The government (call it by any name but it’s still a silly government agency) has irrevocably banned Amir Muhammad latest work, Apa Khabar Orang Kampung. His earlier film The Last Communist was also banned.
Good Lord (spelled with only one ‘L’), it’s 2007, and the communists had long since gone. Today we have films like Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima being shown. That’s a film portraying the human side of the inhuman WWII Jap military, the scourge of Asia and the evil brothel owner of their sex slaves, the euphemistic ‘comfort women’.
Bet you it won’t be banned from Malaysia, one of the Jap’s occupied territories where locals suffered enormously from the jackboots and samurai swords of the Jap Kempetai.
Yet our government, through their censors, still chases non-existent Chinese communists, while having accepted Malay members of the same Malayan Communist Party back into society as rehabilitated citizens.
The government censors rejected Amir’s appeal, reminding (or rather, threatening) him that under Section 23 (2) of the Film Censorship Act, any decision by the appeal committee is final.
Though Amir is disappointed by the silly-bugger behaviour of the Malaysian censors, he said that virulently anti-communist Singapore will screen his film next month, apart from the movie been booked for nine other festivals.
The censor said the “film is not approved for viewing”.
But compare the government’s care for the sensitivity of Malaysian citizens, as it claimed, with its care for the health of the same citizens.
By contrast to the unduly harsh action against Amir’s harmless film, the health ministry is soft on tobacco companies, those merchants of death and peddlers of cancer sticks.
The ministry thinks it may (what bloody wimps!) impose retail floor prices for cigarettes to discourage smoking and stop from luring buyers with cheaper products.
Health Minister Chua Soi Lek groaned and moaned as if his hands were tied, saying a price war had made cigarettes cheaper despite the annual increase of levies for tobacco and liquor.
Obviously manufacturers cut prices to boost sales. Afterall, the production cost is virtually zero when compared to the hundreds of billions it can harvest from
He whined: "The ministry is disappointed by the actions of multinational tobacco companies, which of late have launched a price war to increase their sales. This goes against the government's wish to see a reduction in smoking among Malaysians."
"... disappointed by the actions of multinational tobacco companies ..." ? I am sick of his bullsh*t when such a health hazard exists to threaten, nay, imperil Malaysians, especially its youth!
Then he allowed us a glimpse of his action, namely that the government would continue to review taxes on tobacco products to ensure their prices remained high to reduce demand.
Wow, we should be grateful for such tough actions and such sense of priority for the benefit of the citizens!
