TV3 popular live talk-show Sensasi has not been banned, producer Jamil Hassan clarified yesterday.

"No, there was no directive from the authorities to stop airing the programme. They (Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission or MCMC) only requested that the programme be done on a 'recorded' basis," he told malaysiakini in a telephone interview.

According to mstar.com yesterday, the permit for Sensasi was withdrawn by MCMC with immediate effect due to some controversial comments made by a well-known actress during a recent 'live' programme.

The actress, Rosnah Mat Aris, was said to have made some remarks about the wife of Prophet Muhammad which were deemed 'unsuitable'.

The mstar report said the programme in dispute was aired on Jan 30. Upon investigations, MCMC found that it did not adhere to certain rules and regulations and that the station had failed to control the flow of content during the 'live' telecast.

Sensasi is a programme which allows local artists and celebrities to discuss current issues and topics of interest 'live' on TV. It is hosted by TV personalities Awal Ashari and Intan Suraya.

The programme, now in its sixth season, is said to have a following of 1.5 million viewers.

Vet first

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that the Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim) had made a request to TV3 for a copy of the tape containing Rosnah's controversial remarks.

Jakim director Mustafa Abdul Rahman said the department will only consider what action to take after a careful study of the tape.

He however reiterated the necessity for such a 'live' programme to be vetted first in order to avoid unsuitable comments from being telecast for public consumption.

Echoing his TV3 colleague Jamil, the station's entertainment director Azhar Borhan said the notice from MCMC was an 'advice' that Sensasi be changed to the 'recorded' format.

"We accept that advice. It is also a form of precaution to prevent future controversies," he said.

According to the Star today, the Jan 30 Sensasi broadcast did not abide by licencing and content codes and that TV3 had failed to control inappropriate content.

"With this, TV3 has been asked to stop the live broadcast of the show with immediate effect," the commission was quoted as saying in a statement to the newspaper.

Relationship to a younger man

In the show, which features discussions with those in the arts and entertainment industry, Rosnah reportedly linked gossip about her relationship with a younger man to the Prophet's marriage to his first and older wife, Siti Khadijah.

Her comments sparked numerous complaints from viewers and attracted the attention of Islamic authorities.

The MCMC did not directly state whether Rosnah's comments had insulted Siti Khadijah, but MCMC spokeswoman Adelina Iskandar chided the Sensasi programme for being out of step with national values, the daily said.

Sensasi should have "contributed to the national aspiration and not offend the sensitivity or values of the community," she was quoted as saying.

Adelina said TV3 would need approval from the Film Censorship Board to air pre-recorded versions of the programme.

The commission could not be immediately reached for further comment.

TV3 and a number of other Malaysian media outlets have been pulled up in the past year for content deemed insulting to Islam.

In March last year, TV3 and another private station, ntv7, issued apologies for inadvertently airing pictures of the controversial Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed that sparked global protests.

Malaysia also closed down one newspaper in February 2006 for publishing the drawings, and then suspended another and forced a third to apologise after they published content related to the cartoons.