Business radio station BFM clarified today that the police report lodged by a group of Muslim groups against it was not related to BFM’s interview with Islamic scholar Reza Aslan.

“(Various news portals) had suggested that the basis of the police report lodged by the respective NGOs was related to the Reza Aslan broadcast,” BFM managing director Malek Ali said in a statement today.

“Nevertheless, going purely by the contents of the police report, we wish to clarify that the complaint by the NGOs is not in any way related to the issues surrounding the Reza Aslan ( right ) broadcast, but in fact towards programming that was on Dec 12, 2014.”

As for the allegations contained in the police report, Malek said they are “inaccurate and baseless”.

This is because presenter Sharaad Kuttan had discussed the Suzuki Cup between 7am and 8am and not issues relating to the usage of the word ‘Allah’ and sacrificial meat, as alleged by the Muslim NGOs, he said.

As for the allegation that presenters Umapagan Ampikaipakan ( left ), Caroline Oh, Patrick Teoh and Ezra Zaid were discussing issues related to animal sacrifice, Malay rights and Islamic matters, including the topic of wearing a headscarf between 6pm and 7pm on Dec 12, Malek said BFM had broadcast a programme entitled ‘Today in History’ featuring American lyricist Ira Gershwin at that time.

“The relevant presenters involved in this programme were only Umapagan Ampikaipakan and Richard Bradbury,” he said.

A group of Muslim NGOs, led by Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), lodged the police report yesterday, urging that the broadcast journalists and the station be charged under the Sedition Act.

The group said BFM had crossed the line in discussing the issues of ‘kalimah Allah’, Muslim headscarves and sacrificial meat.

Malek confirmed that officers from the Dang Wangi police headquarters had made contact with BFM to conduct investigations.

“We are cooperating with the police on the matter,” he said.

BFM was recently fined RM10,000 by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for airing its interview with Aslan last year, without obtaining consent from Islamic authorities beforehand.

In the interview, Aslan had said the world is “laughing” at Malaysia after the decision of the Court of Appeal in October last year that the word ‘Allah’ is exclusive to Muslims.