KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Having spent more than 30 years in the film industry, Malaysian actor Chew Kin Wah is no stranger to Malaysian audiences.
While the offers keep coming in Indonesia, it has led to some local production houses assuming that Chew had relocated to Indonesia.“I still have my Malaysian identity card, I still have my Malaysian driving licence and I still pay my taxes here. Chew said that production houses there were willing to reschedule their production schedules according to his availability, which is something he hasn’t experienced with local production houses.
He said that everyone, from the production crew to the actors, is given a booklet or a file containing the storyboard with details on camera angles and scenes schedules. “Where we have three film industries here, the Chinese film industry, the Indian film industry and the Malay film industry, which are all separated,” he said.Chew feels that grants and funds should be channelled to provide educational courses for filmmaking crews and scriptwriters in order for the industry to move forward.
Despite everything, Chew is grateful as an actor to still have work, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic which affected many.