Film on ex-leftist leader Lim Hock Siew banned1 min read

A film on former leftist leader and political detainee, Dr Lim Hock Siew, has been banned for being “against the public interest”, as said by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.

It further states that the film by Martyn See, 41, “gives a distorted and misleading portrayal of Dr Lim’s arrests and detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1963″.

“The Singapore Government will not allow individuals who have posed a security threat to Singapore’s interests in the past, to use media platforms such as films to make baseless accusations against the authorities, give a false portrayal of their previous activities in order to exculpate their guilt, and undermine public confidence in the Government in the process,” it added.

The film has been banned under Section 35(1) of the Films Act. Owning or distributing a prohibited film is an offense which can be met with a penalty of up to $10,000 and/or 2 years imprisonment.

Back in 2005, a ban was also imposed on Singapore Rebel, See’s documentary on opposition figure Chee Soon Juan.

However in March last year, the Films Act was revised to relax the rules on such films and Singapore Rebel became the first political film to pass the censors with an M18 rating.

See has removed a clip of his latest film from the channel of Youtube under request by the Media Development Authority. The video contains a speech made by Dr Lim in November last year and has received thousands of views.

However, See said the film went viral online shortly after the ban took effect.