by AZALEA AZUAR / pic source: Fahmi’s Facebook

THE Communications and Digital Ministry (KKD) will be discussing with the Malaysian Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) on the cost of new animations.

This was brought up after local TV stations refused to broadcast content from new local animation studios as it is more costly.

According to KKD Minister Fahmi Fadzil (picture), the government supports local animation but more resources are needed.

“It consumes more resources and we are faced with the question whether our TV stations can afford it or not,” he said during the MDEC and KKD townhall session with industry players on Monday.

In the short term, Fahmi said the ministry can help to simplify the process so studios can produce their works easily.

However, if this issue requires larger allocations, he will take the matter to the Finance Ministry (MoF) to be considered for Budget 2024.

The town hall session was also attended by MDEC CEO Mahadhir Aziz, KKD Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching, as well as creative industry players from comics, gaming, animation and film.

This dialogue was for the creative industry community to share sentiments and discuss potential initiatives for advancing the country’s digital content industry.

“We also need to consider what are the appropriate policies to help content creators showcase their works to the Malaysian public.

“At the same time, we need to see what we can do to export their works to the Asean region,” Fahmi added.

He also highlighted that the Malaysia Digital’s Catalyst Programme (Pemangkin) identified the digital content industry as a focus sector, generating annual income of RM5.5 billion and 10,000 jobs.

“I am confident that this initiative can continue to strengthen Malaysia’s position as a regional power for digital content and creative technology through the Digital Content Ecosystem Policy (DEKD),” he said.

Moreover, grants of up to RM2 million for digital content projects, including animation, games, comics and creative technology, will support local studios and enhance intellectual property (IP) marketability.