The iconic Malaysian sitcom from the 90s, Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu is set to air on Netflix this coming October.
This sounds all good for those who enjoyed the show. However, the makers of the show weren’t so happy about it as they won’t be getting paid despite the show being released on the video streaming platform.
A local film producer, Shamaine Othman took the matter to Twitter and said the original talents credited for the show’s success allegedly won’t be getting a single cent in paid royalties from the Netflix deal.
Fyi bapak aku tak dapat satu sen. https://t.co/NmIo8u1uDh
— Shamaine Othman 🏴✊🏼 (@shamaineothman) September 7, 2021
The director and producer of the iconic Malaysian sitcom was veteran filmmaker Othman Hafsham, and he was the father of Shamaine Othman too.
The show first aired on TV3 in 1985 till the early 2000s and it even had its own musical theatre, which was performed on stage in 2006.
Currently, the show is available for free viewing on YouTube.
It has been normal practice for many years that TV stations own total rights of the content on their channels. So by law there isn’t anything wrong with TV3 selling the rights to Netflix. My father and many others have fought to change the industry but as you may be aware
— Shamaine Othman 🏴✊🏼 (@shamaineothman) September 8, 2021
Meanwhile, Shamaine also said that all those involved in the production of the show, including her father, actors and actresses will not be getting anything because the rights of the programme belonged entirely to TV3.
She added that this is the standard practice of Malaysia’s entertainment industry and many working in the industry had fought to change this injustice but had failed.
She also claims that businesses today are still practicing this and almost every talent in the industry were not being paid in royalties despite their works being featured on multiple online platforms.
On the other hand, talents worldwide seem to be facing this similar issue where entertainment businesses such as Disney, whom had its latest hiccup with Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson.
However, things are slightly different in Hollywood, where talents are entitled to receive payments in the form of royalties from the syndication, redistribution or re-releases of their works.
This will then depend on their initial contracts signed during the production, and most artists tend to miss out the residual profits from their hard work beyond what they were originally paid for.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts!
