Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung said the ministry action was a threat to the freedom of expression provided by the constitution.

“I urge the home ministry to stop harassing NGOs. In a mature democracy like ours, people should always be given space for their freedom of expression. A new paradigm is needed to manage the new politics,” Lee said in a Facebook post.

The screening of the documentary “She’s In Jail” was organised by NGO Johor Yellow Flame. However, the film was not shown after Film Censorship Board officers and the police intervened.

One of the event organisers, Lee Chen Kang, was taken away for questioning, Malaysiakini reported. It is understood the screening was stopped on grounds that the film was not approved by the censorship board as required by law.

Lee was questioned for 30 minutes and is being investigated under the Film Censorship Act. The authorities also confiscated DVDs, a laptop and a hard drive.

“It also didn’t occur to us that we needed to do that (submit the documentary for approval),” an event coordinator, Josh Hong was quoted as saying.

The documentary tells the story of Chow Hang-tung, a pro-democracy activist and human rights lawyer from Hong Kong who faces charges of “inciting subversion” under Hong Kong’s national security law. Chow has been in detention for over two years and is awaiting trial.

The documentary had previously been shown in Kuala Lumpur on March 2 and in Ipoh on March 23.