At the time, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was the prime minister in the Perikatan Nasional-led government. In August 2021, Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob took over the premiership.

“The movie was screened in 2021. Who was in government at the time? Why didn’t they look into it then and take action?” Fahmi said when asked what action was being taken against the film’s producers.

He said the movie seemed to have been “intentionally” highlighted only now by groups who are not happy with the new unity government.

“Where were these same groups before? We can’t be hypocrites. The film isn’t new but is only now being used as ‘fuel’ by those who want to push their political agenda,” he said.

Fahmi added that the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) were investigating the matter.

“There are several aspects that are being investigated by Finas, like whether there was a licence for filming and releasing the movie.

“I’ll leave it to Finas to investigate. I believe the authorities will take the necessary action if required,” he said.

“Mentega Terbang”, which touches on the differences and similarities of the major religions in Malaysia, has drawn criticism from the public as well as filmmakers and artistes following its release.

A scene depicting the movie’s main character, Aisyah, wanting to eat pork went viral, along with a scene where the character’s father allows her to leave Islam and convert to a different religion.

On Thursday, religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar said Jakim would meet the production team of “Mentega Terbang”.

Na’im said Jakim had reviewed the film’s content and found that it went against the Islamic creed.

Meanwhile, the Film Censorship Board (LPF) said it had no jurisdiction over the locally produced independent film as it was only released online.

Yesterday, the MCMC said streaming service platform Viu had taken down the movie on Feb 27.