Backlash for Best Film and Best Non-Bahasa Film categories On 3 August 2016, the nominees list for the 28th Malaysian Film festival was revealed to the public. It came to attention that
Jagat and
Ola Bola, both of which were critically acclaimed and the latter being one of the highest grossing domestic films of all time, were disqualified from the Best Film category of FFM28 to be put instead in the Best Non-Bahasa Malaysia Film category. The reasoning given was that the films had not followed the criteria amount of the
Bahasa Malaysia used, which is around 70 percent. The move was deemed to be undeserving and thus received intense backlash from both filmmakers and netizens alike, particularly from the Screenwriters Association of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor (PENULIS) whose president Alfie Palermo had lambasted it as "racist". Although the criticism for the categories is not recent (the 'Best Picture, non-Bahasa Malaysia' category had been established in 2011 where as the 'Best Screenplay' and 'Best Director' awards with the same subcategory were created in this award), He had also offered to resign from the post next year should the problem persist. The move was lauded by
CIMB Group chairman
Nazir Razak and
Air Asia CEO
Tony Fernandes. The protest was also joined by cinematographer Mohd Nor Kassim, who was nominated for his work in
Bravo 5, stating that the nominations' segregation by language "gave the impression that Malays were afraid of competing with non-Malays". Nor Kassim later returned his previously won awards, wrapped in a black plastic bag, to
FINAS director Kamil Othman during the Tanya FINAS 2.0 forum in Kuala Lumpur. The assistant-general secretary of the Film Directors' Association of Malaysia (FDAM), Hafiz Ibrahim had also resigned in protest. On 6 August,
Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak stated to the press that he will meet up with
FINAS officials over the increasingly volatile issue. On 11 August, Salleh Said had announced in a press statement to
BERNAMA that the Best Film Category shall be open to all entries regardless of language. FINAS also decided to cancel all "Non-Bahasa Malaysia" subcategories for the Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture awards and create a new Best Picture in the National Language category in their place. This counterreaction however upset the Film Directors' Association of Malaysia (FDAM), where its secretary Datuk Rahim Awang announced that the guild will not take part in the ceremonies as the allowing of Bahasa and non-Bahasa films to compete in equal terms "was akin to insulting the
Federal Constitution and showing disrespect to the
Rukunegara". One of its excos and special project bureau head, Jeffrey Chiang submitted his letter of resignation to avoid association with the guild despite not agreeing himself with FDAM's stance. In 2017, FINAS's director-general Fauzi Ayob had announced that a new encompassing category called "Best Film" will replace the two aforementioned Best Film categories in upcoming future awards, stating in a press conference that "this move will allow all nominees to compete on equal grounds". ==References==