KUALA LUMPUR: The success of keeping the creative industry alive despite the Covid-19 pandemic is the best achievement of the National Film Development Corporation's (Finas) CEO Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri during his tenure at the agency.
Persatuan Pekerja Profesional Filem Malaysia (Profima) president Khir Mohd Noor said that various fruitful initiatives to tackle the problems faced by arts practitioners were carried out by Ahmad Idham together with the board that included Finas chairman Zakaria Abdul Hamid.
"I was surprised to find out that Ahmad Idham had resigned from his post since it happened so suddenly.
"During his time as CEO, we could see his efforts to steer Finas especially in this pandemic era to help arts practitioners who had been severely impacted with various aid initiatives as well as to find solutions to allow them to return to work.
"The result has seen many arts practitioners including Profima members receiving the benefit of the effort.
"I wish to thank Ahmad Idham and his team at Finas for their continuous hard work for the arts industry that has taken a harsh beating since last year due to the pandemic," he said in a news report yesterday.
Talking about the criteria for Ahmad Idham's replacement, Khir said that it would be best if the candidate was an administrative and diplomatic officer (PTD) from the civil service rather than a contract staff.
"Usually when the position is given to a contract staff based only on the candidate having a background in the industry, the length of service is very short.
"Sometimes when a project is just getting off the ground, the contract expires or is terminated. When a new replacement comes in, the policies change according to their mission.
"If a PTD is heading Finas, then this issue will not happen since they can carry out their job over a longer timeframe. Before this, Finas was headed by individuals who were not from the arts field but still managed to achieve success.
"Moreover, the chosen candidate will be surrounded by experienced officers who would be able to provide assistance. Perhaps the post of Finas chairman be given to those who have lots of experience in the arts field instead," he said.
Meanwhile, Persatuan Penerbit Televisyen Malaysia (PTVM) president Datuk Jurey Latiff Rosli hopes that the new candidate be very familiar with the various issues affecting the creative industry.
"The individual must be well versed in the many problems faced by the creative industry. Arts practitioners also want to know the direction that the candidate would like to steer the industry to.
"We need to have a clear vision of where we are heading aside from the candidate having the experience and knowledge related to the industry which is important for generating new ideas.
"Another crucial requirement is having a good network of international arts practitioners since this exposure is really important," he said.
Jurey also thanked Ahmad Idham for his service and efforts during his time as Finas CEO and hopes that he will continue to achieve success in his next endeavour.
Recently, Zakaria had confirmed that Ahmad Idham had conveyed his intention to step down during a Finas board meeting held last Thursday.