Media Prima Bhd has apologised for comments made by a guest panellist on a religious programme that were said to have linked immoral activities to the Christian community.

Media Prima Bhd television networks chief operating officer Ahmad Izham Omar said in a statemen that the company regrets the comments and opinions expressed by Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood, which were aired on its television channel TV9 over two years ago on its ' Halaqah ' programme.

NONE Nor Bahyah on Feb 15, 2009, was reported to have warned Muslim youth against celebrating Valentine's Day as the occasion has been linked with "immoral activities, discoing, couples meeting in private," which she said "were traditions of the Christian community."

The Christian Federation of Malaysia yesterday stressed that Valentine's Day was a secular observance which Roman Catholics and Protestants do not commemorate as a religious festival.

It also expressed regret that the Christian community was linked to immorality.

"Since the incident, we have been more vigilant and perceptive in monitoring the content of our programmes including 'Halaqah', Ahmad Izham was quoted as saying in the Star .

"We want to ensure that our programmes do not offend or create potentially sensitive content," he added.

A well-known Islamic motivator on local television networks, Siti Nor Bahyah is said to have made the remarks in her bid to discourage Muslim youth from celebrating Valentine's Day. A clip of her TV programme was posted on YouTube .

Siti Nor Bahyah is a popular TV personality, with Semanis Kurma on TV9 and Astro being her biggest hit.