Malaysia filmmakers face fury of religious conservatives as Mentega Terbang becomes latest cultural war target
- A belated backlash against 2021 film ‘Mentega Terbang’ on charges of coaxing schoolchildren to leave Islam has sparked debate on censorship’s impact
- Conservatives are pushing for state censors to extend their reach to streaming services, as the Malaysian film industry worries for its future
For his peer Badrul Hisham Ismail, cinema releases are a non-starter if he wants to avoid the predictable public outcry that follows the censor’s pen, while actor, writer, and producer Redza Minhat hopes censorship will eventually wither on its own as Malaysians consume more content from across the world.
Malaysia’s creatives are in a bind: cave in to the bitterest culture wars in decades, or cede their creative freedom and potentially lose relevance to those seeking answers about the country’s changing society.
“I just wish that Malaysian filmmakers would be more courageous to tell real Malaysian stories,” director Khairi Anwar told This Week in Asia after his film Mentega Terbang became the latest target of conservative opprobrium aimed at directors, actors and pop stars deemed too risqué for Malaysians.
The battle over who gets to show what has been brewing for years; curdled by politicians and Islamist preachers, and spiced up by a younger generation tired of their elders dictating what their taste, decency and values should be.
Mentega Terbang, the feature-length directorial debut of 31-year-old Khairi, was recently taken down from Hong Kong-based streaming platform Viu after receiving flak from vocal conservatives in Malaysia who claimed it blasphemes Islam.
The 104-minute film revolves around a young Malay Muslim girl coming to terms with losing her terminally ill mother and growing curious about reincarnation after researching what other religions say about life after death.
