Malaysia's proposed news exchange mechanism gets NAM backing

The news exchange mechanism for non-aligned countries, a Bernama brainchild which eventually became a Malaysian project, has finally received the support of the 114-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Senior officials preparing the agenda for the Sixth Conference of Ministers of Information Non-Aligned Countries (Cominac) VI have endorsed the proposed NAM News Network (NNN). Information Ministry Secretary General Siti Balkish Mohamed Shariff said a workshop would be organised within the next three months to enable interested NAM members to discuss ways to establish a practical and workable mechanism for the NNN. The proposed internet-based portal is aimed at presenting news on NAM countries from their own perspective for them and the world. Bernama, has been entrusted with the project, given its experience in handling similar initiatives. NNN would replace the inactive Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP)

Amman recovers from unprecendented bombings...

It was obvious to feel apprehensive about going to Amman especially after three of the city's hotels had just been hit by suicide bombers last Wednesday. I was supposed to fly to Amman on Friday to attend the News Agencies World Council meeting and was not sure if the gathering would proceed in the wake of the unprecendented bombings. A few phone calls to Amman finally made me decide to go on the trip after having been assured that the situation was not as bad as had been thought.
Indeed I found that the city going through its normal business although security at hotels were stepped up. The authorities had announced several arrests following the attacks which were blamed on the Al Qaeda in Iraq led by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.
I had a pleasant surprise when during a tour to the Citadel, I overheard three women speaking in bahasa Malaysia. As it turned out, they were from Malaysia and working in Abu Dhabi as nurses. No, the bombings did not stop them from continuing with their visit programme to Jordan. The chanced meeting inspired me to file a report .

Three long years...

On this significant day, I am reminded of the time when my group of boisterous post-graduate mates first met for the Strategic Communication (stracomm) class. Despite meeting the professor for the first time, we had lots to talk about. A number of ideas were floated on the communication projects that we would undertake for the whole semester. One that gained all-round immediate support was to start a Yahoo internet group called Stracomm. It would be the channel for us to communicate in between our once-a-week classes, discuss assignments and projects, bla, bla, bla. But just like most blogs, such internet group channel slowly waned out over the years and die a natural death. I hate to let it go and wrote the following note in the hope of getting the desired response.

"Dear Cefu and friends,
Three long solid years have passed since we started stracomm. Wouldn't it be fun if we had a time machine then to enable us to look into the future? We could have observed then how we eventually went our separate paths. Many have reached better ground, been rewarded and heading for a brighter future. Some may still be on the way forward while some could still be struggling on the long, painful journey in life.
Whatever it is, here's wishing everyone a Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir dan Batin. I'm only human yang tak sunyi daripada kesilapan.
Shah, sorry for all the 'teh tarik' promises which never really turn out. I know for sure, though, that the next time you're enjoying your 'teh tarik', you will look back with a smile at the time when we had our Raya celebration at UPM. No, I'm not reminding you about the satay but the good times we had as post-graduate students. I still have the CD recorded by Ismadi for memories sake.
To Cefu, wherever you are, all the best. I hope you have found your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
To all, take care and I'll always cherish the UPM days.

Fondest regards,
azz"

Cementing regional news cooperation...

Here I am at Hanoi international airport waiting for the flight home to Kuala Lumpur. This bustling Vietnamese capital has been my address for the last three days to attend the executive board meeting of the Organization of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA).
Bernama is the current chairman of the 37-member entity, formed in 1961 to seek equal opportunity in international news flow. With an active, internet-based newswire in place, member agencies post stories of happenings in their countries to tell the world through their own perspectives.

Despite the lively participation, the meeting felt more could be done to make the newswire an effective channel of a truly multilateral news exchange mechanism. Some wondered what action could be taken against non-active members while others called for recognition of those who contributed regularly.
The OANA newswire is really a channel for news agencies in the region to let the world know about their countries through their own eyes, thus reducing the dependence on reports filed by Western media agencies.

Getting the message across, no matter what....

A senior Cabinet minister was apparently so upset with Bernama that he threatened to boycott the national news agency. He summoned one of his senior officials to 'pass the message' to Bernama.It was found out later that his bone of contention was that Bernama had interviewed his political rival and wrote quite a 'lengthy' story. The minister may have his reason to be angry with Bernama but this will not stop the news agency from carrying out its responsibility of reporting for the people, about the people as well as by the people.

Remembering September 11.....

As Americans and the world remember the terrorists attacks of Sept 11, 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush vowed that Americans will overcome the ordeal presented by Hurricane Katrina which has left scenes of destruction in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. Bush used his weekly radio address to remember the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying Americans were pulling together to help Katrina victims just as they did the victims of the hijacked-plane attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC)and the Pentagon. "Today, America is confronting another disaster that has caused destruction and loss of life. This time the devastation resulted not from the malice of evil men, but from the fury of water and wind," Bush said. Hurricane Katarina will go down as the largest natural disaster in American history.
For the record, three Malaysians were among those killed in the Sept 11 attacks, four years ago. Twenty-three year old Vijayashanker Paramsothy, a financial analyst, and about 200 others were waiting for lifts to the ground floor when United Airlines Flight 175 ripped into the 78th floor of the WTC's South Tower at 9.03am. The plane that chrashed into the South Tower came 16 1/2 minutes after American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston slammed into the North Tower at 8.46am. The South Tower collapsed first at 9.59am before the North Tower came down at 10.28am. Two other Malaysians, both women, killed in the attacks were Ang Siew Nya, 37, a technical analyst with Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc and Khoo Sei Lai, 38, an executive vice-president and portfolio manager at Fred Alger Management.

Treasure hunt way to maintain media relation

A major portion of corporate communication activities is focussed on media relations. Many corporate bodies realised the importance of establishing and maintaining a good relation with the media. United Engineers Malaysia (UEM) is no exception. For the third year running, it has organised the UEM-Media Treasure Hunt which took off from the Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur to Seremban this morning. The event was spiced up with a sense of nationalism as it being held in conjunction with the month-long Merdeka month celebrations. Apart from stimulating their brains, participants had the chance to go around scanning signboards of places and buildings for the answers. Travelling along beaten roads enable participants to venture into areas where they would normally ignore. Because of this, some discovered that there is actually an old Bangi town, having heard so much of Bandar Baru Bangi. Although winning the event, may not be the ultimate aim of many participants, everyone would have gone home feeling happy. It was the 'Win-win' situation that matters between a corporate body and the Malaysian media organisations.

Oilman takes over MAS top job

It is understandable for the people in the cool highlands of Bario in Sarawak to be on cloud nine. Idris Jala, a local boy from the Kelabit community, was yesterday named as Malaysia Airlines (MAS) managing director and chief executive officer. Little-known Idris, who is Shell Malaysia Gas and Power vice-president and Shell Middle Distillates Synthesis (SMDS) Malaysia Sdn Bhd managing director, will assume his new post on December 1. The appointment comes barely a month after Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Dahalan resigned from the hot seat.
The 47 year-old Idris is aware of the crucial task ahead to pilot the national carrier through one of its turbulent times. The company posted a RM280 million loss in the second quarter. In a statement issued by MAS yesterday, Idris said: "As I am not from the airline industry, I will have to learn fast. I will do my best to work with everyone at MAS. I believe the key to a business turnaround lies in unleashing the talents of everyone".
Starting his career with Shell in 1982 as an industrial relations officer, Idris rose from the ranks and also had stints at various Shell units and postings overseas in the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Britain.

Staying relevant on turning 60

After six decades of existence, Malaysia's Information Department would need to continue with its priority of winning the hearts and minds of the people. While the department played a big role in reviving the peoples' confidence in the British Military Administration (BMA) during the Emergency period (1945-1955), its task ahead remains crucial. Being the government's public relations agency and dealing mostly with interpersonal communication with the people, the department would need to go all out to prove that it is still relevant in this modern-age society. The advent of information and communication technology has enable the public to obtain information from various sources and in the comfort of their homes. Gone were the days when Information Department staff would carry their big screen and film projector to the kampungs to explain about the government's programmes. As it celebrates its 60th anniversary today, the department would be inspired to continue with its important tasks of providing information to the people, taking into account the use of the latest technology.
Incidently, a Vietnamese friend emailed me today saying that his organisation -- Vietnam News Agency (VNA) is busy with preparation to celebrate its 60th anniversary on September 15. Happy 60th anniversary Jabatan Penerangan and VNA!.

Between Cairo and London...

When I was leaving for Cairo late July for a meeting, family and a few friends were a bit concerned. Their worries were triggered by the bomb blasts at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm-el-Sheikh which left scores of holiday-makers dead. They were relieved when I came back in one piece. The only thing which shattered me, though, was the thought that the world may not be a safe place anymore. Terrorists could just strike anywhere they want to, be it in Egypt, the United States or Europe. To think that the places affected by the bombings in London on July 7, were among those I had passed through during my stay in Cambridge was enough to make me feeling apprehensive. I enjoyed my stay in England, Egypt and all the other places that I had been fortunate enough to visit in the course of my work as a journalist. Moscow, Pyongyang, Buenos Aires, Washington, Almaty, Dombei in the Russian Caucusus, Karachi and Hydrebad, to name a few. As I get on with my new responsibility of building bilateral and multilateral news exchange agreements with others, I could surely expect to travel more, even to the remotest places on earth. Of course, I would want to travel in peace and be assured that the world is safe.

An international news exchange mechanism in the making

The possibility of setting up a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) news organisation or exchange will be one of the highlights of the Sixth Conference of the Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned Countries (Cominac) to be held in Kuala Lumpur this November. Giving the hint today, Information Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said such a cooperation would enable the NAM member countries to have an effective exchange of news and information as many of the news sources they were getting now were from Western countries. He said Malaysia, the current NAM chairman, is prepared to be the centre for the network.
The minister's announcement has put the proposal into a higher gear. Over the past two weeks, I've been fortunate to actively participate in the discussion to craft the proposal. The NAM News Network (NNN), as we envisaged, would take over the role of the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP), which has been inactive over the years. Malaysia, through Bernama, has some experience in handling such multilateral news exchange arrangement. Bernama is now the secretariat for the Organisation of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA) newswire as well as the Smart News Network International (SNNi), both operated via the Internet. OANA represents 37 news agencies of 33 countries while SNNi groups 10 African news agencies and newspapers with Malaysia's national news agency Bernama and The Star, New Straits Times and Utusan newspapers.

Making friends with Indian journalists

Had lots of reasons to be happy about with the completion of a four-day visit to Malaysia by a group of 10 senior journalists from India two weeks ago. I was tasked with drawing up the visit programme held under the Asean-India Media Exchange Programme from Aug 21 to 24. It was the first time that I had actually put my hands into such thing, having been appointed to head the Features and Foreign News Service. Weeks before they arrived, made a number of phone calls and emails to the relevant people in drawing up the itinerary. Apart from hotel accommodation, we contacted aides to several ministers to arrange for them to meet the journalists. When they arrived at the KLIA, got them on the super-fast KLIA express train which took only 28 minutes from the airport in Sepang to the capital city. Over the next two days, the participants called on Works Minister S.Samy Vellu, Tourism Minister Dr Leo Michael Toyad, Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin and Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis. They also visited places such as Putrajaya, the new Federal administrative capital, Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower.

A diplomat and a friend ...

A Malaysia-born daughter and a Masters in Law degree from a Malaysian university. These are just two of the many sweet memories that Jafar M.Jafar, Charge d'affaires at the Jordanian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, will bring home after a four-year stint in Malaysia next month. As his countrymen celebrate the kingdom's 59th National Day today, Jafar recalled the day daughter Nooran, three and a half, was born as among the nicest memories about Malaysia.
"Malaysia to me is like a second country, my second home...I have so many nice memories here, never felt like a stranger," he told me at the embassy during an interview to mark Jordan's National Day. The many photographs he had taken of Nooran, his elder daughter Dania, six and a half, and wife Rana would also remind them of their stay in Malaysia.
"Frankly, I didn't know much about Malaysia's multicultural society before I came but to experience it in person is wonderful.
"You can see so many things about the world in one place," said 36 year-old Jafar, wearing an olive green batik shirt.
I will forever remember him as a friend.

Spreading its wings abroad...

The Malaysian national news agency, Bernama, which turns 37 today is set for global presence. It will open six overseas bureaus this year and in 2006 to widen its international news coverage. Information Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir announced today the bureaus will be in Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai, London, Washington and New Delhi. The Bangkok bureau will be opened this year to be followed by the rest next year. Abdul Kadir said the Bangkok bureau would help enhance bilateral ties between Malaysia and Thailand, through wider dissemination and exchange of information especially in the economic and social fields. He also described as timely the opening of Bernama's offices in Beijing and New Delhi as both countries were now emerging as one of the world's most powerful economic players. Prior to this, Bernama news coverage from Washington and London were handled by retainers but the opening of the bureaus in the two major cities, would help the news agency despatch full-time correspondents. With the setting up of the bureaus, Bernama will have eight foreign bureaus, in addition to existing offices in Singapore and Jakarta.

Blogs have not displaced media

Weblogs, or blogs, may be a powerful new force in US politics but they have not displaced traditional media in terms of information and influence. This is according to a study conducted during the 2004 US presidential campaign. The study released Monday in New York found political blogs -- online opinion and information sites -- played a similar, but not greater role, as did the mainstream media and the candidates campaigns. The study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project dispels the notion that blogs are replacing traditional media as the public's primary source of information.

Return of the birds ..........

After almost two decades, the days of local fruits like rambutan, pineapple, durian and mangosteen appearing on Malaysian stamps have come to an end. So do starfruit, banana, mango and papaya which made up the fruit series of the national definitive stamps, first issued on June 5, 1986.
In their place, Pos Malaysia has opted for the exotic images of the country's feathered flying creatures -- spotted dove, bilbus, long-tailed parakeets, white-rumped shamas and olive-backed sunbirds.
Together with green-winged pigeons, banded pittas and imperial pegions, these birds would be featured on the new Malaysian stamps as the postal agency strives to keep the letters going in the face of the growing threat from the ultra fast e-mails.
The new definitive series -- Birds of Malaysia -- will go on sale throughout the country from tomorrow, May 14. They would come in eight denominations: 20 sen, 30 sen, 40 sen, 50 sen, 75 sen, RM1, RM2 and RM5.
Definitive stamps are the 'common' stamps intended for normal everyday postage use, issued in a large indefinite quantities and available for several years or more.
Birds had been featured in the first national definitive series in 1965.
As for the state series, a Pos Malaysia spokesman said the current agro-based theme which has been in circulation since 1986, would likely be replaced next year.

Typewriter...a forgotten trusted machine

Covering the recent Boao Forum in China was a real eye-opener. It was actually the first time that I literally got my hands on a wireless lap top. No clumsy wires except for the electricity connection. But once the batteries were fully charged, I could work anywhere I like and transmit the stories at ease within the room. To think I was filing the stories from one corner of huge China was incredible. Coming from the days of typewriters where we used to send stories through fax, telephone and telex whenever we were overseas, this new speedy way of filing news reports is most helpful.

What a friend can do ...

It has indeed been a while since I last posted my jottings. It would have stayed idle if not for Halim, a friend from my primary school days. We had lunch with another primary school-mate yesterday in one of KL's busiest shopping complex. Halim recalled that I was an elegant footballer which made me blushed. I told him that the only thing that I would want to be elegant now is my writing. He then wrote down a blogspot address to which I told him I too had registered as a blogger. This morning I received a SMS from him suggesting that I continue with the blog. Alas, this is what a friend can do. I hope I can keep my promise with my professor at Wolfson....