Culture, Arts and Heritage minister today called for a review of a documentary featuring ex-members of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya, after it was banned.

Rais Yatim said he wanted a chance to see Apa Khabar Orang Kampung (Village People Radio Show) after Malaysia's film censorship board banned it on Feb 12.

The film premiered earlier this month at the Berlin Film Festival.

"I think it would be wise to view this film again in the context of determining if it actually is against security, or it transgresses on lines of morality or other matters," Rais told reporters.

"We should have a fair reaction first towards our own films before we simply cut it off before it is put on the slate," he said.

The film's maker, Amir Muhammad, said he had lodged an appeal with the board on Monday against its criticisms, including accusations the film was one-sided and pro-communist.

"It sounds as if I am making this propaganda piece, whereas I am recording what people are saying," Amir told AFP on Tuesday.

"It is my responsibility to record accurately what they want to portray," he said.

The 72-minute documentary shows ethnic Malay Muslim former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) members, living in exile in southern Thailand, talking about their lives and experiences in the party, interspersed with a Thai radio serial that Amir recorded.

The CPM fought a guerrilla campaign against the British colonial and Malay governments between 1948 and 1960.

Useful bogey

Amir accused the board of "wilful confusion" with their ban, and said authorities were keeping Malaysians fearful of communists and using them to justify harsh security laws.

"The communists themselves were never very large in number ... but it's been such a useful tool for Malaysia. It's a useful bogey," Amir said.

"Eighteen years after the end of the Cold War, we seem to be the only country still fighting it," he added.

Amir had a run-in with authorities in May last year when they banned another film, "The Last Communist", a musical documentary inspired by the life of former CPA chief Chin Peng.

The censorship board passed the film, but it was stopped before its national debut by the Internal Security Ministry, which cited public interest.

"Village People Radio Show" would be shown at Hong Kong's International Film Festival in March, and travel in April to the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival and Singapore's International Film Festival, Amir said.