KUALA LUMPUR – Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz today announced RM50 million in Budget 2023 to promote the creation of more movies on nationhood.
The sum will be allocated to the National Film Production Fund (Dekan) which is tasked with driving the local creative industry, he said when tabling the budget in Parliament today.
He said more films should emulate the success of Mat Kilau, which has raked in close to RM100 million in the box office to date, making it the highest grossing Malaysian movie ever. Tengku Zafrul also cited films like Leftenan Adnan and Ola Bola as other examples of movies that need to be made.
Besides that, the government will be allocating RM102 million for the Digital Content Fund to promote the works of local artists, so as to spur the creation of more original productions.
To support artists in creating high-quality content, the government also announced a tax deduction for the film community fund under Finas.
Apart from that, import duty and sales tax exemptions on studio goods and filming productions will also be given.
Tengku Zafrul also said the government would step up efforts to promote and preserve art, culture and heritage at the grassroots level with an allocation of RM25 million, reported Bernama.
The government would implement three initiatives to encourage the production and purchase of local goods and services next year.
The first initiative is to intensify digitalisation and automation efforts. This will be done through the promotion of e-commerce activities under the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
Tengku Zafrul said up to RM15 million would be allocated to empower franchise entrepreneurs under the vendor capacity development programme 2.0 as well as vendor research and commercialisation grants 2.0.
The government would also provide RM10 million to encourage the purchase of locally made products through the Buy Malaysian Made Products Campaign. – The Vibes, October 7, 2022
