Azlinda said the ministry has received a report and UM will take further action over the controversial scene, Berita Harian reported.

“This incident was more of an oversight, resulting from the students being overly excited about their performance that they overlooked cultural norms and sensitivities.

“Nonetheless, the university needs to be more sensitive because in the arts, youngsters are sometimes overly excited, without any malicious intention,” she was quoted as saying.

She said this was where universities are supposed to guide and counsel students on the boundaries they should not cross, stressing that creativity should be nurtured within the confines of Malaysia’s cultural norms.

A video of the scene, which went viral, had briefly featured a couple on a bed, which netizens said was too suggestive.

UM apologised over the matter, saying the scene was not in the original script vetted beforehand and that this was a breach of the competition rules.

As a result, the play was disqualified from the competition.