListenPublished: 6:30pm, 25 Aug 2026Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged the country’s filmmakers to think more freely, even as recent censorship battles show how tightly the state still controls what can reach the screen.Anwar said an industry forced to repeatedly seek official approval for individual scenes could not become more creative or competitive, calling for fewer restrictions on filmmakers at a time when Malaysian productions were outperforming Hollywood titles at home.But his remarks came less than six weeks after Malaysia’s Court of Appeal upheld the government’s ban on the independent film Mentega Terbang, and nearly three years after Cannes-winning Tiger Stripes reached local cinemas only after cuts its director disowned.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x