KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 – The Ministry of Communications has instructed the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) to look into the issue of child actor salaries to ensure that no party takes advantage of this group, the Dewan Negara was told today.
Minister Fahmi Fadzil said this issue is important as children may not know their rights as actors.
“FINAS is currently examining several amendments to acts, including the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Licensing) Regulations, to enhance issues pertaining to children and youth involved in (film and drama) production, as well as the welfare of actors, veterans, and crew,” he said when replying to a question from Senator Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai.
Meanwhile, replying to the original question from Senator Datuk Noraini Idris, Fahmi said the ministry viewed seriously a study which revealed that 73.13 per cent of companies involved in film and drama production were unaware of the requirement to obtain a public entertainment licence before employing child and young actors.
He said that currently, most production and filming companies will liaise with FINAS to apply for the filming authentication certificate.
“We will make it one of the benchmarks for FINAS programmes to ensure that all companies applying for this certificate understand the licences they need to apply for with the Department of Labour,” he said.
