Warta Serumpun, a Malaysia-Indonesia joint television news bulletin, made its debut at midnight (Malaysian time) tonight.
The 30-minute programme was jointly-produced by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) and Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI).
The maiden segment carried a congratulatory message by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in conjunction with Indonesia's 63rd Independence Day celebration today.
Malaysian Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek also had a teleconference with his Indonesian counterpart, Prof Dr Muhammad Nuh, Minister of Communication and Informatics.
The news programme was the result of a consensus reached at the Indonesia-Malaysia Information Committee Meeting in Jakarta on June 11 and 12.
The meeting had expressed the hope that through Warta Serumpun, the people of both countries can understand issues relating to culture, social, economy and heritage better and lift up the ties forged over 50 years ago to a new dimension.
Ahmad Shabery described the programme as an innovation which would demonstrate the capacity and strength of the Malaysia-Indonesia language in the field of broadcasting especially in the region.
