Perfect 10 fires DJs over 'lewd' jokes

Deejays Sheikh Haikel and Daniel Ong were hosts on the morning drivetime show, Morning Madness. Two listeners wrote to the Straits Times letters page complaining about the lewd jokes and risqué humour that characterised the show. After the two letters were published, Haikel, a well-known actor and singer who had just signed a contract with MediaCorp Radio in April, was fired. Ong, a popular radio personality, has been suspended from on-air duties. A third deejay, Jaime Tan, was also fired after being named as an accessory. One of the letters alleged that Tan and Haikel ended a show by saying that they were "enjoying ourselves here massaging and masturbating each other". Morning Madness is currently being hosted by deejay Vernon A. The media regulator is still investigating the matter. The radio station can be fined up to S$50,000 (US$1,207) for a breach of the Radio Programme Code. MEC Global's senior planner Lisa Chua called MediaCorp's reaction "immature and defensive. If not for the sheer collective strength of the group as well as the absence of a strong competitor, their revenue and station popularity would be severely affected." She said the combination of Haikel and Ong were both popular, and were a good combination with a particular gift at ad-libbing. According to Nielsen Media Research Radio Diary Survey 2004, wave 1, Perfect 10 had a reach of 11.5 per cent and was found to be the fourth most popular English-language station.