KOTA KINABALU: Nov 5, 2026 – The Sabah Film and Visual Association (SAFVA) has urged the government to review RTM’s procurement policy so that production companies in Sabah and Sarawak receive fairer access. The move is essential to revive the Borneo creative industry, which has been increasingly squeezed over the past two years.
Its president, Chester Pang, revealed that opportunities to secure projects are now at an extremely worrying level. The situation has a chain effect on the local economic ecosystem.
“When publishing opportunities decline, the impact is not felt only by production companies. It also affects the entire creative economic chain, including equipment providers, location rentals, transportation, accommodation, catering and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that provide support services to productions,” he said.
Commenting on the aspirations of Budget 2027, he said efforts to strengthen the creative economy should not be measured solely by the volume of broadcast content. Instead, such efforts should be assessed as long-term economic investment.
“We are not asking for leniency on quality standards. Rather, we hope for a procurement system that is transparent, competitive and inclusive, taking into account regional diversity, production capacity development and the potential of local content to be marketed more widely,” Chester stressed.
To ensure the industry’s survival, SAFVA hopes Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Ministry of Communications will give due attention to the challenges facing production companies in Sabah.
He said this hope would allow Borneo’s talent, stories and culture to have consistent space to grow and compete at the national level.
