Day: May 28, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, The National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) 2024 celebration, which concluded in Kuching yesterday, served as a platform to celebrate the contributions of industry players who play a key role in shaping an informed society, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said.

She said some 1,000 media practitioners, representatives from local journalists’ associations and delegates from ASEAN countries attended the event.

In a Facebook post today, Teo said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had also presented a donation from the Tabung Kasih@HAWANA fund to Chia Kan Nyuk, a journalist from See Hua Daily News who has served for 31 years and has been battling cancer since July 2023.

‘To date, 100 media practitioners have received assistance through this fund,’ she said.

When officiating the highlight of the celebration yesterday, Anwar announced an additional allocation of RM1 million for Tabung Kasih@Hawana for next year.

Tabung Kasih@Hawana was established in conjunction with the Hawana 2023 c
elebration to support journalists and media personnel, both active and retired, who are ill or in need of assistance.

HAWANA 2024, themed ‘Etika Teras Kewartawanan Mapan’, took place over three days from last Saturday.

It is the largest gathering of journalists in Malaysia and was held in Sarawak for the first time.

The event was organised by the Communications Ministry in collaboration with the Sarawak government, with the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) acting as the implementing agency.

About 1,000 guests comprising media practitioners from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Timor Leste, China, South Korea, Qatar, France and Kuwait gathered in Kuching for the three-day celebration to partake in various programmes.

May 29 has been gazetted as National Journalists’ Day, in conjunction with the publication of the maiden edition of Utusan Melayu on May 29, 1939, to celebrate the contributions of media practitioners.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia plans to implement government-to-government (G2G) facilitation leveraging on Islamic trade finance for economic cooperation among the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said this initiative will help turbo-charge the growth of the Islamic economy.

‘Considering that the global size of the Islamic trade finance today represents only less than five per cent of the approximate total trade finance activities by OIC member countries, I call on OIC leaders to ‘up the ante’ and facilitate cross-border access to beef up innovation, trade and investments,’ he said when launching the Global Forum on Islamic Economics and Finance here today.

Also present were Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, Securities Commission Malaysia executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Awang Adek Hussin and Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) chairman Tan Sri Azman Mok
htar.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said Malaysia will also spearhead the development of a global programme for Islamic economist in collaboration with its implementation partners.

Prime Minister said the programme aims to cultivate a cadre of dynamic and highly skilled economists equipped with the right knowledge and expertise in Islamic economics to ideate solutions that address contemporary global challenges.

‘It is a multi-track programme offering executive education, applied research and working internship for participants to gain professional experience,’ he said.

He noted that international Islamic organisations and development partners must work together to enhance international cooperation with concerted, holistic and harmonised economic growth strategies.

These include removing structural barriers, improving infrastructure, enhancing trade practices and fostering good governance in reducing economic disparities.

For Malaysia, Anwar said the MADANI economic framework puts forward a new m
ethod for civilisational development to guide towards achieving the goal of just and equitable wealth distribution.

‘The government will continue to steadfastly support Islamic social finance initiatives in Malaysia,’ he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

PUTRAJAYA, The government will finalise the implementation of Quick Response (QR) Codes for immigration clearance at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex and the Sultan Abu Bakar CIQ Complex in Johor after the conclusion of the first phase three-month trial period.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof stated that the first phase of the QR Code System, involving Malaysian citizens at both the CIQ complexes for bus and motorcycle travel, will commence this Saturday (June 1).

“The Proof of Concept will undergo a three-month trial period, during which the effectiveness and benefits of all systems will be assessed, along with the identification of any weaknesses requiring improvement.

“If it runs smoothly, then it can be implemented. Only then will the Ministry of Home Affairs finalise which companies are successful and which concepts will be used,” he told the media after officiating the National Conference on Stormwater Management (SWaM) here today.

Fadillah, who
also chairs the Special Committee on Addressing Johor Causeway Congestion, mentioned that during the implementation of the first phase, three proposed systems will be tested for their effectiveness.

“Three proposed systems from several companies have been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs. We will test these systems. Travelers only need to download the application, register, choose either Digital ID or MySejahtera, take a passport photo, or an individual photo, and verify.

“So when they pass through immigration there’s no need to take out their passport. Scan the QR code, and it will automatically enter the immigration system. This concept is expected to save travel time by an average of 50 percent,” he said.

He also stated that the outcomes of the meeting of the Special Committee on Addressing Johor Causeway Congestion No.1 2024 held yesterday, would be presented to the Cabinet as soon as possible.

On a separate development, Fadillah, who also serves as the Minister of Energy Transition and Water
Transformation, mentioned that the government would enhance the Manual for Environmentally Friendly Drainage (MSMA), as a crucial step to improve rainwater management to reduce floods.

“It (MSMA) is a dynamic document, that is constantly updated according to current circumstances.

“One thing we need to consider is how to introduce suitable technology to monitor forecasts on possible disasters. It may enable us to make earlier forecasts,” he said.

MSMA is a prerequisite for the approval of development plans involving drainage infrastructure, focusing primarily on addressing long-term flood issues and saving government expenditure on flood mitigation.

The methods and guidelines within MSMA provide a solid foundation for designing drainage systems capable of accommodating high rainfall intensity, especially in densely populated urban areas.

Furthermore, MSMA also emphasises the need for effective water resource management and treatment, utilising source control, flow reduction, and the construction of biolo
gical systems such as lakes and mangrove swamps.

This indirectly not only helps to reduce the risk of floods but also provides means to improve water quality and the environment.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUCHING, The National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA 2024) concluded another successful chapter with its fourth edition, which took place for three days in this city, drawing its curtain yesterday.

The largest gathering of Malaysian journalists, organised by the Ministry of Communications in collaboration with the Sarawak Government and Bernama as the implementing agency, was opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

This year’s fourth edition, involving the participation of approximately 1,000 media practitioners from 11 countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Brunei, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, China, South Korea and Qatar, also achieved several new milestones.

Among them was being the first HAWANA to be held across the South China Sea, as the three previous celebrations were held in Peninsular Malaysia.

With the event organised by the Ministry of Communications and Bernama as the implementing agency, it tested the level of cooperation among the federal and state agencies,
as well as non-governmental and private organisations.

The cooperation proved successful and promised further collaborations in the future.

Despite facing many challenges, Bernama, Radio Television Malaysia, the Information Department, and several other federal agencies worked closely with state agencies such as the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (UKAS), the State Protocol and Event Management Unit (UPPAN), as well as the private sector and non-governmental organisations to ensure the success of HAWANA 2024.

For the first time, HAWANA 2024 featured the ‘Jelajah HAWANA bersama Siswa’ with its inaugural event jointly organised by Bernama and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) at the Sarawak State Library on May 25.

More than 250 students from several local institutions of higher learning participated in the tour, during which they also had a dialogue session with the Minister of Communications, Fahmi Fadzil. Also present was Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Corporate Affairs, Infor
mation and UKAS), Datuk Abdullah Saidol.

The celebration became merrier with the opening of the 2024 HAWANA Exhibition by the Communications Minister at Plaza Merdeka here. It involved the participation of 20 exhibitors comprising media organisations, the private sector, and government agencies.

UKAS, the Kuching Division Journalists Association (KDJA), and the Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) also contributed to the warmth of the reception by organizing the Sarawak Media Conference (SMeC) 2024, which successfully attracted approximately 600 participants.

The Sarawak Media Conference (SMeC) 2024 was also organised by UKAS, the Kuching Divisional Journalists Association (KDJA) and Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM). The programme attracted about 600 participants.’Media Evolution in the Digital Era’

The conference, with the theme ‘Media Evolution in the Digital Era’, was opened by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg. Eleven topics were discussed at the conference.

A dinner with the Yang Dipertua Negeri
of Sarawak, Tun Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, was held later in the evening. The event was regarded as the biggest ‘Media Night’ in Sarawak with the attendance of many well-known journalists in the country.

Another achievement at the 2024 HAWANA 2024 is Bernama and RTM having their morning talk shows, Apa Khabar Malaysia (AKM) and Selamat Pagi Malaysia (SPM), respectively, jointly for the first time and broadcast live simultaneously.

The last day of the 2024 HAWANA yesterday was the highlight of the celebration with the presence of Anwar who announced several good news for media practitioners in the country.

They include an allocation of RM1 million to the Bernama Center of Excellence to organise courses and training related to artificial intelligence (AI) for media practitioners and an additional allocation of RM1 million to Tabung Kasih@HAWANA next year.

There was also good news announced by Fahmi, who said that part-time media practitioners in the country will receive Social Security Organisation (Socs
o) contribution for one year starting July 1.

He also said that the ministry will also continue the RAHMAH Rebate Incentive for Media Practitioners.

Yesterday, Sarawak’s veteran journalist James Ritchie and KDJA were named the recipients of the 2024 HAWANA Award, while seven other journalists received the Premier Special Award.

Meanwhile, Fahmi said that although the planning for the 2024 HAWANA was carried out during a limited time, the event was a success and attributed it to the efforts and dedication of the task force involved.

“I can see the seriousness and efforts of the task force in working tirelessly to ensure the success of this event,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, The National Journalists’ Day celebration (HAWANA) 2024 aims to encourage media practitioners to stay updated with current technological advancements and integrate them into daily tasks, said Ministry of Communication secretary-general, Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa.

He expressed appreciation to all parties, especially the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), for the successful organisation of this year’s HAWANA programme themed ‘Etika Teras Kewartawanan Mapan’.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone involved, particularly Bernama, as the main organiser of HAWANA 2024.

“Appreciation also goes to the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS), the Kuching Division Journalists Association, as well as media clubs and associations nationwide,” he said in his Facebook post today.

During the keynote address at the HAWANA 2024 celebration in Kuching, Sarawak, yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim unveiled an allocation of RM1 million to the Bernama Centre of Excellence, for A
rtificial Intelligence (AI) focused courses and training for media practitioners.

He stated that this allocation aligns with the call for media personnel to deepen their understanding and mastery of technology, including AI.

Furthermore, Anwar announced an additional allocation of RM1 million to the Tabung Kasih@HAWANA for the coming year.

The Tabung Kasih@HAWANA was established during HAWANA 2023 to assist active and retired journalists and media personnel facing hardships and in need of support.

The three-day HAWANA 2024, organised by the Ministry of Communication in collaboration with the Sarawak State Government and Bernama as the implementing agency, commenced last Saturday.

In its fourth year, the event brought together representatives from local media associations, clubs, and journalists from 12 countries, such as Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Timor Leste, China, South Korea, Qatar, France, and Kuwait.

They participated in various programmes during the inaugura
l HAWANA held in the Land of the Hornbills.

May 29 is commemorated as National Journalists’ Day to mark the publication of the first edition of the Utusan Melayu newspaper on that day in 1939, aiming to honour the contributions of media practitioners.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency