It’s been five days since LFS Cinemas reopened its Kuala Terengganu location with the introduction of a new seating arrangement.
In addition to the gap seating that is also practiced in other Malaysian cinemas, LFS Kuala Terengganu has implemented a new gender-segregated seat allocation.
This was announced on the film exhibitor’s official Facebook on the day of the abovementioned cinema’s reopening, 4 July. With the exception of families, males and females are required to sit in separate zones.
The implementation of the separate seating as of 1 July in Terengganu cinemas is in line with the new state government law, Garuna Murthee, Managing Director of LFS Cinemas, told Cinema Online when contacted regarding it.
He quoted Dato ‘ Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, the Menteri Besar of Terengganu, in saying that it is meant to educate the public. Therefore, those who are found not heeding the new law will not be outright punished but will be advised instead.
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| As posted on LFS Cinemas’ Facebook, moviegoers are separated into male and female seating zones at LFS Kuala Terengganu. |
The cinema was the second location to reopen, following LFS Sandakan which opened its doors to the public again on 2 July.
All other LFS Cinemas locations nationwide reopened at 3pm today.
Mr. Murthee stated that for LFS Kuala Terengganu, the new state law also requires the cinema to operate from 6pm onwards on Friday, as opposed to the original timing of 3pm to midnight. This poses a problem as the cinema will not be able to screen any movie during the Maghrib prayer.
“We have submitted an appeal to the state government,” he said, adding that if approved, the cinema will be able to revert to the original 3pm timing on Fridays. However, pending approval, for this Friday the cinema will abide by the new law and open at 6pm.
Cinema chains in Malaysia have been gradually reopening since earlier this month after more than three months of closure since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented on 18 March.
Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), MBO Cinemas and TGV Cinemas were among those that reopened most of their locations since 1 July, while mmCineplexes reopened from 3 July. To date, a majority of the cinemas nationwide have reopened, with only KPI Broadway in Johor Bahru set to reopen next month.
(Photo source: LFS Cinemas’ Facebook)