Cinemas, museums, and performances to reopen for fully vaccinated starting 9 September

Less than a week after the announcement of the Langkawi travel bubble plan, the government has decided to relax the SOPs for the arts and entertainment industries for those who are fully vaccinated in all states in Malaysia, including those under Phase One of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), beginning September 9.

Cinemas will be allowed to open at half capacity, whereas art exhibitions, galleries, and museums will be allowed to resume operations at 30 per cent capacity. 

Those who are fully vaccinated will also be allowed to perform indoor busking and lounge performances in hotels, as well as carry out filming or creative shoots both in and outside studios. Meanwhile, live musicals, theatre and comedy performances, shows with a live audience, as well as pre-recorded and live broadcasts are allowed at a venue capacity of 30 per cent. 

In a statement on this decision, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said allowing more of the sectors to operate would benefit over a million artists and more than 19,000 businesses. 

“The creative industry contributed 2 per cent or RM29 billion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019. Apart from enabling more than a million activists, artists and industrial workers to start working and earning a living, the relaxation will also revive the country’s creative industry," he said.

He added that this decision will also revive all initiatives and programmes planned by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (MCMC), through the National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (Finas), MyCreative Ventures and Malaysian Cultural Economic Development Agency (Cendana).

This move comes as several states have reached 80 per cent vaccination rates or herd immunity among its adult population. 

Earlier this week, Malaysia netizens had urged the government to consider reopening cinemas in time for them to catch the latest blockbusters. In case you were wondering what the fuss is all about, here are some upcoming movies to take note of:

• Spiderman: No Way Home
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Black Widow
• The Suicide Squad
• No Time To Die

Will you be watching any of these on the silver screen once they're out?

For more vaccination guidelines and SOP updates:

• The full list of SOPs for the fully vaccinated in Malaysia
• Delta variant in Malaysia: Everything you need to know
• How to: Walk-in vaccinations for Malaysian and non-Malaysians in the Klang Valley