Activists Slam Home Ministry Visit To Film Fest As Intimidation

---

 Human rights activists have spoken out against the Home Ministry for what they deem to be “intimidation” against the organisers of the Freedom Film Fest which kicked off in Petaling Jaya last weekend.
This was after enforcement officers from the ministry visited Petaling Jaya Live Arts Centre yesterday to inspect the event and check that the films screened did not breach the Film Censorship Act, the organisers said.
Although the show continued, activists said such visits were “archaic” and a form of “intimidation” against free speech and expression.
“If the Madani government is serious about reforms, why are we still resorting to tired intimidation tactics like this?” Malaysian Centre of Constitutionalism and Human Rights chief strategist Firdaus Husni said on X.
Noting the enforcement officers’ presence two days in a row, she added that the practice was an “outdated tactic of the previous government which should be abandoned”.
Firdaus, who moderated a panel discussion at the event, said it was especially ironic because the films screened and discussions that followed were on the ongoing violence in Palestine and solidarity movements.
This was similar to the government-organised gathering for Palestine yesterday in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
Yearly visit
When contacted, festival organiser Anna Har said the Home Ministry officers from the Putrajaya branch came on Saturday to check on the streaming facilities, while officers from the Selangor branch visited on Sunday to tell organisers that they wanted to attend the 8pm screening that night.
The Freedom Film Network director also stressed that the visits did not affect screening and that the festival will continue as usual for the next three weekends, featuring many international films and guests.
She said that Home Ministry officials show up yearly to ensure the organisers comply with the Film Censorship Act 2002, but this act does not apply to online streaming of films, like at this festival.
“The officers turn up almost every year, sometimes in uniform and sometimes not, but they usually leave after they speak to us and confirm that we are not doing anything against the law,” she said.
‘Stop harassment’

The Centre for Independent Journalism agreed that the presence of Home Ministry officers “sends a chilling message to those in the Freedom Film Fest ecosystem”.
“The government must stop these forms of harassment that create a climate of fear and threaten our freedom of expression,” it said on X.
Similarly, freedom of expression advocates pointed out that Article 19 said artistic expression like films is a protected freedom in a democracy.
Minister officiated event
The presence of Home Ministry enforcement officers at the festival was especially jarring because Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil had officiated the event.
Among the films screened on Saturday were international and local films about the history of resistance and holding power to account.
On Sunday, after the screening of the Palestinian documentary “Three Promises”, a discussion was held on the topic of international solidary movements against war and genocide.
The Freedom Film Fest is an annual festival and was first organised in 2003 by human rights NGO Pusat Komas.
It is now hosted by the Film Freedom Network, a not-for-profit body established to support social documentary filmmaking in Malaysia within the context of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In 2013, then Pusat Komas programme coordinator Lena Hendry was charged with breaking the Film Censorship Act by screening a documentary on the Sri Lankan civil war titled “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka”.
Lena HendryThe case sparked an outcry among human rights defenders, especially because she was facing up to three years in jail and a fine of RM30,000.
In 2017, the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court found her guilty and sentenced her to RM10,000 in fines. The prosecution appealed for a higher sentence but the Kuala Lumpur High Court struck this down.- Mkini

---