Govt fumes after TV Alhijrah airs old show with ex-minister from PAS

KUALA LUMPUR – The management of Al Hijrah Media Corp, the owner of TV Alhijrah, has to take responsibility for broadcasting a programme featuring a then-minister from PAS that was originally aired during the previous federal government’s rule.

Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, who handles religious affairs under the Prime Minister’s Department, said such “negligence and reckless work” is unacceptable in the industry, which demands high standards of conscientiousness.

“Negligence and complacent work without conscientious practices are unacceptable in the field of broadcasting,” he said.

“Therefore @TVAlhijrah is obliged to take responsibility and immediate action,” he said on X, formerly Twitter, today.

Na’im stated this in commenting on the rerun of the programme that was allegedly broadcast while the country was still under the administration of Perikatan Nasional (PN), reports Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal. 

The show was noticed by one Fakhrurrazi Rashid, who uploaded a screenshot of the programme on X yesterday.

It shows PAS leader Datuk Idris Ahmad, appearing to field questions when he was the religious affairs minister.

“Switched on TV Al-Hijrah channel tonight. (There was) a repeat of a programme from the time PAS-PN became the federal government before GE15 (last year’s general election),”  Fakhrurrazi said.

“Do the Malays believe that PAS is still the current government or (holds the post of) religious affairs minister?”

Terbuka chanel TV Al-Hijrah malam ni. Sekali ulangan program masa PAS - PN jd kerajaan pusat sebelum PRU15.

Patutlah orang Melayu masih percaya PAS masih kerajaan sekarang ke Menteri Agama tak function? pic.twitter.com/DAseojsWkt

— Fakhrurrazi Rashid (@FakhurrRazi) August 26, 2023

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil was quick to respond, assuring that he would contact the company’s management immediately for clarification.

Meanwhile, AlHijrah issued a statement, saying it took note of the programme which was aired again yesterday.

“We will carry out an internal investigation and following on from that, appropriate action will be taken.

“Improvement of internal processes will also be done by Alhijrah TV so that this does not happen again,” he said. – The Vibes, August 27, 2023