The Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations over the Oct 13-14 weekend saw stiff competition among many of our radio stations vying to be the best broadcaster for festive programming.

However, I do not think any of them succeeded in winning the hearts of listeners as effectively as IKIM.fm from Kuala Lumpur did.

Most of the FM frequency bands seemed preoccupied with two things during the time when I was tuned in: getting listeners to call in to the studio to present festive greetings to their loved ones or chat endlessly about Raya delicacies.

IKIM.fm, the Islamic broadcaster run by Ikim (Institute of Islamic Understanding), on the other hand, was noticeably different in its delivery.

It took listeners back to the basics of what Ramadan and Aidilfitri was all about, and emphasised that it was a time to reach out to the poor and other unfortunate people.

The bilingual broadcaster (in Bahasa Malaysia and English) provided plenty of food for thought about respect for Allah as well as for fellow human beings.

I also made it a point to tune in on the eve of Raya to have a feel of the festive mood over the airwaves. I started listening from 8.30pm on Friday, Oct 12, till midnight.

Traxx fm gathered the deejays of its various programmes to extend their personal Raya greetings to everyone. The production was simple, sometimes funny, but always heart-warming. That added a nice touch to the occasion.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's meaningful speech this year came on RTM1 at 8.30pm, and was aired on almost all of RTM's radio stations.

However, unlike previous years when pre-recorded speeches were simultaneously broadcast on television and radio, this time there was a rather long delay. Traxx fm carried the PM's speech at least 10 minutes ahead of RTM1.

The eve of Aidilfitri this year was made more significant due to the arrival of Malaysia's first cosmonaut Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor at the International Space Station (ISS). The orthopaedic surgeon, accompanied by American Peggy Whitson and Russian Yuri Malenchenko in the Soyuz spaceship, had blasted off from Earth two days earlier.

The docking of the spacecraft at the ISS took place at 10.50pm.

It was announced by The Star's SMS news alert service five minutes later.

However, Traxx fm's news round-up at 11pm reported that "the docking was scheduled for tonight".

It was not until some five minutes afterwards that the latest development was announced as a "news just in" item.

The RTM English broadcaster, being an electronic news medium, really had no excuse for not including the ISS docking as its news headline at 11pm.

Radio24, operated by Bernama, was worse. For a six-week-old baby broadcaster needing to make an impression on its audiences, it seemed to be in another planet.

The country's first all-news radio channel only announced the Soyuz docking at the ISS at 11.31pm.

Source : The Sunday Star