NECF Malaysia never applied to the Government for The Passion of the Christ to be viewed by Christians only. Its Secretary-General Rev Wong Kim Kong stressed this to clarify the misconception arising from media reports and rumours that a certain Christian body was responsible for this “Christian only” viewing.
He suggested that the misunder-standing probably came about after the Government granted approval for the film with the condition that the tickets are to be sold through churches only and not made available to the public over the counter.
Wishing to set the record straight, he explained how the film came to our screen with the help of Dr Vincent Lim, the Prime Minister’s political secretary.
 He said: “When the film was released in the US and other parts of the world, NECF received many requests to get the Government’s approval for the film in anticipation of a government ban. Our response then was that this was a commercial enterprise and the Church should not be involved in the initial stage of application by the distributor to the Censorship Board.
“But there arose rumours that the film had been banned and we decided to discuss the matter with the relevant authorities through the good office of Dr Vincent Lim. We were in constant communication with him verbally and it was relayed to him that the film has sentimental value to Christians and it also contains historical truths.
“During this time, several Christian groups wrote in to the Prime Minister to seek the approval for the film screening. One denomination particularly sought approval for the film to be screened in its churches. I believe that it was this denomination’s application that sparked talks that the approval for the film was forthcoming.
“At that time, 20th Century Fox (the distributor) had not even bothered to send the film for review to the Censorship Board in view of our censorship laws that forbid the public screening of films depicting any of the prophets mentioned in the Quran and we know Muslims consider Jesus one of their prophets.
“We believe the Prime Minister sympathetically considered the various applications for approval and decided to get around the censorship law by granting the application but with conditions, including restricting the viewing to Christians only and restricting sales of the tickets through churches only.
“When we received news from Dr Lim that the PM had verbally approved the film to be shown, we contacted the distributor and assisted them in putting the application through. After the approval was formally granted, the distributor chose to work exclusively with us on the ticket sales according to the approval conditions outlined by the Home Ministry.”
Rev Wong added that immediately after receiving the approval letter, NECF decided to print 50,000 copies of the “Experience the Passion of the Christ” booklet, which explains why Jesus died to, complement the film which shows how He died.
He appealed for understanding from the Christian community and urged those who have doubts about NECF’s manner of handling matters to contact NECF directly for clarification.
The controversy over the “Christian only” viewing of the film was played out in the local dailies after one politician queried at a parliament session the government’s condition that only Christians might view the film.
Ms Teresa Kok, the state assemblyman of Seputeh, argued that all Malaysians should be given the freedom to watch movies of their choice and that watching the movie would help promote understanding of other religions, something much needed in a multi-racial country like Malaysia. Ms Kok’s eloquent argument opened a floodgate of opinions from many quarters, including notable newspaper columnists and social activists.
There were also inaccurate and incorrect newspaper reports on the matter, which provided more fodder for argument. For example, one local English daily reported that the Government had banned the film on the grounds that it could affect sensitivities relating to the depiction of Jesus Christ…” and “it later lifted the ban but decided to only allow Christians to watch it with tickets purchased from churches.” The report is inaccurate in that the Government had never banned the film as the film distributor did not even submit the film for approval to the Censorship Board. Another newspaper criticised the Christian organisation – without naming it – for applying for the film to be screened to only Christians.
By applying for limited viewing to Christians only, the organisation was acting selfishly, the paper had said. Notwithstanding the reports – whether inaccurate or bias – the newspapers had helped to publicise the film. |
