Owned by the state-owned broadcaster Mediacorp and launched in 1990, it broadcasts a contemporary hit radio format focused on Malaysian popular music and Indonesian pop music.

An audio simulcast of Ria 897 is carried by Mediacorp's Malay television channel Suria after sign-off.

SBC announced the start of a new Malay-language radio station on 89.7 FM in October 1990.

The service was yet unnamed and would capture a younger audience than Radio 2, the existing Malay station.

[1] The name Ria was announced in November, alongside its launch date of 1 December.