KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — The police will call in five BFM 89.9 deejays for questioning in connection with a police report lodged this morning over an earlier broadcast where they discussed the use of the word “Allah” in the country.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Khairi Ahrasa confirmed that they have received a report on the matter and have launched investigations under Section 505(c) of the Penal Code.

“We will call in the deejays to explain the issues that were raised,” the Kuala Lumpur senior police officer told Malay Mail Online via messaging service WhatsApp when contacted.

Earlier today, a group of Malay and Islamic rights activists demanded that the authorities use the Sedition Act 1948 to investigate the radio station and the five deejays for allegedly stirring racial discord by openly discussing the use of the word “Allah” in Malaysia.

Eight non-governmental organisations led by the Malaysian Islamic Consumers Association (PPIM) claimed that the independent station had, on two separate occasions last Friday, raised matters that could be considered insulting and seditious towards Islam.

The groups named radio presenters Sharaad Kuttan, Caroline Oh, Ezra Zaid, Umapagan Ampikaipakan and Patrick Teoh as the five deejays who allegedly touched on seditious issues in their morning and evening shows on December 12 this year.

Khairi, who is deputy Commander of the Special Tactical Squad on Gambling and Gangsterism (STAGG), did not say when the five will be hauled in for questioning but confirmed that the investigation will be handled by the Dang Wangi police station where the report was lodged.

On December 9, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) issued a letter to BFM 89.9 alleging that the station had breached certain conditions under its Content Application Service Provider licence when it broadcast an interview with Iranian-American scholar Reza Aslan on October 21 last year.

The regulator offered the station the option of paying a RM10,000 compound for the alleged offence in lieu of further proceedings.

In October last year, the Court of Appeal adjudged the usage of the word “Allah” as not integral to the Christian faith and said that allowing Christians to use the Arabic word would cause confusion in the Muslim community.

In the interview, Aslan told BFM that the world was “laughing” at Malaysia over the court ruling that he described as a “political decision more than anything else”.

Aslan, who has written two books on Islam and one on Christianity, had said the word “Allah” was merely an Arabic term for God, not the name of God.