Speaking after Jagat won the top award for Best Malaysian Film, at a controversy-hit Malaysian Film Festival, Sivanantham Perianan said: “Our ultimate aim is that (the two) be merged into one,” referring to the award for Best Film in the National Language.

He acknowledged, however, that it was part of a process. “(It is just that) next time, in the years to come, we hope it (the process) will be improved,” he said.

The National Language film award was won by horror movie Munafik, whose director Syamsul Yusof, was also named Best Director.

Asked for his feelings about not winning Best Malaysian Film, Syamsul said: “I don’t really care, as long as (we win) a best film award. “(We) are still recognised as the best film, so there’s no issue here,” Malaysiakini reported.

Controversy erupted over this year’s film awards when the organisers, the national film corporation Finas, disqualified Jagat and soccer movie Ola Bola from contention for the Best Film on the grounds that the two films did not contain at least 70 per cent Bahasa Malaysia content.

Finas, backed by the film directors’ association, created new award categories for non-Bahasa Malaysia films, sparking a public uproar about language segregation and racialism, and calls for a boycott of the film festival.

The controversy prompted communications minister Salleh Said Keruak to intervene. Two new awards were created, for Best Malaysian Film and Best Film in the National Language, and the categories for non-Bahasa Malaysia films were scrapped.

After the awards ceremony last night, Sivananthan said Jagat’s crew had said in the midst of the controversy that “we will be part of the process to improve things further. That’s why we said we didn’t want to boycott the film festival. Malaysia has multiple races and languages, there’s bound to be conflicts.”

Jagat director Shanjhey Kumar Perumal won the award for new best director. He said Jagat told “a story that has never been told”. The film is about estate workers forced to relocate and become squatters in 1991 and shows how poverty led to social problems.

On the awards format, Shanjey said: “We can’t please everyone, including myself […]. We just give and take for a better future for the industry,” he told Malaysiakini.

The other film in the controversy, Ola Bola, won a special jury’s award for successfully uplifting values of unity and family ties through sports.