PETALING JAYA: Television personality Ras Adiba Radzi has clarified that she was not suspended from her newscasting job at local station NTV7 for cutting her hair short as part of a cancer awareness campaign.
“I took a risk doing it as they have already explained to me the situation before I did it. I was aware that being nearly bald was not the norm,” she said in an interview yesterday.
Ras said NTV7 had also requested for time to deliberate their options when she shorn her locks as technical problems could emerge due to her new look.
“The show is shot on a green screen so if you have very short hair or are bald, it can tembus-tembus (penetrate),” she said, adding that the Media Prima-owned station had voiced support for her cause.
“I'm currently the country's first disabled newsreader. NTV7 installed ramps and made everything wheelchair-friendly when they took me on,” she said.
Ras Adiba cropped her hair last Friday to show her solidarity with Makna's (National Cancer Council of Malaysia) Jom Botak cancer awareness campaign.
Although an NTV7 official claimed that she had been suspended, a statement released by Media Prima earlier this week insisted she was not.
“We are still discussing with Ras Adiba on how best we can assist her and the cancer awareness programme she is supporting,” said the Media Prima's Group Corporate Communications division.
