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List of films banned in Malaysia

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This is a list of films banned in Malaysia, as they are viewed by the Malaysian government for violating relevant laws and regulations, or because of other political and religious factors. Films that are assigned the Tidak Diluluskan Untuk Tayangan ("Not Passed for Screening")[1] category by the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia are banned for sale, possession, distribution and screening. Screening rejected films, possessing, selling, or even owning them in private is forbidden and strictly enforced and can be punished with severe fines, up to 20 years' imprisonment or both.

List

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Year Name Notes Ref.
1936 The Bohemian Girl Banned due to its Romani themes. It was passed five decades later during the 1990s with a VCD release from Warner Malaysia Video. [2]
1946 The Big Sleep Banned originally, but passed 53 years later in 1999 with a VCD release and a delayed DVD release from Warner Malaysia Video. [3]
1971 A Clockwork Orange Banned due to its explicit sexual and violent content. A censored version was released on DVD after several years. [4]
1973 The Exorcist Banned due to intense violence and cruelty. [5]
1975 Jaws Banned originally for the depictions of intense violence, but was eventually passed for a VCD release and a long-delayed DVD release by Movie Master. [6]
1977 Saturday Night Fever Banned by Cinema International Corporation's Paramount Malaysia division, reportedly because it was deemed to cause chaos in the community. [7]
1979 Monty Python's Life of Brian Banned because of blasphemous content. [8]
1980 Cannibal Holocaust Banned due to its extremely violent content and actual on-screen killings of animals. [9]
1983 Scarface Banned due to excessive violence, strong language and drug usage. [10]
1986 Platoon Banned due to vulgar language and violence. [11]
1993 Schindler's List Banned initially; the Malaysian Film Censorship Board described the film as “propaganda with the purpose of asking for sympathy.” A heavily censored DVD version was later released in 2004. [6]
1994 Pulp Fiction Banned due to intense violence, drug abuse, explicit nudity, and scenes of sexual violence. [6]
1994 The Shawshank Redemption Banned for depiction of cruelty, profanity, and violence. Later released on DVD. [6]
1995 Babe Banned due to "babe" sounding similar to "babi," the Malay word for "pig," which is non-halal; also portrays pigs in a positive light. [6][7][12]
1995 Bombay The film caused considerable controversy upon release in India and abroad for its depiction of inter-religious relations between a Muslim woman and a Hindu man. The film was banned in Singapore and Malaysia upon release
1996 Maachis Maachis was banned in Malaysia by the censor board on grounds that "it may hurt religious sentiments.
1998 Barney's Great Adventure Banned because the censors found it to be unacceptable for children to watch, without providing any further explanation. [13]
1998 The Prince of Egypt Never released in cinemas because the censor body ruled that the film is "insensitive for religious and moral reasons". The film was passed for VCD and DVD release by Berjaya HVN. [14]
1998 Babe: Pig in the City Banned due to its title and subject matter not being halal (pigs—whether or not they're used as food—are considered highly taboo in the Muslim religion, of which Malaysia has a sizeable population). Released direct-to-VHS when the ruling was overturned almost a year later. [7]
1998 Saving Private Ryan Never released in cinemas due to Spielberg's previous controversial film, passed for VCD and DVD release by Berjaya HVN [6]
1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Never released in cinemas due to comedic sexual content as regarded to be almost pornographic, but passed for a VCD release and delayed DVD release by Sunny Film Productions. [15]
2000 Fiza According to Malaysian government sources, the portrayal of a Muslim protagonist as a terrorist is what has offended a lot of people in that country. "A Muslim can never be a terrorist," states the official report, which raised voice for a ban on the Hrithik Roshan
2001 Zoolander Banned for its offensive depiction of the country as an impoverished country dependent on sweatshops, and involving a plot to assassinate a prime minister [16]
2003-2007 Bruce Almighty It was banned for imaging God as an ordinary man and is deemed blasphemous to Islam. The ban was lifted four years later with the 18-PL rating. [17][18]
2004 The Passion of the Christ The film's viewing was restricted solely to adult Christian viewers. [6]
2005 Brokeback Mountain Banned for its "favorable" depiction of homosexuality [19]
2007 I Don't Want to Sleep Alone Banned based on 18 counts of incidents shown in the film depicting the country "in a bad light" for cultural, ethical, and racial reasons. However, they later allowed the film to be screened in the country after Tsai agreed to censor parts of the film according to the requirements of the Censorship Board. [20]
2010 Rumah Dara (Macabre) Banned due to horror violence, gore, and cannibalism. [21]
2010 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Originally banned, but later passed and was given a release in May 2010 [22]
2013 The Conjuring Originally banned for its strong horror themes and gruesome violence, but later passed and released by Warner Bros. in July 2013 [23]
2013 Vishwaroopam Shown in local cinemas on 24 January 2013, but the approval was withdrawn the next day, in accordance with a directive from the Home Ministry following concerns from the public that the film portrays Islam in a negative light. Malaysian authorities lifted the ban on 19 February 2014, however, after several scenes were cut. [24]
2013 The Purge Originally banned due to high-impact violence; also banned for scary images, political content, and anarchism. However, it was later passed and was released in August 2013. [25]
2013 Kick-Ass 2 Originally banned for its vulgar title, but later passed and released by Universal Studios in August 2013. [26]
2013 Dallas Buyers Club Banned due to a religious, cultural and moral grounds. [27]
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street Banned for scenes of sex, drug abuse, and offensive language. [28]
2013 The New Village Banned after causing riots and chaos during its initial screening, and for supposedly promoting communism. [29]
2014 Banglasia (猛加拉杀手) The film was heavily criticised by the LPF (Film Censorship Board) and KDN (Home Ministry department), which received 31 official notes and orders to re-shoot the movie. On 12 February 2019, the ban was lifted when LPF approved the film undergone 7 scenes reedits or cut, a small reshoot and updates. In addition, the new version of the film was release under new title Banglasia 2.0. [30][31]
2014 Annabelle Originally banned for its horror themes and gruesome violence, but later passed and given a release in October 2014 [32]
2014 The Purge: Anarchy Originally banned due to its strongly-violent themes and supposed promotion of anarchy, but later passed and given a release in September 2014. [33]
2014 The Raid 2: Berandal Banned on its initial release due to excessive violence.[further explanation needed] [34]
2014 Noah Banned due to religious content and its depictions of the prophets. [35]
2015 Fifty Shades of Grey Banned due to strong sexual content and graphic nudity. Passed cut for TV release in 2018 and was given an 18 rating. [36]
2015 Unfriended Originally banned due to strong horror themes, but later passed and given a release in April 2015. [37]
2015 Mad Max: Fury Road Originally banned for possible abuse-related themes, but later passed and given a release in May 2015. [38]
2015 The Danish Girl Banned due to sexual and nude content as well on grounds of moral depravity. [39]
2015 Fundamentally Happy Banned due to containing elements that may be sensitive to the feelings of Malaysian Malays and may be interpreted by Malaysian Malays as an attempt to reflect the community's attitude towards those who abuse the weak to fulfil their desires. [40]
2016 The Purge: Election Year Originally banned for its political and violent themes, but later passed and given a release in July 2016. [41]
2017 Happy Death Day Originally banned for horror and some sexual themes, but later passed and given a release in October 2017. [42]
2017 Alien: Covenant Originally banned for horror and possible sexual themes, but later passed and given a release in May 2017. [43]
2017 Baywatch Originally banned for possible sexual themes, but later passed and given a release in June 2017. [44]
2017 Annabelle: Creation Originally banned for horror and religious themes, but later passed and given a release in August 2017. [45]
2017 mother! Originally banned for possible sexual or horror themes, but later passed and given a release in September 2017. [46]
2017 A Bad Moms Christmas Originally banned for its promotion of immoral behaviour, but later passed and given a release in December 2017. Also released on streaming media. [47]
2017 The Disaster Artist Banned for some indecent scenes in certain scenes. [47]
2018 Padmaavat Banned for negatively portraying Alauddin Khalji, a Muslim ruler of medieval India. [48]
2019 Kadaram Kondan Banned per orders of LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) due to the story's portrayal of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) in a negative light and for portraying police officers as corrupt and for scenes which supposedly inaccurately and misleadingly represent the police force. In addition, the makers of the film failed to get necessary police permits to shoot scenes in Malaysia; the Malaysian law requires that film production receives permission from the relevant authorities such as FINAS, PUSPAL and others before shooting. [49][50][51]
2019 Super Deluxe Banned by LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) due to sensitive and mature content. [52]
2019 Dha Dha 87
2019 90 ML
2019 Hustlers Initially scheduled to be released on 19 September 2019, but the film's local distributor suddenly called off the press preview screening a day before. Later, they confirmed that LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) are not sanctioning the release of the film due to erotic and nudity scenes on the film. [53]
2019 Abominable Banned due to a scene involving the nine-dash line, a contested demarcation line used by China to lay claim over a portion of the South China Sea. Passed for DVD release by United International Pictures Malaysia. [54][55]
2020 Babi Banned due to word Babi, directly translates to "pig" in Malay and probably due to its provoking nature. [56]
2021 The Battle at Lake Changjin Banned due to guerrilla war against communist insurgents until 1989, the dissemination of communist ideology is illegal. [57]
2023 Pulau Banned in Terengganu, due to "sensitivity". [58]
2023 Mentega Terbang Banned in Malaysia due to its content which reflected wrongly on some religious beliefs.
2023 Siksa Neraka (Tourment of Hell) Banned in Malaysia and Brunei due to violence of graphics and sensitive issue. Released on Netflix after several reviews.

The Walt Disney Company

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Walt Disney Pictures

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Year Name Notes Ref.
2017 Beauty and the Beast Banned due to homosexual references in the movie. Disney rejected the Film Censorship Board's suggestions for an edited version, and thus held it from Malaysian release until several days later where it was released without any cuts. [59][60]

Pixar Animation Studios

[edit]
Year Name Notes Ref.
2022 Lightyear Banned due to the depiction of a same-sex kiss. Later released on Disney+ with an 18 rating. [61]

Marvel Studios

[edit]
Year Name Notes Ref.
2022 Thor: Love and Thunder Banned due to the depiction of a same-sex kiss. Cinema operators in Malaysia are in the dark over the hold-up in the release of the film in Malaysia. Later released on Disney+ with an 18 rating. [62]

20th Century Studios

[edit]
Year Name Notes Ref.
1956 The King and I Banned due to offense from neighboring country Thailand. It was passed in 2005 with a VCD release and a DVD release from FOX Malaysia. [6]
2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Originally banned, but later passed and released from Fox Malaysia in May 2009. [63]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Garis Panduan Penapisan Filem" (PDF). Film Censorship Board of Malaysia: 31. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2019.
  2. ^ "CMBA FALL BLOGATHON, BANNED AND BLACKLISTED FILMS: The Bohemian Girl (1936)". 15 November 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Good Movies Banned in Malaysia - Censored Malaysian Films". Only Good Movies Blog. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  4. ^ Davis, Laura (16 August 2009). "Gratuitous Gore and Sex". Tonight. Tonight & Independent Online. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  5. ^ "15 Big Movies Banned in Malaysia". Cinema Online. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "They're a no-show | Major movies banned in Malaysia". Free Malaysia Today. 25 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Gogoi, Pallavi (5 November 2006). "Banning Borat". Businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  8. ^ "10 Banned Films - ShortList Magazine". ShortList Magazine. 22 November 2011.
  9. ^ Cannibal Holocaust (1980) - IMDb, retrieved 20 December 2022
  10. ^ "Movies we missed". The Edge Markets. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Why 'Platoon' is banned". New Straits Times. 7 April 1987. p. 3. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  12. ^ "South Park is now available in Malaysia". HyppTV. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Banned films in history". Lamplighter.cooperyoung.org. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Malaysia bans Spielberg's Prince". BBC News. 27 January 1999. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  15. ^ Green, Lelia. Green: Communication, Technology (p) & Society. SAGE. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-4462-2905-7. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Zoolander faces Malaysian censorship controversy". Guardian Unlimited. London, United Kingdom. 28 September 2001. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  17. ^ "Middle East Online". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  18. ^ "Malaysian Muslims call for ban on movie, AFP, Fri July 13, 2007". Archived from the original on 7 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ "No 'Brokeback' for Malaysia". The Advocate. 14 January 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Cutting for change" Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, TheStar Online, 14 May 2007.
  21. ^ "Film "Rumah Dara" Dicekal di Malaysia" (in Indonesian). ESQmagazine. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010.
  22. ^ "cinema.com.my: Malaysia's top-grossing movies of 2010". www.cinema.com.my.
  23. ^ "The Conjuring (2013) - International Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  24. ^ PTI (19 February 2013). "Malaysia lifts ban on 'Vishwaroopam'". Business Line. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  25. ^ "cinema.com.my: The Purge". www.cinema.com.my.
  26. ^ "Kick-Ass 2 (2013) - International Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  27. ^ Azmi, Dzof (18 January 2014). "Censor sensibility". The Star. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  28. ^ Pamela McClintock (15 January 2014). "Gay Orgy, Gone! 'Wolf of Wall Street' Censored, Banned Overseas". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  29. ^ Wurm, Gerald. "The New Village Banned in Malaysia - Media Criticism Prompted Censor's Office to Act - Movie-Censorship.com". www.movie-censorship.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  30. ^ ""Banglasia" By Namewee Banned". Malaysian Digest. 4 February 2014. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  31. ^ Seto, Kit Yan. "Namewee's 'Banglasia' gets green light from LPF – Nation | The Star Online". The Star. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  32. ^ "cinema.com.my: Annabelle". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  33. ^ "cinema.com.my: The Purge: Anarchy". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  34. ^ islaminindonesia (1 April 2014). "Indonesian sequel film "The Raid 2: Berandal" banned in Malaysia". Islam In Indonesia. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  35. ^ "Malaysia and Indonesia ban Noah film". Telegraph. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  36. ^ Patrick Frater (4 February 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey' Banned in Malaysia". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  37. ^ "cinema.com.my: Unfriended". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  38. ^ "cinema.com.my: Mad Max: Fury Road". Cinema Online. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  39. ^ "'Danish Girl', film on sex-change operations banned by censorship board". Malay Mail. 8 February 2016. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  40. ^ "6 Reasons To Watch Banned In Malaysia's Fundamentally Happy". Eksentrika. 20 October 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  41. ^ "cinema.com.my: The Purge: Election Year". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  42. ^ "cinema.com.my: Happy Death Day". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  43. ^ "cinema.com.my: Alien: Covenant". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  44. ^ "cinema.com.my: Baywatch". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  45. ^ "cinema.com.my: Annabelle: Creation". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  46. ^ "Mother!". www.gsc.com.my. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  47. ^ a b "Famous Movies that Were Initially Banned in Malaysia in the Last 2 Years". The People of Asia. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  48. ^ Padmavati banned in Malaysia for 'touching on the sensitivities of Islam' Archived 10 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Indian Express
  49. ^ Kumar, B Nantha (20 July 2019). "LPF nafi Kadaram Kondan tak ditayang kerana tajuk". MalaysiaKini. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  50. ^ "Reasons For Kadaram Kondan Ban Revealed!". Astro Ulagam. 20 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  51. ^ Johnson, David (20 July 2019). "Why is Vikram's Kadaram Kondan banned in this country?". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  52. ^ "Dhadha 87, 90 ML and Super Deluxe banned in Malaysia!". Indiaglitz. 4 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  53. ^ Raj, Mark Ryan (20 September 2019). "It's off! Stripper movie 'Hustlers' starring Jennifer Lopez banned in Malaysia for cuts and nudity". Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  54. ^ "Abominable film won't be screened in Malaysia over South China Sea map". Channel News Asia. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  55. ^ Ananthalakshmi, A.; Gopalakrishnan, Raju (20 October 2019). "'Abominable' film axed in Malaysia after rebuffing order to cut China map". Reuters. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  56. ^ Taery, Divya (19 November 2020). "Malaysian rapper Namewee's film 'Babi' is banned in Malaysia but makes waves overseas". Mashable SEA. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  57. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (23 November 2021). "Malaysia Bans Chinese War Movie 'The Battle at Lake Changjin'". Variety. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  58. ^ Noorshahrizam, Shahrin Aizat (17 February 2023). "'Pulau' producer confirms movie banned in Terengganu, appealing decision". Malay Mail. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  59. ^ "Disney rejects cuts to Beauty And The Beast in Malaysia". Straits Times. 15 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  60. ^ "Beauty and the Beast: Malaysia 'to show uncut version'". BBC News. 21 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  61. ^ "To infinity and begone! 'Lightyear' won't be playing in Malaysia". The Star. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  62. ^ "'Thor: Love and Thunder' Release in Malaysia Postponed". Variety. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  63. ^ "cinema.com.my: The Wolverine". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
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