Although the film ‘ Gadoh ’ is not officially banned, it has not been approved by the Home Ministry for public screening, according to the head of the film division in Malacca, Nasruddin Abdullah.

gadoh movie The film was scheduled to be screened yesterday in Malacca to commemorate Merdeka day.

On Monday Special Branch officers had a meeting with the organiser - the Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall - and informed the group that they are not allowed to screen the movie.

The Youth chief of the Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall, Kua Sin Kheng, said the police claimed that the movie could be a threat to public order.

“The police told me that they received orders from the Home Ministry to stop the screening. They have also sent a copy of the movie to Bukit Aman for further investigation,” he told Malaysiakini today.

Kua however claimed that it was not a public screening because it was a private event where the participants will be issued tickets.

Nasruddin explained that all films to be aired to the public need to first obtain approval from the Control and Film Censorship division under the Home Ministry in Putrajaya.

“I have checked and there is no approval record of this film. It has not been approved and it is not in the process of getting the approval,” he said, adding that public screening of the movie could be illegal.

Nasruddin however denied that the ministry has banned the film, and claimed that they have not done any investigation as yet.

The film, produced by Pusat Komas, is directed by Brenda Danker Shahili Abdan - who is popularly known as Namron - and has been in circulation for over a year since it was premiered on May 22 last year.

According to the official movie synopsis, ‘ Gadoh ’ tells the story of a group of teenagers who fought each other along racial lines; a cycle of hatred and violence further escalated by their environment and school system.

When contacted, Komas executive director Tan Jo Hann said, “The film promotes racial harmony. So what is wrong with it? There are millions of violent movies, how come they do not censor those movies?”

Attempts to contact the Melaka Tengah police chief have been unsuccessful.