The Malaysian government has dropped a controversial plan to close down the country's oldest cinema after a public outcry, reports said Wednesday.

The Star daily said the Coliseum Cinema in the heart of the capital Kuala Lumpur, one of the few heritage buildings in the city to retain their former glory, would not be acquired by the government as planned.

Chua Seong Siew, whose family has owned the cinema for the past 86 years, had been ordered by the city's land administrator to vacate the building within 30 days.

However, the government made a rare pullback when its plan to convert the building into a heritage centre was opposed by historians and the public, many of whom have fond memories of the Coliseum over past decades.

'No question'

Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim assured Chua yesterday that there was "no question" of the government taking over the cinema, the Star reported.

He said it would continue to screen movies, and the government would work with the owners to spruce up the building and turn an adjacent space into an arts and culture centre.

After meeting with Chua, the minister said, they struck an agreement to show more locally-produced films at the cinema, which currently screens mostly South Indian films catering to Malaysia's ethnic Indian minority.

"My bad dreams and days of anxiety over the takeover of the cinema have come to an end," Chua told the Star.