The government is looking into the mandatory broadcast proposal for local animation on television channels
Govt to study special mandatory quota for local animations on TV
Communications and Digital Ministry to look at broadcasting digital content made in Malaysia
Communications and Digital Minister says the government will hold further talks with the relevant parties, following complaints by local animation companies that television stations have refused to buy their works due to the high price.
CYBERJAYA: The Ministry of Communications and Digital (KKD) is ready to examine the need to set a special mandatory quota for local television companies to broadcast local animation on their respective channels.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the matter was seen to help local artists to highlight their work in the public eye.
“This is something that I basically support, I think there is a need for us to examine the digital content produced in our country not just for us to generate or publish but for us to show and exhibit.
If there is a mandatory screening scheme in our films, maybe for animation and some other things we need to consider what is the appropriate policy to help the digital content works to highlight their works to the general public, especially in Malaysia,” he told the media after the Briefing session General Creative Industries Series 2: Digital Content and Creative Technologies here today.
The General Briefing organized by the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) was attended by almost 400 participants and lasted over two hours and was also attended by Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Teo Nie Ching, MDEC Chairman Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh and MDEC Chief Executive Officer Mahadhir Aziz.
Fahmi said the government is also ready to examine things that can be done to help artists export their works.
“We need to see what we can do to export the results of these works to at least the Southeast Asian region, (because) compared to ASEAN, Malaysia we see has 34 million people but ASEAN has more than 660 million people.
“So in terms of the market, there are a lot of opportunities, so we will look into what we can do to help them, not only in the country but to export their works abroad,” he said.
At the same time, Fahmi said the government will also hold further discussions with the parties involved following complaints from local animation companies who claim television companies refuse to buy their work because of the high price.
“This is an economic issue, I need to have a little more discussion with all the parties involved to understand. Unlike telefilm production or other productions, indeed animation cannot be denied the reality that it consumes more resources, it requires large resources, and whether the station our television is capable or not.
“Maybe here for next year, maybe we can consider what we can do to maybe give additional support to artists like Les Copaque,” he said.
Earlier during the town hall session, the founder of Les’ Copaque Production Burhanuddin Md Radzi expressed a complaint about the dilemma of local animation producers regarding works that cannot be broadcast on local television stations due to various factors and raised the need to give priority to local products for television broadcast.
