List of films banned in Malaysia

This is a list of films banned (or rejected) in Malaysia. Films that are assigned the Tidak Diluluskan Untuk Tayangan ("Not Passed for Screening") category by the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia are banned for sale, possession, distribution and screening. Screening rejected films, possessing, selling, or even owning them in private is forbidden and strictly enforced and can be punished with severe fines, up to 20 years' imprisonment or both.

Films
Year Name Notes Ref.
1956 The King and I Banned due to offense from neighboring country Thailand. It was passed in 2005 with a VCD release and a DVD release from FOX Malaysia. [1]
1971 A Clockwork Orange Banned due to its explicit sexual and violent content. A censored version was released on DVD after several years. [2]
1977 Saturday Night Fever Banned by Cinema International Corporation's Paramount Malaysia division, reportedly because it was deemed to cause chaos in the community. However, the ban was reversed. [3]
1982 Class of 1984 Banned due to a majority of the film bringing up sexual references, violence, profanity and drug abuse.
1986 Platoon Banned due to vulgar language and violence. [4]
1993 Schindler's List Banned initially; the Malaysian Film Censorship Board described the film as “propaganda with the purpose of asking for sympathy.” A heavily censored DVD version was later release in 2004. [1]
1994 The Shawshank Redemption Banned for depiction of cruelty, profanity, and violence. Later released on DVD. [1]
1995 Babe Banned due to "babe" sounding similar to "babi," the Malay word for "pig," which is non-halal; also portrays pigs in a positive light. [1][3]
1998 The Prince of Egypt Never released in cinemas because the censor body ruled that the film is "insensitive for religious and moral reasons". The film was passed for VCD and DVD release by Berjaya HVN. [5]
1998 Babe: Pig in the City Banned due to its title and subject matter not being halal (pigs—whether or not they're used as food—are considered highly taboo in the Muslim religion, of which Malaysia has a sizeable population). Released direct-to-VHS when the ruling was overturned almost a year later. [3]
1999 American Beauty Banned for strong sexual content (including scenes depicting pedophilia and homosexuality) [6]
1999 Eyes Wide Shut Banned due to strong sexual content, but now available at Google Play Movies.
Year Name Notes Ref.
2000 Scary Movie Ban lifted and released on digital streaming.
2001 Zoolander Banned for its offensive despiction of the country in the film, and involving a plot to assassinate a prime minister [7]
2006 V for Vendetta Banned for explicit violence.
2007 Dukun Not originally released for public screening due to controversy surrounding the 1993 murder case it is based on, but 11 years later, footage of this film resurfaced and leaked online. It was officially released in 2018 in cinemas nationwide.
2007 I Don't Want to Sleep Alone Banned based on 18 counts of incidents shown in the film depicting the country "in a bad light" for cultural, ethical, and racial reasons. However, they later allowed the film to be screened in the country after Tsai agreed to censor parts of the film according to the requirements of the Censorship Board. [8]
2008 Wanted passed for home video release by Berjaya HVN and United International Pictures Malaysia.
2008 Street Kings passed for a DVD and VCD release by Fox Malaysia and Berjaya-HVN.
2009 The Hangover [1]
Year Name Notes Ref.
2010 Rumah Dara aka Macabre Banned due to horror violence, gore, and cannibalism. [9]
2012 Mental Banned due to very high-impact violence, drug abuse and crude humour.
2013 Vishwaroopam Shown in local cinemas on 24 January 2013, but the approval was withdrawn the next day, in accordance with a directive from the Home Ministry following concerns from the public that the film portrays Islam in a negative light. Malaysian authorities lifted the ban on 19 February 2014, however, after several scenes were cut. [10]
2013 Race 2 Banned for showcasing underworld crime in Turkey. [11]
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street Banned for scenes of sex, drug abuse, and offensive language. [12]
2013 The New Village Banned after causing riots and chaos during its initial screening, and for supposedly promoting communism. [13]
2014 Banglasia (猛加拉杀手) The film was heavily criticised by the LPF (Film Censorship Board) and KDN (Home Ministry department), which received 31 official notes and orders to re-shoot the movie. On 12 February 2019, the ban was lifted when LPF approved the film undergone 7 scenes reedits or cut, a small reshoot and updates. In addition,the new version of the film was release under news title Banglasia 2.0. [14][15]
2014 Noah Banned due to religious content and its depictions of the prophets. [16]
2015 Fifty Shades of Grey Banned due to strong sexual content and graphic nudity. Passed cut for TV release in 2018 and was given an 18 rating. [17]
2015 Mad Max: Fury Road Originally banned for possible abuse-related themes, but later passed and given a release on May 2015. [18]
2015 The Danish Girl Banned due to sexual and nude content as well on grounds of moral depravity. [19]
2015 Fundamentally Happy Banned due to contain elements that may be sensitive to the feelings of Malaysian Malays and may be interpreted by Malaysian Malays as an attempt to reflect the community's attitude towards those who abuse the weak to fulfil their desires. [20]
2016 The Purge: Election Year Originally banned for its political and violent themes, but later passed and given a release on July 2016. [21]
2016 The Neon Demon Banned for explicit depictions of violence, gore, sexual violence, necrophilia, cannibalism, occultism and other themes.
2017 Beauty and the Beast Banned due to homosexual references in the movie. Disney rejected the Film Censorship Board's suggestions for an edited version, and thus held it from Malaysian release until several days later where it was released without any cuts. [22][23]
2018 Padmaavat Banned for negatively portraying Alauddin Khalji, a Muslim ruler of medieval India. [24]
2019 Kadaram Kondan Banned per orders of LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) due to the story's portrayal of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) in a negative light and for portraying police officers as corrupt and for scenes which supposedly inaccurately and misleadingly represent the police force. In addition, the makers of the film failed to get necessary police permits to shoot scenes in Malaysia; the Malaysian law requires that film production receives permission from the relevant authorities such as FINAS, PUSPAL and others before shooting. [25][26][27]
2019 Super Deluxe Banned by LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) due to sensitive and mature content. [28]
2019 Dha Dha 87 Banned by LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) due to sensitive and mature content. [28]
2019 90ML Banned by LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) due to sensitive and mature content. [28]
2019 Rocketman Originally banned for sexual themes and drug use, but later passed and given a delayed release on July 2019. [29]
2019 Hustlers Initially scheduled to be released on 19 September 2019, but the film's local distributor suddenly called off the press preview screening a day before. Later, they confirmed that LPF (Film Censorship Board of Malaysia) are not sanctioning the release of the film due to erotic and nudity scenes in the film. [30]
2019 Abominable Banned due to a scene involving the Nine-Dash Line, a contested demarcation line used by China to lay claim over a portion of the South China Sea. Passed for DVD release by United International Pictures Malaysia. [31][32]
Year Name Notes Ref.
2020 Babi Banned due to word Babi, directly translates to "pig" in Malay and probably due to its provoking nature. [33]

See also

References
  1. "They're a no-show | Major movies banned in Malaysia". Free Malaysia Today. 25 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. Davis, Laura (16 August 2009). "Gratuitous Gore and Sex". Tonight. Tonight & Independent Online. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  3. Gogoi, Pallavi (5 November 2006). "Banning Borat". Businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  4. "Why 'Platoon' is banned". New Straits Times. 7 April 1987. p. 3. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  5. "Malaysia bans Spielberg's Prince". BBC News. 27 January 1999. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  7. "Zoolander faces Malaysian censorship controversy". Guardian Unlimited. London, United Kingdom. 28 September 2001. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  8. "Cutting for change" Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, TheStar Online, 14 May 2007.
  9. "Film "Rumah Dara" Dicekal di Malaysia" (in Indonesian). ESQmagazine. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010.
  10. PTI (19 February 2013). "Malaysia lifts ban on 'Vishwaroopam'". Business Line. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  12. Pamela McClintock (15 January 2014). "Gay Orgy, Gone! 'Wolf of Wall Street' Censored, Banned Overseas". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  13. Wurm, Gerald. "The New Village Banned in Malaysia - Media Criticism Prompted Censor's Office to Act - Movie-Censorship.com". www.movie-censorship.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  14. ""Banglasia" By Namewee Banned". Malaysian Digest. 4 February 2014. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  15. Seto, Kit Yan. "Namewee's 'Banglasia' gets green light from LPF – Nation | The Star Online". The Star. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  16. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2014/04/05/noah-banned-in-Malaysia
  17. Patrick Frater (4 February 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey' Banned in Malaysia". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  18. "cinema.com.my: Mad Max: Fury Road". Cinema Online. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  19. "'Danish Girl', film on sex-change operations banned by censorship board". Malay Mail. 8 February 2016. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  20. "6 Reasons To Watch Banned In Malaysia's Fundamentally Happy". Eksentrika. 20 October 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  21. "cinema.com.my: The Purge: Election Year". www.cinema.com.my. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  22. "Disney rejects cuts to Beauty And The Beast in Malaysia". Straits Times. 15 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  23. "Beauty and the Beast: Malaysia 'to show uncut version'". BBC News. 21 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  24. Padmavati banned in Malaysia for 'touching on the sensitivities of Islam' Archived 10 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Indian Express
  25. Kumar, B Nantha (20 July 2019). "LPF nafi Kadaram Kondan tak ditayang kerana tajuk". MalaysiaKini. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  26. "Reasons For Kadaram Kondan Ban Revealed!". Astro Ulagam. 20 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  27. Johnson, David (20 July 2019). "Why is Vikram's Kadaram Kondan banned in this country?". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  28. "Dhadha 87, 90 ML and Super Deluxe banned in Malaysia!". Indiaglitz. 4 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  29. "Rocketman". Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  30. Raj, Mark Ryan (20 September 2019). "It's off! Stripper movie 'Hustlers' starring Jennifer Lopez banned in Malaysia for cuts and nudity". Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  31. "Abominable film won't be screened in Malaysia over South China Sea map". Channel News Asia. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  32. Ananthalakshmi, A.; Gopalakrishnan, Raju (20 October 2019). "'Abominable' film axed in Malaysia after rebuffing order to cut China map". Reuters. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  33. https://sea.mashable.com/entertainment/13277/malaysian-rapper-namewees-film-babi-is-banned-in-malaysia-but-makes-waves-overseas. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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