Lukewarm response to Malaysia's first Islamic TV station Al Hijrah

60 per cent of the government-owned TV Al Hijrah will be locally produced while 40 per cent is foreign productions. Its slogan is ‘Segalanya Bermula di Sini’ (Everything begins here).

It is unclear whether the channel will be ad-supported, and one key criticism is that viewers have to tune their TV sets to receive it. One media agency executive queried, "How many people still know how to tune a TV set, let alone be bothered to do so?"

Another commented, "Their revenue model is very unclear and they seem to lack long-term ambition."

He added, "I believe they were seeking an agency to help drive tune-in, but we didn't see any sustainable business model there - especially as RTM is already struggling."

Pay-TV operator Astro already has an Islamic-focused channel, which media execs say has a definite niche amid increased fragmentation. "But pay TV already knows its audience, whereas the new FTA channel seems to lack direction at this stage - but it's still very early days."

The Prime Minister said that Muslim media ownership was currently minimal and the existing Islamic media’s lack of creativity made them less attractive to the younger generation.

“Muslims today must act to correct the situation. We must act to give a true picture of Islam as a sacred, beautiful and attractive religion. Hence, we need to be media-savvy to realise our objective,"
 said Najib.

He added, "TV Al Hijrah's inception was timely and apt as it would be promoting noble values as the foundation and philosophy of the Islamic religious struggle."