The boss and a key producer have been suspended from MCA-owned radio station 988 following the axing of a popular talk show hosted by DJ Jamaluddin Ibrahim yesterday.

The shock move was compounded by the removal of the remaining three DJ's from the 'Hi Malaysia' breakfast programme which Jamaluddin had been famous for.

wafm candle light virgil 151005 fat dj It is learnt that 988 chief executive officer Wong Lai Ngo (left) and senior programme manager Tan Chia Yong were suspended yesterday evening by immediate owner Star RFM Sdn Bhd.

They were suspended pending an internal investigation into the suspension of Jamaluddin.

Jamaluddin was asked to go on leave  after the radio station's management received a letter from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

According to the letter, Jamaluddin and the "Hi Malaysia" programme were suspected of "threatening national security" and "compromising race relations". 

Facebook page deleted

The programme is well known for its phone-in sessions which mainly discusses current affairs issues and is popular with the Chinese community.

The radio station's DJs and invited guests have expressed outrage over the MCMC allegations and claimed that their efforts on air, and that of Jamaluddin's, were to diffuse ethnic tensions.

988 radio hi malaysia Jamaluddin's suspension was announced by two DJs on the show yesterday morning. The two also wept on air over the removal.

His removal has sparked an outcry online, particularly on 988's official Facebook page. The Facebook page was removed late yesterday.

Hours prior to the deletion, several 988 DJs had dropped cryptic hints that more punitive measures would be underway soon against

the radio station's staff, with one DJ posting a Facebook message which read: "What will happen tomorrow?"

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