Kuala Lumpur Datuk Bandar Mohmad Shaik Mohd Taufik's reversal of City Hall's decision to revoke Instant Caf Theatre's (ICT) licence has been well received by human rights group Hakam.

In a brief statement, Hakam president Ramdas Tikamdas commended the mayor for exercising his discretion in the cause of free speech and expression in the fine arts.

Mohmad Shaik was reported as saying that he would personally approve all future applications for performance and entertainment permits, thereby removing this power from City Hall's Licensing Department.

Theatre groups had condemned City Hall for acting against ICT for not complying with its order to delete "offensive" portions of a recent production, ' The 2nd First Annual Bolehwood Awards - The Directors Cut '.

The mayor, however, said he had found nothing offensive about the satire and that the show could even go on. (By then, it had closed on schedule after sellout performances for the duration of its run up to July 17.)

Public confidence

Ramdas described the mayor's decision as "exemplary" discharge of public office consistent with human rights principles, thereby upping the public's confidence and respect for City Hall.

ICT began performing the satire on July 9. Two days later, Utusan Malaysia carried a letter from a reader who took offence at ICT's portrayal of Malaysia's racial and Islamic policies, jibes against politicians and use of profanity.

City Hall then issued a issued a letter directing the ICT producers to take out five scenes it had found controversial.

The group refused and continued with the performance. City Hall officers then turned up on the final day of the show, and issued a compound notice to the show producer Adeline Tan for staging a performance without a permit. This carried a maximum fine of RM10,000.

Information disputed

However, City Hall now disputes that a 'show cause' letter or compound notice were ever issued.

When contacted, City Hall public relations officer Sharifuddin Ibrahim clarified that news reports alleging that ICT had been slapped with a RM10,000 fine for performing without a permit on Thursday were completely inaccurate.

"There is a misconception regarding the fine imposed on ICT....in fact, no compound (notice) was ever issued," Sharifuddin said.

He also claimed that no show-cause letter was ever issued to the theatre group, only a letter 'advising' them to comply with certain requirements.

On July 18, The Star had quoted Sarifuddin as saying that City Hall had no choice but to issue the theatre company a 'show cause' letter.

"Since Instant Cafe Theatre did not abide by the directive, it will no longer be given a licence to perform, effective today," he was quoted as saying in the report, which was accompanied by a photo of Tan signing a document in front of an officer.

The report also said City Hall had decided not to issue any more performance licences to ICT, as a result of its failure to comply with the directive.

Malaysiakini

had reported on July 18 that City Hall requires producers to submit a script, and that performances are allowed to be staged as long as it "does not go beyond our ethical and moral boundaries, does not touch on sensitivities such as religious, racial and controversial issues".

This was the second time that ICT had run into trouble with the authorities. A previous performance - ' The Baltimore Waltz ' - was censored because of a particular scene alluding to sexual intercourse.