What the Committee Does
Recognising Singaporeans’ desire, in particular that of the young, for greater space in society for political discourse, the Films Act was amended in March 2009 to allow certain films to be classified as party political films and made available to the public.
To advise the Board of Film Censors (BFC) on whether a film is a party political film and allowed under the amended Films Act, the Political Films Consultative Committee (PFCC), an independent advisory committee, was set up.
The BFC assesses all films submitted to it for classification and any film it considers a possible party political film will be sent to the PFCC for its evaluation and views. The BFC then takes into consideration the PFCC’s recommendations before making its decisions as to the status of the films assessed.
The time taken to classify political films, including consultation with the PFCC, is about two to three weeks. If the film requires clarifications from the applicant, this may take longer.
Any owner of a film that disagrees with the Board’s decision can appeal to the Films Appeal Committee (FAC), a course of action that is already provided for in the Films Act.
Who They Are
The eight-member panel of the PFCC is made up of members of the media, union, academia, and legal sector. The current panel is headed by Mr Richard Magnus, a retired Senior District Judge and Chairman of the Casino Regulatory Authority.
The other members on the committee are:
· Professor Lily Kong,
Vice-President, (University & Global Relations), National University of Singapore
· Muhammad Haniff Bin Hassan,
Associate Research Fellow, (S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies),
Nanyang Technological University
· Terry Lee Kok Hua, President,
Singapore Insurance Employees’ Union
· M. Rajaram,
Senior Director, Straits Law Practice LLC
· Daniel Yun,
CEO, Homerun Pictures Pte Ltd
· Dr Suzaina Kadir,
Senior Lecturer, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
· Mr Goh Sin Teck,
Editor, Lianhe Zaobao