Era Fm Operator Slapped With Rm250k Fine Over Insult On Hindu Ritual

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The parent company of Era FM radio station has been slapped with an RM250,000 fine over the recent incident where its presenters mocked a Hindu religious ceremony.
MCMC, however, decided against suspending Maestra Broadcast Sdn Bhd's licence after considering several factors, including the impacts it would have against Era FM's sister companies that are also operating under the same licence, the commission said in a statement today.
"After deliberating the company's appeal, a decision was made not to suspend Maestra Broadcast's licence.
"In arriving at this decision, considerations were made based on follow-up actions that the licence holder has taken (following the incident), apologies made by the involved parties, and the impact of licence suspension on Melody and Mix FM radio stations which are also operating under the same licence.
"However, Maestra Broadcast has been issued with a compound of RM250,000 for uploading grossly offensive content on Era FM's official TikTok account, which is an offence under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act,” MCMC said.
"The compound was issued after receiving permission from the Attorney-General's Chambers," it added.
Controversial video
Last week, MCMC said it had issued Astro Audio, the operator of Era FM, a notice of intention on licence suspension following a viral video of its presenters mocking a Hindu religious ceremony.
From left: Era FM hosts Radin Amir Affendy, Azad Jasmin, and Nabil AhmadIn the controversial video, one of the Era FM presenters was seen dancing to a “vel vel” chant by several other staff members before he burst into laughter.
Following backlash, hosts Nabil Ahmad, Azad Jasmin, and Radin Amir Affendy took to social media to apologise for their "unintentional" mistake of insulting the Indian community.
They also went to the Batu Caves Hindu temple on the same day to apologise.
The police have also launched an investigation into the incident. - Mkini

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