Film censorship in Malaysia is pervasive since its conception under British rule under the 1908 Theatre Ordinance enacted by the Straits Settlements colonial government starting 1912.
Although movies shown in Malaysian cinemas carry an age-restricted rating such as "18", films that contain scenes of sex and nudity are completely censored off by the LPF (Malaysia's film censorship board), which renders the 18 rating meaningless and strict entry by the cinema operators pointless.
[citation needed] Kissing and make-out scenes are also censored in movies rated "P13" but in recent years the Board has loosened the censorship.
On the other hand, there have been many "18" rated films filled with profanity and graphic violence that were hardly censored or uncensored in recent years.
[citation needed] The rating system for movies shown in Malaysian cinemas was introduced in 1996 and the classification system for approved films is as follows: The four 18 categories are now superseded by the simplified 18 rating, which makes no distinction on what type of objectionable content is contained within the movie.