Minnal FM

Minnal FM

Broadcast area	Malaysia
Frequency	Variable
First air date	circa 1938
Format	Tamil contemporary music, infotainment, general
Owner	Malaysian Government
Website	www.minnalfm.com

Minnal FM, formerly known as Radio 6 and Radio Malaysia Saluran 6 (Radio Malaysia Channel 6) is a Malaysian national Tamil radio station operated by Radio Televisyen Malaysia, the government broadcasting service under the Malaysian Ministry of Information.

It was the first 24-hour Tamil language broadcast service in the world. It serves as a source of information and entertainment not only to Indian Malaysians but to people of Indian origin worldwide as well as Tamil enthusiasts.

Minnal FM broadcasts on the frequencies of 92.3 and 96.3 MHz in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley from its headquarters at Angkasapuri. Minnal FM is broadcast on 98.9 MHz in Ipoh. Currently the director of Minnal FM is B. Parthasarathee.

History

Tamil language broadcast in Malaysia started in 1938 together with the three other major languages spoken, namely Malay, English and Mandarin. Initially the programmes were aired from Singapore, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. A well-known broadcaster Mr. Tanjai Thomas supervised Tamil Broadcast from Kuala Lumpur.

During the Japanese occupation in World War II, the broadcast was known as JMPK. T.S. Shanmugam was then the head of Tamil Broadcast. Programmes were then transmitted at the Oriental Building in Mountbatten Road (now Jalan Tun Perak).

When Emergency was declared during the Communist threat in British Malaya in 1948, a special broadcast called " Emergency " was aired along the normal broadcast.

In 1951, Radio Malaya converted a ward in Hospital Tang Ling into a recording studio.

In 1956, the Federal House near Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur became the official Radio House.

Audience shows were later introduced in 1957 when a programme called Kalappadam made its debut. The format of the programme is retained today because of its popularity. Its first programme was broadcast from KL Town Hall (now Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur). In September 1957, a special stage programme dedicated to Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman was held in Taman Tasik Perdana, Kuala Lumpur as part of the celebrations of Malaysia's independence. The news bulletins were then aired from Singapore, while programmes such as regional news, classical music, radio plays were produced in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Tanjai Thomas, A. Peter, S. Swaminathan, A.R. Iyer, Rama Iyer, Haneef and Sundaraju Govindasamy were the pioneers in Tamil Broadcasting in Malaysia.

In 1961, R. Balakrishnan became the Head of Indian services. During his leadership, the Indian service bloomed and transmission hours were extended. The Tamil broadcast then changed its name to Bahagian India.

In 1970, the name was changed again to Rangkaian Merah and the unit system was introduced in Malaysia.

In the mid-1970s, Kamala Desigan became the first lady to head the service. The service underwent further expansion under the leadership of Mr Ganapathy and Mr Appadurai. During this period the unit system was abolished and Rangkaian Merah was renamed as Radio 6.

In 1994, V.Poobalan took over as the controller of Radio 6. During his leadership, Radio 6 switched to full FM transmission and became the first 24-hour Tamil language broadcast service in the world. The new look and feel of the service was launched on July 1, 1997. The station became very popular among listeners and sponsors as it became more commercial to appeal to a broad base of audience.

In 2001, Universiti Sains Malaysia graduate B. Parthasarathee became the new head of Radio 6. Among the new programmes introduced were Kuralamutham, Vetriyalar Or Arimugam and Ennanggal Vananggal.

On April 1, 2005, Radio 6 was rebranded to Minnal FM. Mr Parthasarathee played an important role in the rebranding process as the head of the section. The rebranding launch was made at Audiotorium Perdana, Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur by the then-Minister of Information, Datuk Seri Kadir Sheikh Fadzir.

In 2009, Minnal FM appointed the new head for the section (Minnal FM), Mr.B.Parthasarathee and current head for the section is Mr Rajasekaran.

The most popular DJ's heard by listeners of Minnal FM are Anand, Buvana Veeramohan, Theyvekgan, Thenmolee,Saras Bijin, S.Chitra, Buvaneswary Narayanan, Punitha Subramaniam, Taya.G, Logeswary, Manjula, Johnson, Chelladorai, Saraswathy Kanniappan, Prema Krishnan, Kavitha and Pon Kogilam.

Early morning from 6am till 10am listeners will be tuning into MinnalFM's morning show, Kaalai Kathir hosted by Theyvekgan and Buvana Veeramohan. From 10am till 2pm, Ullaasam Urtchagam will be focusing on masala of varieties of regional songs. Ennanggal Vannanggal will be airing from 2pm till 5pm churning out oldies. 5pm till 8pm, Aanatha Thenkatre songs will focus on soft and soothing songs of 80s and 90s. 8pm till 12am Natchatira Megam will be airing non-stop 55 minutes of Malayaalam, Telugu and Tamil songs. 12am to 3am Thalathuthey Vaanam is a special segment dedicated to listeners where they can call-in or send in their text message ( SMS ) to dedicate songs. 3am till 6am Uthaya Kaalam will be focusing on devotional songs, instrumental music and melody songs.