Cover image via Tan Pin Pin
Singapore GaGa, a 54-minute documentary by filmmaker Tan Pin Pin, has been banned by the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia
According to the Malaysian Censorship Board, the movie, a paean to the quirkiness of the Singaporean aural landscape which features the country's buskers, street vendors, and school cheerleaders, could be a "security threat" and "create doubt and restlessness" among citizens, wrote the highly acclaimed Singapore film director.
She also posted a copy of the Film Censorship Board's directive:
Image via Tan Pin Pin
The film was due to be screened as part of Titian Budaya Festival, an event celebrating Singapore-Malaysia ties, later this month in KL
What exactly in this film, that the Board thinks, could be a "security threat" and "create doubt and restlessness" among citizens?
This is the part of the film where Victor Khoo the ventriloquist and Charlee are entertaining kids and he teases the kids by calling them ***binatang-binatang*** in Malay, which translates to **"animals"** in English. But the Malaysian Film Censorship Board has snipped the word saying it has a **"double meaning"**.
Quoting from the censor's report, the director [posted](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153191740237455) the translated version:
"Erase (Victor Khoo) saying "animals" in Malay and delete the subtitles of "animals" which has a double meaning.
This goes against the Film Censorship Guidelines Ministry of Home Affairs Part II:2.1.1 (v) Dialogue can create doubt and restlessness among citizens and finally may cause a security threat, disturbance of public peace and national defense."
