Day: May 24, 2024

LABUAN, Labuan International School (LIS) welcomed the 9th stop of Franco-Tour today, marking a significant celebration of Francophonie.

The event, held under the theme of promoting the French language and Francophone culture, aimed to foster cultural exchange and educational engagement among secondary school students in Labuan.

The opening ceremony was graced jointly by Anaïs Deschamps, Attachée for French Language and Education at the French Embassy in Malaysia, and Ministry of Plantation and Commodities senior assistant secretary Syed Nizamuddin Sayed Khassim.

Expressing gratitude to LIS for their hospitality, Deschamps highlighted the importance of such partnerships in strengthening ties between France and Malaysia and promoting Francophonie.

The Francophonie is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes.

LIS principles Fadlin Aimuni said in line with LIS’s vision of nurturing global citizens proficient in multiple
languages, the event brought together students from LIS, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Labuan (SMKL), and Sekolah Menengah Sains Labuan (SMSL), aged 13 to 17 years old.

She said that co-organised by LIS and the Embassy of France in Malaysia in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Malaysia, Franco-Tour featured a range of interactive and educational activities, including competitions, games, cultural presentations, and question-and-answer sessions with the diplomats.

‘These activities aimed to showcase the richness and diversity of the Francophone world… LIS expressed gratitude to the Embassy of France in Malaysia for their support, emphasising the event’s significance in providing students with immersive learning experiences,’ she told Bernama today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

JERANTUT, The Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) aims to implement five Mobile Rural Community Centre (PKD) programmes this year to enhance the well-being of rural residents.

Deputy Minister Datuk Rubiah Wang said this was based on the positive response from local communities in porgrammes held in three locations last year, namely Grik, Perak; Nabawan, Sabah; and Kota Samarahan, Sarawak.

“Two of the five PKD Mobile programmes have already been conducted this year, in the Federal Territory of Labuan on March 9 and in Kuala Tahan, Pahang today. The remaining three PKD Mobile programmes are expected to be held in the Borneo Zone, the Central Zone, and the Southern Zone.

“The PKD Mobile programme is organised in areas without access to PKD services, allowing rural communities to interact directly and access existing PKD services or those located far from urban areas,” she told reporters after officiating the programme in Kuala Tahan here today.

Rubiah said PKD Mobile was introduced as one of K
KDW’s ‘quick wins’ programmes to extend existing PKD services, including government and private sector services, to selected rural areas in the form of mobile counters.

She said the programme also served as a platform to identify rural entrepreneurs with marketable products that could be sold online through the ministry’s platform – Desamall – thereby enhancing their socioeconomic status.

“The PKD Mobile programme is funded under the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK-12), with a budget of RM4 million this year, in addition to various programmes planned for physical PKDs nationwide,” she said.

She emphasised that PKDs were essential in helping improve the living standards and well-being of rural communities by providing training and activities for capacity building and entrepreneurial development.

Meanwhile, Rubiah said that there were currently 191 physical PKDs across the country, including in Sabah and Sarawak, with 20 located in Pahang alone, which showed the government’s efforts to enhance the living standards
of the rural community.

“From 2021 up to April 30 this year, PKDs have successfully implemented 19,736 empowerment programmes, including courses, training, and community activities.

“A total of 565,531 individuals have participated in or benefited from these programmes, reflecting the strong response from the community,” she said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Youth Day 2024 (HBN 2024) celebration at Dataran Pahlawan, Melaka is expected to serve as a catalyst for more young people to develop their potential.

Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abd Halim said the organisation of HBN 2024 is one of the government’s efforts to recognise the role of youth and unlock their potential in various fields.

‘We want the youth to realise that the government highly values their role and potential. This celebration is the perfect platform for them to explore their abilities with confidence, as this recognition will serve as a catalyst for their spirit,’ he told reporters after appearing as a guest on Bernama TV’s Apa Khabar Malaysia programme today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to officiate the HBN 2024 celebration themed ‘Yakin Boleh’ tomorrow and will present the Anugerah Perdana Belia Negara (APBN) awards to the recipients.

According to Adam Adli, over 30,000 visitors are expected to attend the HBN 2024 celebration
compared to 25,000 last year.

‘We want to double our outreach and attendance number. Insya-Allah, I hope we can achieve this target over the three-day celebration. With the time and space available, we have prepared numerous activities for the public to enjoy,’ he said.

HBN 2024 features 72 activities through 10 lifestyle segments under the Rakan Muda brand, namely Rakan Aktif, Rakan Litar, Rakan Digital, Rakan Ekspresi, Rakan Demokrasi, Rakan Prihatin, Rakan Mahir, Rakan Niaga, Rakan Bumi and Rakan Muzik.

Meanwhile, Adam Adli, who is also Hang Tuah Jaya Member of Parliament, said the Kembara RIUH x HBN 2024 is also being held in collaboration with the Communications Ministry and coordinated by MyCreative Ventures Sdn Bhd.

The two-day programme starting tomorrow will feature local artistes such as Hujan, Sekumpulan Orang Gila, Forceparkbois, Dolla, Bunga and others.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SHENZHEN, Malaysia is expected to receive a more efficient disaster management system which uses new technology to prepare for any disaster, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the technology transfer was realised through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed between the Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and the Chinese telecommunications company, Huawei, here today.

‘They (Huawei) have a system which can provide results within 30 seconds to be analysed and serves as an early warning sign of flood, storm or other conditions.

‘(Thus) Malaysia really needs a system such as this, as we are facing the Northeast Monsoon and now the Southwest Monsoon,’ he told Malaysian media, after witnessing the MoU signing ceremony.

Ahmad Zahid is now on his first official visit to China, since assuming the position of Deputy Prime Minister in December 2022. The 11-day visit, starting on May 22, was at the invitation of Chinese Vice Premier, Ding Xuexiang.

Also present at the MoU signin
g ceremony were Deputy Foreign Minister, Datuk Mohamad Alamin, and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) chairman, Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said that the discussion with Huawei during his visit to the company’s headquarters here also focused on efforts to empower the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), guided by the latest technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and robotic systems.

‘Huawei has been in Malaysia for 23 years, and the company has introduced some new technologies, such as AI, which is relatively new in Malaysia, and we are confident that the efforts made by Huawei will be able to transfer, not only technology, but also knowledge, to our country.

‘Next is IoT, which is also a focus area, where the opportunity should be given to TVET students, followed by robotics, which in my opinion, has been around for a long time in this country (China), but is new in Malaysia. This will certainly (enable) more people who ca
n handle robotics (and) this system in our country,’ he said.

Apart from that, Huawei will open a new administrative centre in Malaysia, thus proving the telecommunications company’s commitment to create about 6,000 job opportunities, for those involved in the 5G and 5GA systems brought to Malaysia, he said.

Ahmad Zahid, in a Facebook post, said that Huawei also expressed its intention to support Malaysia’s digital leadership direction, through the development of talent in the field, and to help explore the digital and technology fields as a catalyst towards becoming a developed and high-income country.

‘I hope that Malaysia’s close cooperation with Huawei will continue to be intensified, to enable Malaysia to contribute towards digital technology innovation, in addition to producing more local skilled workers in the field,” he said.

Earlier, Ahmad Zahid visited the Huawei Von Neumann Exhibition Hall (Industry and Digital Transformation) and had the opportunity to see the variety of products and technolog
ies developed by Huawei, including the digitalisation of Government Administration systems; Urban Traffic Congestion Management; Smart City Intelligence; Huawei Cloud; Artificial Intelligence Centre (AI) and Data Security.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUCHING: The government will announce some good news for media practitioners in the country during the 2024 National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) 2024 celebrations slated to be held here starting tomorrow.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would announce the good news at the highlight of the three-day celebration on May 27.

‘Stay tuned, Insya-Allah, there will be some good news,’ he said after paying a courtesy call on Sarawak Governor Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in Astana Negeri today.

Fahmi was accompanied by Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj and Sarawak Bureau chief Hamdan Ismail.

On the preparation for HAWANA, which would kick off tomorrow, Fahmi said all were running smoothly without any glitches.

‘All is good, we are looking forward to it. The difference in HAWANA this year is that we have invited more international media friends, including six media organisa
tions from ASEAN countries,’ he said.

Themed ‘Etika Teras Kewartawanan Mapan’, the largest gathering of the Malaysian media fraternity will also be joined by media representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Brunei, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Vietnam, China, Korea, and Qatar.

Various programmes have been lined up, including the HAWANA 2024 Excursion with Students programme, which is to be launched by Fahmi at Pustaka Negeri here tomorrow, besides the HAWANA 2024 Exhibition at the Main Atrium of the Merdeka Mall, which will also run for three days starting tomorrow.

Seventeen agencies will be participating in the exhibition to showcase their services and provide visitors with information and various activities. Old media equipment and the history of media in Sarawak will also be exhibited, with the exhibition open from 10 am to 5 pm.

Also for HAWANA, the 2024 Sarawak Media Conference (SMEC) 2024 themed ‘Evolution of Media in the Digital Era’ with approximately 600 participants including loc
al and international speakers, will be held for two days starting Sunday and will be inaugurated by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

HAWANA 2024 participants will also get to experience the unique culture and latest developments of Sarawak through the ‘Juh Raon’ programme, which includes visits to iconic locations around the city, including the Borneo Cultural Museum, Darul Hana Bridge, Dataran Ibu Pertiwi, followed by a high-tea and networking session at the English Tea House and Restaurant on Sunday before being feted at a dinner reception with the Sarawak Governor.

HAWANA 2024 is organised by the Ministry of Communications in collaboration with the Sarawak Government while the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) is the implementing agency.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency