Best 104
Encyclopedia
Best 104 is both Malaysia's first private radio station
(though not the first commercial one, that honour belongs to Time Highway Radio
), and the first to be based outside of Kuala Lumpur
, in Johor Bahru
, Johor
, Malaysia. It began transmission in 1988 primarily as a station to suit the listening taste of the then Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar. It used to broadcast
in both English
and Malay
, but fierce competition with other private stations broadcasting in English forced it to focus on the Malay speaking audience.
Its commercialisation began when it extended its broadcast area to outside its native Johor state and the commencement of round-the-clock broadcast in 1996. Best 104 was at one time one of the more popular bilingual stations with listeners in Singapore
and the national capital Kuala Lumpur
; stiff competition for the English speaking audience caused the station to stop its English broadcast in 2001. The main station is located in the royal town of Pasir Pelangi
.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
(though not the first commercial one, that honour belongs to Time Highway Radio
Time Highway Radio
THR is the name of Malaysia's first private commercial radio station, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Taken over by AMP Radio Networks in 2005 , the station was originally the initiative and for some time the flagship station of the TIME Engineering conglomerate, and as the name suggests the...
), and the first to be based outside of Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, in Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...
, Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
, Malaysia. It began transmission in 1988 primarily as a station to suit the listening taste of the then Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar. It used to broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
in both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, but fierce competition with other private stations broadcasting in English forced it to focus on the Malay speaking audience.
Its commercialisation began when it extended its broadcast area to outside its native Johor state and the commencement of round-the-clock broadcast in 1996. Best 104 was at one time one of the more popular bilingual stations with listeners in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and the national capital Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
; stiff competition for the English speaking audience caused the station to stop its English broadcast in 2001. The main station is located in the royal town of Pasir Pelangi
Pasir Pelangi
Pasir Pelangi is the royal village of Johor, Malaysia. It is situated near Stulang and Johor Bahru. This royal village was established in the early 1900s during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim of Johor...
.
Transmitters
- FMFrequency modulationIn telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
104.1 MHz from Gunung Pulai transmitter site covering south Johor, Singapore and the Riau Islands - FM 94.8 MHz increased 10 kW output from Gunung LedangMount OphirMount Ophir, or more commonly known by its Malay name, Gunung Ledang, is a mountain situated in the Gunung Ledang National Park located in Ledang District , Malaysia. The summit is located between the border of Muar and Malacca. Standing at 1,276 m , with a clear trail leading to the peak, the...
transmitter site covering North Johor, Melaka, parts of Negeri SembilanNegeri SembilanNegeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....
and southwest PahangPahangPahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...
. - FM 102.5 MHz from Bukit Tinggi transmitter site covering east Johor.
- FM 104.1 MHz from Gunung Ulu Kali transmitter site covering SelangorSelangorSelangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
and Kuala Lumpur (Klang ValleyKlang ValleyKlang Valley is an area in Malaysia comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, and adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. An alternative reference to this would be Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area or Greater Kuala Lumpur. It is geographically delineated by Titiwangsa Mountains to the...
), Central Negeri Sembilan, western Pahang, Tapah and parts of southern PerakPerakPerak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
.
Facts
- DJ Burhan Mohtaruddin, also known as BBD, held the world record of the longest on-air announcer after conducting the radio station non-stop for 104 hours, from midnight of 2 October 2000 until 8.00 a.m., 6 October 2000.