PETALING JAYA, Feb 16 — The Anugerah Juara Lagu 35 (AJL35) will now be taking place on March 14 after being postponed for a month due to the movement control order (MCO).

Media Prima Television Network and Primeworks Studios chief executive officer Datuk Khairul Anwar Salleh confirmed the anticipated music competition will be held next month after obtaining approval from the National Security Council (NSC), mStar reported.

However, Khairul Anwar said the new date is subject to change depending on announcements made by the Malaysian government.

"We are ready to host AJL35 in the new normal.

"The spread of Covid-19 has made us conscious of the health of staff, artistes and those involved in making the production a success.

"In this pandemic, we will put to good use the permission and relaxations granted by the NSC that were implemented on January 8,” he said.

Khairul Anwar added that plans were underway to ensure the prestigious event would be held on March 14 the minute the government announced the reimplementation of the MCO last month.

"But the new date isn’t final because we have to comply with any guidelines set by the NSC which they will announce from time to time during the MCO,” he said.

AJL35 was initially set to broadcast on February 7 from the MBSA Auditorium in Shah Alam but production was halted due to the MCO.

This year’s awards will be hosted by Awal Ashaari, Sherry Alhadad and Haziq Hussni, and will see 12 songs competing for various awards throughout the evening.

Some of the songs include Semalam (Aina Abdul), Hutang (Floor 88), Eh (Zizi Kirana), Gundah (Ernie Zakri), Aku Bidadari Syurgamu (Aishah), Kau Sakiti (Amir Masdi) and Peluang Kedua (Nabila Razali).

To lift the spirits of Malaysians in light of the pandemic and the recent floods, organisers have come up with a feel-good theme for this year’s awards.

Launched in 1986 by TV3, the annual music competition honours the best musical and lyric compositions of Malay-language songs.