MELAKA – The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) will refine the proposal to create a dedicated channel for the general election as part of efforts to improve the dissemination of information to the people, said Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
Citing the special channel for the Olympics, Annuar said a designated channel could be created to give a fair space to all competing political parties.
“It is something interesting that we can establish. Perhaps for the Sarawak election, it is not that suitable, but for the general election, it is conceivable.
“It is one of the options that has never been provided, but it is not impossible if the situation permits. Technology allows us to do that and the cost is not so high,” he said when he dropped by the Malaysian National News Agency’s (Bernama) Melaka polls operations room today.
Also present were Bernama chief executive officer Datuk Mokhtar Hussain, editor-in-chief Abdul Rahman Ahmad, and executive editor Harlina Samson.
Annuar said with this dedicated channel, all campaign activities that take place in rural areas – especially those previously unknown to the public – could be aired.
He said once Parliament is dissolved, the channel could start broadcasting all information that would educate the public.
“It does not interfere with other airtime, (and) the EC (Election Commission) can monitor what happens on the ground. This dedicated channel is quite interesting, we will think about it later,” he said.
Annuar said KKMM, during the Melaka polls, had introduced a new approach by providing space to candidates to use Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s (RTM) TV and radio channels to disseminate information about themselves and their aspirations to voters due to strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) to control the Covid-19 pandemic.
The RTM TV channel started to air posters and biodata of candidates contesting in the Melaka polls, as well as their audio recordings via the MelakaFM radio station, from November 14.
In the meantime, Annuar said the strict SOPs set had increased the creativity of the machinery that helped contesting candidates in the Melaka polls.
He said throughout the campaign period, various parties have created their own campaign channels virtually through their respective social media accounts, including providing studios to convey information about candidates and update their campaign activities.
However, Annuar said the feeling of excitement to be the first person to disseminate information could lead to the sharing of factual errors, especially in publishing unofficial election results.
As the national news agency, Bernama needs to maintain its credibility, he said while expressing his admiration for the information delivery system in the Bernama operations room.
“Don’t misreport. While you want to be quick (to deliver the news), there must be SOPs that need to be adhered to, don’t get carried away to ‘compete’ with others. Moreover, Bernama is the source (of the news) that other media agencies will pick up (from), so the level of integrity must be at the highest,” he said. – Bernama, November 20, 2021
