Efforts To Spur Creative Industry Not Meant To Promote Culture Of Hedonism - Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- Government efforts to spur the development of the country's creative industry are not aimed at promoting a culture of hedonism or sidelining religious values, culture and the community's identity, said Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.

He said the MADANI Government had always prioritised balanced development between economic progress, the growth of the creative industry, and the cultivation of good character and spiritual values among the public.

In this regard, he stressed that the granting of entertainment duty exemption starting in 2027 did not mean the government was relaxing its controls on performances by international artistes.

“The full exemption from entertainment duty applies to movie tickets and local theatre performances in the Federal Territories from 2027.

“Every application for performances by foreign artistes is subject to scrutiny by the Foreign Filming and Foreign Artiste Performance Application Committee (JK-PUSPAL), in accordance with the conditions and guidelines that must be observed, including those relating to security, public order, and the values and sensitivities of Malaysian society,” he said.

He said this when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2027 (Budget 2027) at the policy stage for the Communications Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Fahmi said security agencies, including the Home Ministry, the Royal Malaysia Police and the Immigration Department, were also involved in JK-PUSPAL, alongside the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, which provides input on religious matters and the sensitivities of the Muslim community.

In the film industry, he said the government, through the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia, continued to encourage the development of local films, but content screened to the public remained subject to scrutiny by the Film Censorship Board, in line with the Film Censorship Act 2002.

He said the development of the creative industry was also balanced with various educational and religious programmes, such as Majlis Ilmu MADANI, Forum Ilmuwan Malaysia MADANI and Program Malaysia Bermunajat, including programmes attended and led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Fahmi said the creative economy was not limited to entertainment, but also encompassed film, music, performing arts, animation, digital games, literary publishing, fashion and culinary arts, all of which had the potential to generate jobs, income and investment.

As such, he said, the sector needed to be further strengthened through talent development, the production and commercialisation of local works, and wider access to international markets to enhance the competitiveness of Malaysian talent and intellectual property.

-- BERNAMA