13 Apr – The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) recently announced that its Licensing and Enforcement Division will be relaxing the main conditions for filming in conjunction with the transition phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to endemic. According to FINAS CEO Prof Dr Md Nasir Ibrahim, among the conditions include producers no longer having to submit a complete two-dose vaccination certificate for additional crew members and actors, as well as the name and certificate of Filming Protocol Supervisor (PPP) appointed by the company which was previously an additional condition of the Special Filming Certificate (SSP). "The abolition of the three main conditions is due to its burdensome nature to producers. This will help ease the work after almost two years of being affected by the pandemic," said Md Nasir.
However, he stressed that FINAS will continue to monitor productions to ensure that they are not complacent in ensuring that COVID-19 won't spread among film workers. The abolition of these conditions also meant that production companies are now required to fill in the log book of filming activities. "[This is] so that if there are any positive artists or crew, it will make it easier for FINAS to tighten monitoring. We don't want production companies to be complacent and want to make sure everyone has awareness for the good of all parties," he added.