Govt has issued a warning to broadcasters against insulting religious sensibilities

Malaysia – The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (K-KOMM) has issued a strong warning to all television companies in the nation not to show any situations that are sensitive to religion or other issues.

Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Minister of Communications and Multimedia, said the government would not hesitate to take action if television stations disobeyed the rules.

He said that under the existing law, the government delegated the power to regulate drama material to the television station, which is supposed to exercise control over it.

“If we find that the television station is not following certain guidelines, especially when it comes to religion, culture, customs, and so on, then I will review the facility (censorship authority), and we may revoke it,” he told reporters after presenting donations to Form Six students in the Ketereh parliamentary constituency as part of the ‘Back To School’ program.

He was requested to remark on a video sent to his Instagram account by a local actor, which showed sizzling moments from a drama that had yet to broadcast.

The government’s facilities supplied on a trust basis by the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), according to Annuar, should not be taken lightly by television businesses.

“For me, scenes that insult Malays and Muslims and are not in accordance with their culture should not even reach the point where the ministry has to step in and scold, because we need to understand for ourselves the borders of scenes that are improper,” he added.

Annuar went on to say that he had requested a formal explanation from all parties engaged in the play, and that if it was not sufficient, the drama would not be permitted to show.

After a video of the incident went viral, Datuk Idris Ahmad, Minister in the Prime Minister‘s Department (Religious Affairs), said on Facebook that he will be contacting the parties involved to fix the situation.

Meanwhile, in a statement released recently, Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad (TV3) said that the acts shown in the tape were not fit for transmission and that the television station had neither discussed nor authorized them.