Malaysia’s film authority to implement new ratings system from February onwards

Malaysia’s Film Censorship Board (LPF) has announced that will implement a new ratings system beginning from February 1.

The new system will introduce two new ratings for those under the age 12 and for viewers aged 16 and above, while doing away with parental supervision clause the PG-13 rating, Malay Mail has reported based on a government gazette published by Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. No changes are expected to be made to the ‘U’ and ’18’ ratings.

An official public announcement on the new ratings system has yet to be made as of the time of writing.

Malaysia currently has three ratings, ‘U’ or ‘Umum‘ for films that can be seen for all ages, ‘P13′ for films requiring parental supervision, and ’18’ for films deemed to contain violent, political or mature content. The current system was first implemented in January 2012.

Malaysia’s movie producers previously called upon the LPF revise the local film industry’s current censorship guidelines, arguing the agency’s rules were outdated and forced producers to compromise their stories in order to remain within censorship guidelines. Director Bade Azmi was one of the voices calling upon the agency to make changes, citing his experience working on the film KL Menjerit, where significant story details were removed.

“Illegal racing and accident scenes had been cut out. But this movie is about illegal street racers. If you take out the racing scenes, I have no story to tell,” he said, while director and producer Shuhaimi Lua suggested the agency be more proactive in adapting to modern television and film, pointing to OTT platforms that offer more freedom and flexibility in creating content.

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