KUALA LUMPUR: Film producer Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman is sceptical over two new appointments at the National Film Development Corporation (Finas).
In a news report yesterday, Raja Azmi said that the Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah should spend some time in choosing the perfect candidate to sit at the top position for the corporation.
She said that the ministry should have appointed someone with academic qualification in film development or arts in general, instead of allocating the position for political appointment.
On Sunday, Saifuddin announced the appointment of businessman and social activist Zakaria Abd Hamid as the new Finas chairman, replacing Datuk Hans Isaac. He also announced that the president of Yayasan KRU, Datuk Norman Abdul Halim as Zakaria's deputy.
"I'm not saying that Zakaria isn't capable, but he is a qualified architect, whose creativity and execution may not be best adapted to the entertainment industry.
"We have many suitable candidates from the many higher learning institutes in the country. Why must he choose someone based on politics? Politicians and entertainment industry don't work together well. From my perspective, there's nothing new or change that's taking place," she said.
Meanwhile, renowned film director Ghaz Abu Bakar hoped that both Zakaria and Norman would be able to understand work procedures in film industry so that they'd be able to contribute to the industry's growth.
"They also need to be transparent and not to think that this is the place for them to mine gold. Industry people have been working hard to ensure the industry's relevance in this time and age. We're tired and not interested in politics getting in our way of going ahead."