ON RAYA, PN-PAS TURNS CRY-BABY – AS TV3 DROPS THEIR ‘TAKBIR RAYA’ SLOT – POLITICAL PRESSURE OR NOT, IT’S EXACTLY A MIRROR MOVE OF WHAT PN-PAS WOULD HAVE DONE TO PAKATAN-UMNO IF THE SHOE WAS ON THE OTHER FOOT

The broadcaster TV3 has apparently dropped plans to air Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) “takbir raya” ceremony tonight.

The five-minute slot was originally scheduled to be aired at 10.20pm and the coalition had already promoted the occasion on its social media channels.

This would have been likely the first time that opposition parties will have their takbir raya – the reciting of the takbir to mark Aidilfitri – broadcast on a national television station.

When the appointed time came, however, a TV3 online livestream instead aired a drama along with a series of commercial advertisements, including a Hari Raya Aidilfitri greeting from Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

PN’s takbir raya was aired on the coalition’s social media channels instead.

Earlier, a source at TV3 told Malaysiakini that PN paid for the slot.

The source revealed that the Home Ministry would have the 9.20pm slot and that Umno had a slot as well, though Media Prima Bhd refused to comment on the matter when contacted.

TV3 is privately owned by Media Mulia Sdn Bhd and operated by Media Prima.

Meanwhile, Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal claimed TV3 only contacted PN via email regarding the cancellation at 10.11pm, just nine minutes before the slot was scheduled to air.

In a post on Twitter, he showed the message that purportedly came from TV3 apologising that they were unable to air the takbir raya due to a “technical issue” and promised a full refund.

In an earlier post, he questioned whether TV3 had been instructed to drop the programme.

“TV3 has cancelled (the takbir raya) even though we have paid for its broadcast. Did ‘they’ order it?” he said, apparently implying government interference with a subsequent ‘#MalaysiaMadani’ hashtag.