Malaysia was urged to allow people of all religions to view the controversial Mel Gibson blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ" after announcing it had been approved for Christian audiences only.
The Ministry of Home Affairs revealed the restriction in response to a question by opposition Democratic Party (DAP) lawmaker Teresa Kok in parliament on Tuesday.
Kok said in a statement that the ruling was "most perplexing."
"Does it mean that the government is going to implement a policy where movies concerning Islam or Islamic figures in history could only be allowed to be watched by Muslims, where movies about Buddhism and Buddha could only be watched by Buddhists and movies related to Hinduism can only be watched by Hindus?" Kok said.
"Such an answer is contradictory" to the government's policy "which claims to promote racial and religious tolerance," she said.
More than half of Malaysia's population of 25 million are Muslims, but there are large number of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists among the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
"Merely watching a movie about a religious figure, such as 'Passion of the Christ' would not automatically convert a person to another religion, rather it would help to promote deeper understanding of the religion," said Kok.
Describing the move as "retrogressive," she noted that movies about religious figures had been screened in Malaysian cinemas previously, including "Jesus of Nazareth" a few decades ago, and more recently "Little Buddha" starring Keanu Reeves and "Seven Years in Tibet" with Brad Pitt.
"Let the people of Malaysia enjoy the freedom to watch any movie of their choice. The government should stop practicing unnecessary censorship and treating the people like children," she said.
Malaysia has strict censorship laws and has in the past been quick to ban or cut films deemed sensitive or sexy, including "Schindler's List," "The Hours" and animated musical "Prince of Egypt."
A total of 1,582 foreign films had been banned between 2000 and May 2004, the home ministry said in a written reply to Kok.
The Mel Gibson film has been criticized for alleged anti-Semitism -- which Gibson denies -- and violence, but has been a box office success.
Other Islamic countries have been divided about the film: Iran, Oman and Qatar have approved it while Bahrain has banned it.