KUALA LUMPUR: Film and TV drama producers who are finding it hard to obtain studios registered to local authorities (PBT) and the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) to continue with filming during MCO 3.0 have been asked to be patient and to adhere to the instructions issued by the government.
The National Film Development Corporation's (Finas) CEO Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri said that SOP were tightened following proposals from the National Security Council (MKN) in order to save lives.
"Finas understands that many have been affected by the newly-enforced SOP but this is only temporary in nature. We want to help the government to break the Covid-19 chain.
"If everyone agrees to stay at home and the cases decrease, then filming can resume as usual. The faster we contain this pandemic, the faster filming can continue," he said in a news report today.
Ahmad Idham added that Finas could not fulfil the request of producers to film in closed locations aside from registered studios because of the high risk and potential danger to the artistes and crew.
"We have strong reasons on why filming is only allowed in the studio. Those are private premises which make it easy for the production to control the movement of artistes and crew," he said.
Ahmad Idham added that this step was done to ensure that there were no clusters within the creative industry.
He explained that there were close to 30 studios operating around the country including in Sabah and Sarawak that could benefit producers.
Although Finas is aware that the studios are not necessarily suitable for every type of filming session, at least the industry can still function during this time.
"MKN doesn't want the economy of the creative industry to come to a halt, but instead for operations to downsize. This is all only temporary," he said.
Ahmad Idham added: "Finas is not worried about the economy of the arts industry since a lot of production companies that are filming have received aid from Finas via Pakej Rangsangan Industri Kreatif Malaysia (Prisma) that was recently unveiled."
Meanwhile, on the issue of TV stations apparently pressuring producers to quickly complete their products, Ahmad Idham said that he had already contacted the broadcasters to discuss the matter.
So far, he said that the TV stations understood the constraints faced by the producers and were ready to negotiate on the provision of content.
