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