Malaysia bans Spielberg's Prince

The Prince of Egypt falls foul of censors (courtesy DreamWorks)

Steven Spielberg's animated epic The Prince of Egypt has been banned in Malaysia.

Government officials in the country said the film had been banned so as not to offend the country's majority Muslim population.Film Censorship Board chairman Lukeman Saaid said: "We found it insensitive for religious and moral reasons. Because of the many races in Malaysia, religion is a very sensitive issue."

The film was produced by DreamWorks Studios, which is co-funded by Steven Spielberg. His films have a history of trouble with Malaysian censors.
Saving Private Ryan was allowed but with many violent scenes cut. Spielberg insisted the film be shown in full - and it still has not been seen in Malaysia.


Strict censorship in Malaysia
About 60% of Malaysia's 22 million people are Muslim; the remainder are Christian, Hindu or Buddhist. Film censors in the country have little tolerance over nudity, sex, strong language, violence or sensitive religious themes in films.

The ban has angered opposition leader Lim Kit Sang. He said: "This high-handed attitude may be the order of yesteryear but is no more satisfactory or acceptable in this modern age of information technology.

"How can Malaysia become Asia's film-making hub when it has such outmoded censorship laws?"