Kamsahamnida...

Kamsahamnida -- that's 'Thank You' in Korean.
As we headed for home, my thoughts were drawn to the memorable stay in Seoul. It was like going back into time when I put up at the same Lotte Hotel which I had stayed for an assignment five years ago.

I had then covered former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's trip to Seoul where he pledged Malaysia's continued commitment for the 'Look East' policy.
But the trip this time was different. It was for the Organisation of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA) summit meeting organised by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency to commemorate its 30th anniversary.
In a way, it was historic as the 41-strong OANA decided to venture into multimedia -- getting its members to exchange video clips.
This is something new from the existing arrangement of text-based news and photo exchange that has been going on for years.
Just as cherry blossom starts to bloom all over Seoul, the colourful sight of early spring mirrored the pledge of the OANA members to expand cooperation into the multimedia platform.

In fact, the meeting took place at this time to coincide with spring which offered a breathtaking view of the city with colourful flowers along the streets.

Banking on each other ....

Asian news agencies' once heavy reliance on major Western news wires to carry news about Asia appears to have changed, This was the finding revealed by a research on the new trend in Asian news flows.
Prof Choi Young Jae of South Korea's Hallym University, who conducted the research on nine Asian news agencies over a 10-day period last July, said most of the news about Asia, relayed by news agencies, now came from fellow Asian counterparts.
"Even North American and European news stories are mostly coming from Asian news agencies. In other words, Asian news agencies produce Asian, American and European news stories on their own," he told the Organisation of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA) Summit Congress in Seoul.

The research project was to determine the degree and how the news agencies which included Bernama, the Malaysian national news agency, report about Asia.
The other agencies were South Korea's Yonhap, host of the four-day summit here, Xinhua (China), Kyodo (Japan), Philippines News Agency (PNA), Press Trust of India (PTI), Thai News Agency (TNA), Antara of Indonesia and Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
Choi said another important finding of the study was that Asian news agencies tended to portray Asia not so negatively but fairly, in keeping with their neutral stands.
"Asian news agencies (now) have their own voices in covering Asia and the world, competing with their Western counterparts," said Choi, who is also a board member of South Korea's News Agency Promotion Foundation.
Having achieved success in the text news services, he said the summit could be a springboard for the 40-member OANA to cooperate in multi-media contents.
He noted that the agencies were moving into multi-media platform by having television news, internet services and smart phones television applications.

Bracing for the "pendulum power swing" .....

After months of tedious preparations, the first-ever Organization of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA)Summit Congress raised its curtain at Seoul's majestic Lotte Hotel.
Host Yonhap News Agency had done a truly excellent job to stage the summit in conjunction with its 30th anniversary.
Many delegates were caught surprise when South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan turned up to open the four-day meeting.
His message was clear -- Asia-Pacific news agencies need to raise their cooperation to new heights as the "pendulum of global power is swinging towards the region".

He said the region was not only the world's largest and most populous but the most rapidly changing as well.
"Asia-Pacific was among the earliest to recover from the recent financial crisis, fuelling recovery in the rest of the world," said Chung, who noted that South Korea now stood as an important player in global affairs.
The meeting sought to broaden multilateral cooperation among Oana members in the face of a rapidly changing global media environment.
Chung said Oana, formed in 1961 on the initiative of Unesco, could help narrow the information gap separating developed and developing nations.

"Oana members have indeed played a crucial role in the region's rapid and dynamic advancement. You deliver the latest news swiftly and accurately, painting a vivid picture of Asia-Pacific far beyond the region," he said.
Saying he was aware of the world's high expectations for South Korea to "make the world a better place for everyone", he urged Oana members to write and report about the country.
"World leaders from developed and developing nations will meet in (South) Korea this month for the 2010 G-20 Summit. (South) Korea will also be the host of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit," he said.
Oana President Dr Ahmad Mukhlis Yusof said the theme for the summit, "Challenges and Opportunities for News Agencies", was relevant and urged members to tap the information technology.
"The imbalance and difference of information flow between the developing and developed countries have not been narrow by disputes for decades. Until now, there is a gap within the world information flow," said Mukhlis, who is chief executive of Antara News Agency of Indonesia.
Communications scholar Dr Oliver Boyd-Barrett, who delivered a keynote address, said he believed Oana has a role in helping to shape future change to the information flow.

"Two countries of the region (India and China) alone account for a third of the global population and economically the region is developing into the world's powerhouse for the 21st century.
"How can this not impact the global infrastructure of news flow?" said Dr Boyd-Barrett of Bowling Green University in Ohio.

Rosy future for news agencies...

Asia-Pacific news agencies are set to hold an unprecedented meeting in Seoul this week as a United States-based journalism scholar predicted that news agencies hold vast potential for future growth.
This was despite all the misgivings voiced about news agencies in the early days of the Internet, said Prof Oliver Boyd-Barrett of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, who has been invited to speak at the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) Summit Congress.
His study on the news agencies' prospect is published in his latest book "News Agencies in the Turbulent Era of the Internet", to be launched in Barcelona, Spain on May 10.
"I believe the book delivers a resounding message: despite all the difficulties, all the challenges and complexities of their business, news agencies as institutions of political, economic, cultural and social importance, survive and often thrive," he replied to my email questions ahead of the four-day OANA summit beginning Wednesday.

His observation will provide valuable insight for the meeting that will discuss "Challenges and Opportunities for News Agencies in the New Media Era" as its theme.
The meeting is expected to be the largest event in the history of OANA, which was formed in 1961 on the initiative of UNESCO to promote regional news exchanges, and now comprises 41 members from 33 countries.
Heads of news agency associations from Europe, Africa and the Middle East will also attend the Seoul summit as observers. It is co-hosted by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations.
Boyd-Barrett said the single most important outcome of the OANA Summit would be the opportunity for member agencies to share experiences and potential solutions to the challenges that they collectively faced.
"Among the most important of the challenges they each face, inevitably, is the challenge of how best can agencies position themselves in the rapidly evolving age of both wired and wireless Internet."
Having conducted extensive research on global news agencies, Boyd-Barrett said OANA could do more than providing news exchange among its members.
"I would hope that there are greater possibilities for monetising this exchange with a view to developing regional news services of interest to media and non-media clients throughout the world, including the media markets of the most prosperous countries.
"This may entail a notable upscaling of investment including dedicated personnel, further development of regional enterprise and investigative reporting, and identification of new delivery systems.
"Additionally, OANA's role in the provision of professional training and development can only become more important in the years ahead," he said.
On OANA turning 50 next year, he said the "sheer durability" of OANA and of its member agencies was testimony to the continuing and essential importance despite all the difficulties that they faced, of the services that news agencies provided in the cause of public communication.
"For the future, I believe OANA can help provide a vision for multi-media, multi-modal news delivery and for the development of entrepreneurial services that may help provide revenues for future investments and enhance professional independence," he said.

Bernama journalists bag awards...

Bernama journalist Melati Mohd Ariff won the prestigious Kajai Award at the MPI-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards presentation here tonight for her three-part articles on rising temperatures in Cameron Highlands.
Another Bernama journalist, Rohana Mustaffa emerged the winner in the Best Features category for her article entitled 'Kampung Baru-Antara Dua Darjat'.
The case study of the rising temperatures in Cameron Highlands, which was entitled 'Mencari Dingin Udara di Cameron Highlands' raised Melati's profile to emerge the winner in the Kajai Award category.
A thorough investigation supported by environmental experts had the judges bowled over, making Melati richer by RM30,000 and a 100-gramme gold medal worth RM12,900, the prizes for the winner of the Kajai Award.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin presented the prizes to the winners of the various categories up for grabs.
The last time a Bernama journalist won the Kajai Award was in the 1980s when Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar's work on the Memali incident was adjudged the winner.
Melati said she did not expect to win the Kajai Award and was only hoping to be honoured in the environmental category, in which she was also nominated.
"This is my biggest achievement since I entered the journalism field in 1979. I am very grateful (to receive the Kajai Award)," she said.
On where she got the idea to do the case study, Melati said it came about because of her disappointment that the hill resort was not as cool as it used to be.
"I love to go to Cameron Highlands...I like to go there because of its cool crisp air but became very disappointed to see indiscriminate development taking place which altered the cool atmosphere.
"From there, I felt challenged to find out what were the real reasons for the change and kept in touch with several people up in Cameron Highlands for additional information," she said.
As a journalist, she was fortunate to be able raise issues of interest to the people and hoped that her work would open the eyes of the parties responsible to look after Cameron Highlands so that its pristine beauty is preserved.
The feature on problems associated with Kampung Baru by Rohana detailed the situation in Kampung Baru in the context of development surrounding it, the grievances of its residents and uncertain future the Malay village, which lies in the centre of the federal capital.
The win enable Rohana to take home RM15,000.
Thankful for the success, Rohana described the win as very meaningful because it was her first award after not having written features for some 15 years.
"Before taking up duties at Bernama's Features Desk, I had been with the Bahasa Malaysia sub-editors desk and this is the first time I am winning an award after almost 15 years," said Rohana, who is the editor of the Features Desk.
Asked how she got the idea to come up with the article, Rohana said the issue was something close to her heart.
"The issue of Kampung Baru is an issue of the Malays which is dear to me. Although it is an old issue, there has yet to be any resolution," she said.

(Bernama)

Close friends in development...

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin hopes Malaysian media practitioners would use their profession for the good of the nation.
He said this was because the media had great influence on the thinking of the people especially with the current development and sophistication of the media infrastructure and technology.
"If your media can mould the opinion of 100 people, it is already a great achievement, what more if it can influence millions of people each hour and day.
"So, use your profession for the good of our nation and social harmony," he said at the Malaysian Press Night 2010, organised by the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) and Petronas in Kuala Lumpur tonight.
Muhyiddin said the Malaysian values and identity must be based on the ways the Malaysian media functioned.
Thus, the media should play a role in forming the public perception and how the world perceived Malaysia to be besides minimising hatred, disputes and prejudices.
"Maximise substantiated debates, dialogues and harmony. Minimise arrogant media, insensitivity, inaccuracy, excessive bias and unethical sensationalism.
Help the government to maximise what is good for our country," he said.
Muhyiddin also hoped that the media fraternity would continue to be trustworthy in conveying information to their respective audiences by reporting only actual news and putting aside personal views and not to add 'flavour' merely to make the news more 'juicy'.
He said this was important because he had himself become the 'victim' of circumstances when the report on his statement was misinterpreted to the extent that it had caused confusion.
Besides being the eyes and ears of society in the context of politics and government, he said journalists also had to act as the eyes and ears of the administrators and leaders.
Journalists should also assist the centre of power to understand the public perception on a particular issue, with the primary intention of improving the quality of life of the people, quality of administration and enhance democracy.
"My stand is that there is no democracy without the media. The fact that the media is enjoying such a healthy growth in Malaysia shows the strong democratic values in the country.
"I'm not asking you to praise or favour the government or to hide the truth. I'm just hoping that we -- the government and media -- can become close friends in development to ensure Malaysia's prosperity," he said.
Muhyiddin said that as far as the government was concerned, journalists and the media were their partners in national development.
"The government needs the media to enable its messages, political and socio-economic programmes to be accepted effectively by the public and successfully implemented for the sake of the country's development," he said.
However, the cordial relationship between the government and the media should not erode the credibility of either party.
(Bernama)

Imminent threat of nuclear catastrophe...

As world leaders prepare to fly to Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit, I had the chance of meeting former Australian Foreign Minister Prof Gareth Evans, an expert on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. He co-chairs the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), which has produced a 230-page report described as the most comprehensive ever produced on the issue.

As we sat for the interview on level 33 of Hilton KL overlooking the Lake Gardens and Parliament House, Evans spoke about the commission's work, his passionate commitment to a world completely-free of nuclear weapon and the imminent danger of nuclear catastrophe.
Drawing his attention to Malaysia, I asked him what role could Malaysia provide at the two-day summit, called by US President Barrack Obama, starting tomorrow.
"Malaysia has been traditionally a very important voice for disarmament, non-proliferation (of nuclear weapons)...very powerful, very articulate voice within the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
He said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's presence at the summit is important as a demonstration of Malaysia's commitment.
"It is crucial that Malaysia play a positive role as there are a number of issues on which some Non-Aligned Movement countries are going to be very difficult".
"People will be looking to Malaysia for guidance on these issues and it's important for Malaysia to play that constructive role.
"I know it's not a big issue in the Malaysian public consciousness at the moment, but the point is, Malaysia has a well-known voice and well-established track record," said Evans who will be part of the Australian delegation at the summit.
"What we have to ensure is, we get the best possible results on disarmament, best possible results on moving ahead on the Middle-East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone which is another big issue at the conference and the strengthening of the non-proliferation treaty regime."
The summit, to be attended by leaders from more than 40 countries, is part of Obama's ambitious goal of creating a new system to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear material, particularly highly-enriched uranium.
Evans was in Malaysia last week as part of his visit to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) party countries to promote the work of the ICNND and advocate a practical agenda for global policy makers in eliminating nuclear threats.
In its report, the commission had recommended that nuclear disarmament should be pursued as a step-by-step process with "minimisation" to be achieved, no later than 2025 and "elimination" as soon as possible, thereafter.

Asked why the public should be more concerned of the issue, Evans said "because there is a very real danger of the world blowing itself up".
"There are 23,000 nuclear warheads out there at the moment, of which 2,000 are on high alert even 20 years after the Cold War," he noted.
The number of nuclear warheads could translate into "150,000 Hiroshima-bomb size, capable of destroying the world, many times over", he cautioned.
"We know now, how often that even with the supposedly sophisticated command and control system, often we came close to catastrophic danger, either through human or machine error or just sheer stupidity, miscalculation.
"I've got plenty of such stories," said Evans, who was Australian foreign minister from 1988 to 1996.
He said the world was facing an even bigger danger than it was during the Cold War days because more nuclear states were coming into the game with less sophisticated control and command system.
It was also faced with "unknown realities" of terrorists willing to cause maximum destruction if they could get their hands on the weapons.
"What we are saying, in terms of global issue, this one is right up there alongside climate change because the world could be destroyed by something going wrong," he said.

'Pak Lah'...

After much sweat and toil, Bernama’s coffee table book titled "Pak Lah" was launched today. Featuring 400 photographs of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, it commemorates his tenure as the fifth prime minister and sixth president of Umno.
Information Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim hailed the publication of the book, saying it was a labour of love for the agency.
"As a photography buff myself, I find that the photographs, all 400 of them, are momentous, compelling and crisp, and accompanied by a nice narrative and accurate description," he said at the launching at Auditorium Perdana, Angkasapuri.
Abdullah was present with his wife Jeanne Abdullah.
The book, priced at RM200 each, can be obtained from 7th Floor, Photo Marketing Division, Wisma Bernama in Jalan Tun Razak.
It covers topics such as constitutional monarchy, administration, perception about Abdullah family, political struggle, interactions with the media, international relations as well as social activities.
Speaking at a news conference after the launching, Abdullah said he was touched by the publication of the pictorial book.
"I felt moved when told that what Bernama and Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim had been working on has now become a reality.

"Although I've not seen all of the pictures, I believe that they have been carefully selected,"said Abdullah, who stepped down as prime minister in April last year.