For Malaysians with a VPN connection and a Disney+ subscription, the end credits for season two of the acclaimed "The Mandalorian" TV series came as a surprise.

Viewers were greeted by a familiar National Film Development Corporation (Finas) logo and a message that indicated that the agency had provided "financial assistance" in the form of a "30 percent rebate".

This has led to several posts appearing on popular forums such as Reddit and Lowyat.net where netizens sought answers.

As it turned out, Finas has been offering foreign and domestic film companies a subsidy since 2012 through...