CIMB Group Chairman Nazir Razak was among those who congratulated Afdlin for the move, writing in an Instagram post Friday that Afdlin’s stand was a “principled” one.

“Respect. I was aghast to hear that my favourite, Ola Bola, and others can’t compete for best Malaysian movie. Why the segregation? Change will only happen because individuals like Afdlin make a principled stand, well done!” Nazir wrote in his post.

AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes also commented in the same post, saying that actors such as Afdlin, Hans Isaac, and Harith Iskander might one day “win the Academy Award for a mixed movie”.

“Remember Cuci?” he asked, referring to the 2008 comedy starring Afdlin and Hans Isaac. “When will we realise our strength against the world is our diversity?”

Fellow actor Riezman Khuzaimi also announced that he would follow Afdlin’s lead and boycott the FFM as well, tagging his Facebook post with the hashtag “#tiadapolitikdalamseni” (#nopoliticsinart).

“I have been involved in the local film industry for over 20 years with friends like Afdlin Shauki Aksan. Today I would like to apologise for boycotting FFM this year,” Riezman wrote.

“I wish good luck to those involved both directly and indirectly in this year’s FFM.”

This year’s FFM nominations attracted controversy because the Best Movie award was split into two categories, namely Bahasa Malaysia and non-Bahasa Malaysia.

Critically acclaimed movies such as “Ola Bola” by Chiu Keng Guan and “Jagat” by Shanjhey Kumar were grouped into the non-Bahasa Malaysia categories.

Chiu and Shanjhey were also nominated in the Best non-Bahasa Malaysia Director category.

The FFM will be held on Sept 3 at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.