Source : @erwinkhairulahm
PUTRAJAYA, October 20 – Thirty of the 60 categories at the Anugerah Seri Angkasa (ASA) 2026, Malaysia’s premier broadcasting awards, have been decided, with winners receiving their trophies at the ASA 2026 Prelude ceremony at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) on Tuesday.
Information Department (Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia) Director-General Erwin Khairul Ahmad announced the milestone in a post shared on X on Tuesday evening, accompanied by photographs from the ceremony.
“A total of 30 of the 60 Anugerah Seri Angkasa (ASA) 2026 categories were presented at the ASA 2026 Prelude ceremony at PICC. The remaining 30 categories will be announced at the ASA 2026 Grand Finale Night on October 24,” he wrote, adding: “Congratulations and well done to all the winners!”
The photographs he shared show senior officials posing in front of an ornate, marquee-lit stage arch bearing the Anugerah Seri Angkasa name, as well as a large group of winners raising their trophies on stage beneath a “Prelude – Anugerah Seri Angkasa 2026” backdrop, joined by performers in costume.
A two-stage awards night
Organisers split this year’s honours into two ceremonies. The Prelude, held on October 20, was set aside for the first 30 categories, while the Malam Kemuncak, or Grand Finale Night, is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, also at PICC, where the remaining 30 winners will be revealed. According to UtusanTV, the finale will be broadcast live on TV2 and the RTMKlik platform.
ASA 2026, the 37th edition of the awards, is contested across 60 categories: 40 for television, 17 for radio and three for new media. Two special honours, the Jury Special Award (Anugerah Khas Juri) and the Tokoh Seri Angkasa award, are also presented, according to UtusanTV.
This year’s competition drew 1,601 entries, made up of 1,106 television entries, 421 radio entries and 74 new media entries. Deputy Secretary-General (Strategic Communications and Creative Industry) at the Communications Ministry, Datuk Bahria Mohd Tamil, was quoted by Gerbangpost as saying the nominations came from 15 broadcasting companies and 84 television and radio channels. Gerbangpost also reported that the 2026 edition introduces a Best Podcast category, reflecting how the media industry is evolving.
Celebrating 80 years of RTM
Themed “Segalanya Bermula Di Sini” (“Everything Starts Here”), ASA 2026 adopts a Broadway-style musical stage concept to mark the 80th anniversary of the Department of Broadcasting Malaysia (RTM). “We portray the evolution from the radio era through to today’s digital landscape,” Bahria said, as quoted by Gerbangpost.
Speaking at the ASA 2026 countdown event at Hotel Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur last week, Communications Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah said the awards recognised not only those in front of the camera and microphone but also the producers, scriptwriters, directors, camera operators, editors and technical crews working behind the scenes, according to a news clipping published by TNB.
“The excellence of the creative industry does not depend on technology alone. Rather, it is born of a combination of talent, a willingness to try and an unwavering belief that a work can touch the human heart,” he said. He also urged the industry to produce quality local content that can compete internationally, saying Malaysia should be “bringing Malaysian stories to the whole world” rather than only importing stories from abroad.
Erwin, who leads the Information Department under the Communications Ministry, also attended an ASA 2026 event last week at which CIMB was recognised as the broadcast sponsor of the Grand Finale Night, UtusanTV reported. Nominations for ASA 2026 opened in June, and those shortlisted in the top five of their categories have described the recognition as a reward for producing high-quality, high-impact work, Portal Berita RTM reported.
With half of the trophies now handed out, attention turns to Saturday’s Grand Finale Night at PICC, where the remaining 30 winners will be named.
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