KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim wants to get to the bottom of allegations that an island off Mersing, Johor, was used for a "nude run" for a TV reality show.

He has asked the relevant agencies involved to help in a probe, and added that he would investigate the matter carefully as he did not want any party to feel discriminated against.

Dr Rais was commenting on a report in a Malay tabloid claiming that the producers of a European reality television show had made participants strip naked for a run on the island that was used for the location shoot.

The daily had highlighted scenes of nude men and women running along a sandy beach.

It did not identify the island.

Dr Rais said: "I have to first determine what happened because various allegations have been made. I have asked all the parties responsible to forward their evidence."

The probe would also focus on which government agency or department should have been responsible.

"We can't tell because there are actually many parties involved," he told reporters after attending the launch of an exhibition titled "A Decade of Dedication" at the Islamic Arts Museum here yesterday.

A source at the Mersing local council said approval for the filming was given only after the producers agreed that there should be no nude activities.

Dr Rais said the ministry's existing guidelines on film production covered topics such as obscenity or overexposure of the aurat, particularly for Muslims.

"We also have to see that a production does not offend the cultural sensitivities of the various ethnic groups in the country," he added.

"But morality is a complicated issue. That's why we will have to look at this matter from various angles and not take any prompt or immediate action."

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