Finas akan panggil penggiat filem, teliti dakwaan kartel

The Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) is set to summon film distributors, agents, and producers to investigate allegations of a movie cartel, alongside issues of market dominance within the local film industry. CEO Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib stated that despite no formal complaints being received so far, Finas is taking proactive steps to gather information to understand the current state of the industry.

"Formally, Finas has not received any complaints, but that does not mean we are not gathering information. We are now collecting information," he told reporters after a joint briefing session with Finas Executive Director of Film Negara 2026-2035 at Finas Damansara Tower today. Azmir emphasized that the primary concern is not just about a single distributor controlling the entire market, but the possibility of a single entity being involved in various stages of the industry, such as distributor, producer, and movie theatre owner.

Currently, his investigation has found no company holding all three relevant licenses simultaneously, in line with Finas Act which limits a company to hold a maximum of two license categories. However, he noted that the study will also look into the possibility of cross-industry operations, through subsidiaries or different business entities.

Additionally, Azmir revealed that Finas is receiving information from a local Tamil film producer regarding the arrival of an Indian film at the end of the year, which is allegedly undercutting the schedule of his own films. To address this issue, he said, Finas is exploring mechanisms to mandate early notification of international film releases, similar to Singapore's approach of notifying at least one month before screening.

Azmir stressed that aligning schedules is crucial to protect local films across all languages, including Malay, Tamil, and Chinese, from facing sudden competition from foreign films targeting the same audience.