KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- Starting June 1, Malaysia''s first Islamic
television channel, TV Al Hijrah, will be made available on Astro''s Channel 114,
Minister in the Prime Minister''s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom
announced today.
He said the move was aimed at giving the opportunity to more viewers to
watch TV Al Hijrah which used to be aired through terrestrial transmission.
"(Prior to this) TV Al Hijrah''s transmission was limited and we have been
deluged with requests from members of the public who want to watch TV Al
Hijrah," he told a press conference at TV Al Hijrah Digital Broadcasting Centre
in Islamic Centre Complex here today.
Present was TV Al Hijrah chief executive officer Bukhari Che Muda.
TV Al Hijrah was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on
Dec 7, last year, but the transmission was limited to Klang Valley, Terengganu,
Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.
Jamil Khir said with its programme being made available on Astro, TV Al
Hijrah''s weekly airtime would also be increased to 100 hours from the current 72
hours.
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JAMIL KHIR-ASTRO 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR
"TV Al Hijrah will air from noon until midnight from Monday to Thursday, and
from 7am to midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays," he said.
The minister said the airtime would also be increased to 24 hours daily if
there was a high demand for that from the viewers.
Jamil Khir said competition from other stations was a non-issue for TV Al
Hijrah as the station just wanted to offer something different for the viewers.
"We acknowledge that competition exists. That is why we are offering various
programmes, like (reality show) Solehah, which aimed at, among others, producing
more female Islamic preachers in the country," he said.
Other programmes that would be introduced beginning June 1 were "Madrasah Al
Hijrah", "Refleksi", and "Khidmat Syariah", he said.
With a slogan of "Segalanya Bermula Di Sini", 60 per cent of TV Al Hijrah''s
content were locally produced, while the other 40 per cent were imported.
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MCYS MRMR KHY NHA
