IPOH: Perak has written to the Central Agency for the Application of Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (Puspal) to seek an explanation over the circulation of a promotional clip of a reality show at the Royal Belum State Park that had naked scenes.
Expressing regret over the incident, state Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi said Puspal, under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, would take appropriate action.
"Yes, we (the state) are fully aware of the promotional clip and we have been getting countless complaints.
"We have officially written to Puspal on the matter and are awaiting their next course of action," she told the New Straits Times.
Admitting that Perak had granted the company permit to film in the more than 130-year-old rainforest, said to be older than the Amazon forest, Nolee Ashilin said the permission was granted based on recommendation from Puspal.
She said Puspal had made it clear to the company that there were strict rules and regulations which it was duty-bound to follow.
She also said that from what she understood, the company was supposed to show the contents of the end product to Puspal before releasing it to the public.
"We were told the filming was for a documentary programme, and at that time the programme was untitled.
"We did not expect this until we saw the promotional clip. This is most unfortunate," she said, pointing out that the filming was not done in the park proper but nearby Sungai Gadong.
It was reported that a Discovery Channel programme, Naked and Afraid, in one of its episodes, The Pain Forest, aired on April 13 in the United States, which was shot in Malaysia, had nude scenes.
Although the programme was meant solely for American viewers, the promotional clip was widely available in YouTube.