FINAS CEO tweets to clarify recent statement on Netflix censorship
18 Nov– After sparking rage among Netflix users in Malaysia over the weekend with his statement on censoring the streaming platform's content in the country, Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri, CEO of The National Film Development Corporation (FINAS), has taken to Twitter to clarify the issue.
He released a series of tweets on his official account, starting off by saying that he stated during the recent "Seminar Keluarga Sejahtera 2019" at UTM KL that his suggestion came after taking note of parents lamenting the lack of content censoring in today's digital age.
He then clarified that what he suggested was actually for FINAS and for the National Council of Women's Organisations Malaysia (NCWO) to hold a forum or seminar to debate the issue with the context of strengthening digital contents in the future.
To wrap it up, he stated that FINAS has no power to censor but in the context of digital content, FINAS will always be looking for the best way to boost local content so that it will leave a positive impact on the society and nation.
The issue first started when Harian Metro reported two days ago that FINAS is urging the local government to censor the contents of the popular streaming platform, citing the negative influence that uncensored contents could have on children as the reason.
Netizens have since retaliated by pointing out the Parental Controls setting on Netflix, saying that parents should be aware of this setting. Some also said that they are not forking out the amount that they pay monthly just to watch censored contents.
While Malaysia is raising the issue on censoring Netflix, this is something that neighbouring countries in the region don't seem to be overly concerned with. Ever since Netflix arrived in Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and other fellow Southeast Asian nations, there has been no issue in the respective countries with the language, violent or sexual contents that the streaming platform provides to local users.
(Photo source: Ahmad Idham's Instagram)
