KUALA LUMPUR: The controversial indie film "Mentega Terbang" has been removed from Viu, a Hong Kong-based video streaming platform.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it had no authority to censor movies and TV dramas since they fall outside its scope.
However, the commission said it contacted Viu regarding the matter, and the streaming service confirmed that the movie had indeed been pulled down.
"Section 3(3) of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 states that the censorship of movies or dramas on streaming platforms does not fall under the jurisdiction of the MCMC," it told FMT.
MCMC added that it was committed to working with the Islamic development department (Jakim) on monitoring any content that contradicted the teachings of Islam.
"The MCMC will always cooperate and provide technical support to the state religious department to conduct investigations under the Syariah Criminal Offences Act."
Mentega Terbang", which discusses the similarities and differences between the major religions in Malaysia, has drawn criticism from the public and artists alike following its release on Viu last month.
On March 2 , Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said checks conducted by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) on the film's content found that it went against the creed and way of life of Muslims from the Syafie school of thought in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the Film Censorship Board (LPF) said it didn't have jurisdiction over locally-produced independent film because it was exclusively available online.
Recently, a scene depicting the movie's main character Aisyah's desire to eat pork and her father granting permission to leave Islam went viral.
In response to the scenes, netizens questioned how the movie was made available to the public.
The film stars Syumaila Salihin, Firdaus Karim, Nik Waheeda, Arjun Thanaraju, Khairunazwan Rodzy, Shyamala Kandapper and Jesebel Lee.