M’sian Authorities To Start Legal Proceedings Against Actor Zul Ariffin Who Posted ‘Steamy' Teaser Of Upcoming Drama

Malaysian actor Zul Ariffin, 35, has found himself in hot soup after posting a video featuring scenes from his upcoming drama, Perempuan Itu.

The 30-episode drama was set to air on Malaysian free-to-air channel TV3 during Ramadan, which starts on April 2 this year.

The clip was uploaded onto Zul’s Instagram, where he has 2.8mil followers, on March 17. It quickly went viral after netizens found the content of the video to be “too steamy”.

While the video has since been deleted by the actor, netizens have reuploaded it online again.

That's a shirtless Zul on the right

The 23-second video reportedly showed newbie actress Siti Hariesa pushing Zul against a wall, with the actor taking off his shirt shortly after.

In the next scene, Siti can be seen dressed like a chambermaid, and feeding Zul whipped cream, before straddling him.

And then things got heated

It appears that netizens were not pleased that Zul saw fit to release such steamy scenes online with the holy month of Ramadan fast approaching.

Others were confused as to how the drama passed local censorship, considering the suggestive nature of the scenes.

Zul and Siti

The controversy soon drew the attention of the local authorities, with Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary releasing a statement.

According to the minister, they will be arranging a meeting with the actors involved in the scenes, as well as the production team of the drama and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM).

TV3 also released a statement on March 19, sharing that the scenes were not approved to air on their channel.

"The scenes shown in the clip were definitely not suitable to be aired, especially not for promotional purposes. The [video] was also neither discussed nor approved by the station," they wrote.

The channel added: "TV3 hopes to remind all parties involved in production and actors to be more cautious of their actions and to be sensitive of religion and the community, especially in the creation of any work.”

Today (Mar 22), the Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Annuar Musa, shared in a tweet that the ministry has "commenced legal proceedings" against Zul.

"We have commenced legal proceedings against actor Zul Ariffin. He will be investigated under Section 233 of the MCMC Act (1998) for the [Instagram] post that violates the law. This kind of scene cannot be aired in the fasting month or any other month,” he wrote.

According to Malay Mail, Section 233 under Communication and Multimedia Act concerns the improper use of network facilities, which is a vague and sweeping law that makes it an offence for anyone who shares content that is regarded as “obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person”.

Those charged and found guilty can be punished with a maximum fine of RM50,000 (S$16,000) or jailed up to one year, or both.

Photos: Zul Ariffin/Instagram, Siti Hariesa/Instagram, MISS VIRAL/YouTube, TV3 Malaysia/Facebook, Annuar Musa/Twitter