Malaysia’s censor board bans ‘Bruno’

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s National Film Censorship Board has banned Sacha Baron Cohen’s film ‘Bruno’ from being screened in the country. According to the Star Online, a spokesman for the film distributor said the board did not give any reason for the ban on the sexually explicit movie.

However, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim has said the censorship board needs to provide strong reasons to support its decision. He said the board’s explanation must be based on “strong legal arguments” which may include human rights and religious values. He added: “The board should not also throw the movie out without giving the submitting party a chance to explain themselves for scenes which may be deemed objectionable.” Rais insisted that censorship must be reasonable because a movie could be rendered meaningless if it was severely filtered. MSN Entertainment reports, the movie has been banned in Ukraine, Lebanon and Bahamas too. In fact in Hong Kong, posters of Bruno have been banned in subway stations. However, the film was a box-office hit in the United States. ANI