Eco-friendly JICA seeks feedback from Malaysians...

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) started engaging with Malaysia in 1966 when it first provided technical cooperation. Since then, some 10,000 Malaysians have gone to Japan for training under JICA’s programme. The agency has also sent 3,000 experts to Malaysia who stayed in the country for more than a year.
The JICA Malaysia office was opened in 1975 and undertook the first training programme for the Look East Policy in 1982.
But despite its long involvement in the country, JICA’s Chief Representative in Malaysia Tsutomu Nagae says Malaysians still do not know the agency well.

"We’d like to know what Malaysians feel about our activities," he said during his visit to Wisma Bernama.
Nagae, who was a JICA volunteer himself in Kota Kinabalu 30 years ago, says the agency has provided 920 billion Yen (or RM30 billion) to implement 74 projects in Malaysia.
Being eco-friendly, JICA is prepared to join hands with local companies and government agencies to promote green technology in the country.
Nagae says JICA could provide appropriate financial and technical assistance in green technology which has the potential to become an important sector in Malaysia's economic development.
As part of its social reasponsibility, the agency is promoting social participation for persons with disabilities. It had organized a drawing exhibition by people with disabilities with the support from a leading shopping center-chain.
JICA collected more than 500 drawings from several handicapped homes and displayed the drawings to let the shopping centre customers pick their favourite.
Ten winning drawings were then selected and printed on reusable shopping bags which are now on sale at the shopping centre chain.
The funds generated from the sale will be contributed to the selected homes and centres for persons with physical disabilities that participated in the drawing exhibition.
JICA says the collaboration is a marriage between doing good for the handicapped people and doing good for the environmental protection.

The bag is made from a durable, light-weight and water-resistant material. It is suitable to replace the disposable platics bags. Using one of the bag, replaces the usage of 200 to 500 disposable plastic bags.

Bernama wins library excellence award ...

Bernama Informaton Centre and Library (InfoLib) made the agency proud when it emerges among three winners of the country’s Library Excellence Award 2009 presented today.
Bernama InfoLib came out top for the small library category, the Tun Abdul Razak Library of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam in the large library category, and the Malay Documentation Centre of Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (DBP) in the category for medium-sized libraries.

The winners received their awards from the National Library of Malaysia (PNM) director-general Raslin Abu Bakar in conjunction with the annual general meeting of the Librarians Association of Malaysia.
Bernama was represented by general manager Hasnul Hassan.
Bernama InfoLib information manager Hasnita Ibrahim says the award will inspire the staff to be more creative in presenting and disseminating information.
This is in line with the effort of making Bernama InfoLib as a one-stopcentre for information.
She says participating in the competition for the first time was not too difficult as Bernama InfoLib already possessed the collection of information to meet the criteria.
Started in 2005, the award winners are picked based on their creative and innovative ways of presenting information to attract users.
Their good collection of information material and facilities are also considered.

Then and now ....

In 1974, we were like this ...



Yesterday, when a few of us turned up to honour 'Ibu', we were like this ...



A picture or two do tell a thousand words.....

Bad's masterpiece ...

Badrul Hisham A.Aziz stayed up late to complete this 'sajak' for Ibu. The former Hulu Langat Member of Parliament could not hold back emotion when he chokingly delivered his masterpiece.
It was a beautiful composition, so well-written that I just have to reproduced it here.

IBU - Inilah Bingkisan Untukmu
　
I B U
Inilah Bingkisan Untukmu
IBU
Inilah Buah Usahamu
IBU
Ikhlasmu Bukan Untukmu
Ikhlasmu Bukan Ungkitan
Ikhlasmu Bekalan Untukku
Ikhlasmu Barakah Usiaku
IBU
Ibu Berkhidmat Untukku
Ibu Berjasa Usaha
Ibu Bersimpul Urat
Ibu Berkorban Usia
　
IBU
Ini Bukan Ungkitan
Ini Bukan Upahan
Ini Bukan Usikan
　
IBU
Inilah Banggaan Untukmu
Ingat Balasan Untukmu
Indahnya Belaian Unggul
Insaf Bersama Usia
　
IBU
Inilah Bangsa Usahamu
Ikrar Bantu Umat
Ikut Belaian Unjurmu
Ikut Bicara Urusan

IBU
　
I B U H A L I M A H
Hendak Aku Limpah Ingatan Menghimbau Awal Hidupku
Henti Air Linangan Imbas Mengenang Asrama Hingar
Harapan Agar Luput Igauan Mengusik Amannya Hidup
Halimah Ada Lipur Interaksi Menyelesai Apa-apa Halangan


IBU
Kaulah ibu dari usiaku 12 tahun
Ibu kandung pergi tanpa kembali sembilan tahun kemudian
Ibulah pengganti umi - hingga kini
Semasa sakit, Ibulah mengheret daku ke HBKL
Tatkala istirehat di Ampang Puteri, Ibulah yang muncul diri
Ibu inilah lah yang menyuap nasi….
Ibu inilah memicit kaki…sedangkan dia sendiri sukar berdiri
Tatkala di puncak jaya usahaku direstui
Doanya sering mengiringi
Mengingatkan daku jangan lupa diri
Bantu rakan-rakan yang kurang menjadi
　
Akhir bicara daripada anakmu ini
Kasih sayangmu kami hargai
Pesanan dan didikan jadi akujanji
Mustahil kan kami lupai
Biar putus bak tali
IBU TERSAYANG TETAP DI HATI KAMI…………….
PANJANG USIA JUMPA LAGI
　
　
Curahan hati LT. KOL (PA) BADRUL HISHAM ABD AZIZ, DPMS, ASa, PhD
Khas untuk Ibu Halimah Karnawi sempena Hari Ibu 9 Mei 2010

A tribute to 'Ibu'

She is and will always be our ‘Ibu’ (Mother). We will never forget how she stood up for us when we got into trouble. When one of us fell sick, she took him to hospital. She even kept him company, without fail, during visiting hours throughout his hospital stay.

She went out of her way to meet our request for the food we wanted. It was not cheap to have the food laid on the table. Once, she had the cook fry eggs from 9am to 3 in the afternoon just to serve us boys.
‘Sardin sambal tumis’ and ‘labu masak lemak’ were the favourite for most of us then as she recalled today when we gathered to honour her for ‘Mother’s Day’.
She had not seen many of us for years but she still remembered their names. She even remembers what or how they were like those days.
She was close to us for she had brought us up in her own special ways. She was our mother -- not to one or two but hundreds of us!
She is Halimah Karnawi – our ‘Ibu’ -- officially the hostel matron. Although the hostel – Asrama Dr Latif(ADL) is history – demolished and gone – to make way for a flood mitigation and a highway project, the memories remain in our hearts.
The ‘hi-tea’ event today is special in many ways. Though wheel-chair bound, ‘Ibu’ took the trouble to be with us.
“I just have to come to see you all,” she says with a tinge of happiness – tears welling in her eyes.
‘Ibu’ is 80 but as Nazam – the emcee for the day remarked -- her ‘memory card’ is tremendous!
The evening was also special because we had our ‘ustaz’ (religious teacher) – someone many of us have not seen for over three decades since we left school.
Ustaz Shaifuddin Yasin has this ability to recognize many of us just by the way we walked and some by their smell!

“It’s true, I can know them just by their smell,” he said and recalled the various nicknames that we had.
“Even now, I smile on my own when I recall the students of ADL and my wife would wonder why,” says Ustaz, now 66. He even sang an old favourite – “Kenanganku” , giving us a hint of his singing prowess.
The event was also special because it was the first time that we were able to get together after our buddy Aziz Shahrin took the effort to organize a grouping of former ADL hostelites. His ‘never say no’ attitude is showing progress.
For a start, our proposed name – Asrama Dr Latiff Alumni Network (ADLAN) – has been accepted by the Regisrar of Societies.
The hostel took in the first batch of students in 1971 – thanks to the vision of former Selangor Menteri Besar, the late Datuk Harun Idris.
Through his efforts, students from the various districts in Selangor who did well in their Stardard Five assessment examination held nation-wide were offered places to pursue their secondary education in Kuala Lumpur either at the Victoria Institution, St John’s Institution or Methodist Boys School.

As Protem committee chairman Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Jamil Maah paid tribute to Datuk Harun, he said it is now “pay back” time for us to serve the society.
“Although the hostel is gone, the spirit remains and let’s keep it alive,” says the University Malaya Deputy Vice-Chancellor, who was among the first batch of form four students in 1971.
Others who turned up today include Director-General of Valuation and Property Services Datuk Abdullah Thalith Md. Thani, Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Yusli Yusoff, Chemical Company of Malaysia Group Managing Director Datuk Dr Mohd Hashim Tajudin and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital (HUKM) Head of Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Prof Dr Abdullah Sani Mohamed. Former Hulu Langat Member of Parliament Datuk Badrul Hisham Abdul Aziz recited a self-penned, choking ‘sajak’ entitled ‘Ibu’.

EU engages the Malaysian media …

To mark Europe Day, the “national” day of the European Union, the EU delegation office in Kuala Lumpur organized a luncheon between the 17 EU ambassadors in Malaysia and senior representatives of the Malaysian media.

Head of EU delegation Vincent Piket says the union wants to step up relations with Malaysia as part of their expanding relations with Southeast Asia.
"And because we recognize that, to realize that goal, it is vital to have close and open working relations with the media," he said.
With 27 member states presently and close to 500 million citizens, the EU says it deserves attention.
"Over the past 53 years, the EU has become the most advanced project for regional integration the world has seen so far. It is one of Malaysia’s most important trade partners.
And over the past decade, Malaysia and the EU have engaged politically at bilateral level, to promote stability and integration in Southeast Asia, and to address global issues," says Piket.

Dutch ambassador Paul Bekkers addressed the luncheon on Economy, Danish ambassador Svend Waever on Environment and Austrian ambassador Andrea Wicke on Values.
Spanish ambassador Jose Ramon Baranano gave the closing remarks as the EU Presidency-in-Office.

Footnote: During their summit in Milan in 1985, EU leaders decided to celebrate 9 May as Europe Day. Today, Europe Day is an annual celebration of the diversity of cultures within Europe and provides an opportunity to learn more about the European Union

Malaysian media directory...

A directory of the Malaysian media has been published -- thanks to the Information Department.
The 755-page directory not only list out "Who's Who" in the various print and electronic media organisations but also press secretaries of all ministers and public relations officers of government ministries and agencies.

The directory also contained contact information foreign media correspondents based in Kuala Lumpur. Even magazines, journals and prominent local news portal were not left out.
It is the first-time that such a thick directory has been published.
The department says: "The 2010 PUBLIC MEDIA DIRECTORY is published to assist users in locating media practitioners in various government departments, media agencies and other relevant organizations".
For more information:
Media and Corporate Communication Division
Department of Information Malaysia
12th Floor, East
Wisma Sime Darby,
Jalan Raja Laut
50350 Kuala Lumpur
Telephone: 03-21734400/4600
Fax: 03-21734554

The Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) too has painstakingly took the effort to published a directory of "Who's Who" in the Malaysian media. The directory is also available on its website http//mpi.com.my .
MPI chief executive Chamil Wariya hopes the 2011 edition would be more comprehensive.

Strong endorsement for proposed Bernama-Antara summit...

The proposed summit between the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and Indonesian News Agency (Antara) will be held before the end of the year.

Malaysia’s Information, Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim and Indonesia’s Communication and Informatics Minister Tifatul Sembiring gave the nod when the proposal was presented to them among a host of new initiatives to enhance bilateral cooperation.
"They will discuss the suitable programmes that both news agencies can work together on,” he told a media conference at the end of the 10th Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Committee Meeting on Information and Communication at the Craft Complex in Kuala Lumpur.
The two agencies also agreed to produced talk shows that would feature influential personalities and highlight current issues faced by both countries.
"For instance, we may invite my Indonesian counterpart to speak to Malaysians through our media channels. This will prevent sensitive issues from getting out of control," says Dr Rais.
Bernama and Antara will also exchange video clips and documentary films they produced.
They will also cooperate in launching Antara TV that could modelled Bernama TV round-the-clock all news channel. Antara TV currently operates as content provider for other TV stations in Indonesia.
Both parties concur that TV Antara could help realize the TV Nusantara vision that would further strengthen the Malay language as the lingua franca of the region.

A new milestone...

Malaysian and Indonesian senior officials got down to discuss efforts to strengthen cooperation in the information and communication sectors.
The Malaysian side was led by Information, Communication and Culture Ministry Secretary General Kamaruddin Siaraf while Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Informatics Secretary General Dr Basuki Yusuf Iskandar led his delegation.

Both had gone to the same university -- Vanderbilt University in the United States although Kamaruddin was there much earlier.
That alone set a conducive start to the talks aimed at reviewing the Memorandum of Understanding on Information signed by both countries in 1984. The review was necessary with the expansion of the Malaysian ministry to include the communications and culture sectors.
While Kamaruddin said the talks would enable them to take into account the new perspective, Basuki regarded the meeting as a new milestone in enhancing the cooperation.
Activities that have been implemented include exchange of radio and television news, production of radio and television programmes, production of drama and films, and exchange programmes for information officers, media practitioners and technical personnel.
Decisions made by the senior officials will be forwarded to the ministerial-level meeting tomorrow. Malaysian Information, Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim is scheduled to the Indonesian Communication and Informatics Minister Tifatul Sembiring tomorrow.

Bernama-Antara agree to hold summit….

A top-level meeting between Bernama and Antara has been agreed upon to bolster their existing solid relationship.

The proposal was endorsed by both agencies in Kuala Lumpur today at a pre-council meeting ahead of the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Committee on Information and Culture Meeting (JCICM).
The Bernama-Antara Summit will enable both sides to deliberate on issues of common interest and formulate initiatives that could boost Malaysia-Indonesia ties.
The idea had cropped up on the sideline of the recent Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) summit meeting in Seoul.
To put the inaugural summit in place, Antara, represented by its international and economic division head Bambang Purwanto, proposed that a preparatory meeting of “three or four editorial staff” from each side be held. Bernama General Manager Hasnul Hassan agreed on the ‘prep meeting” – the date and venue to be suggested by Antara.

Another new initiative agreed at the meeting was the exchanging of video clips -- in line with the decision taken at the OANA summit. Antara currently provides news content for various television stations in the republic.
With its experience in running an all-news, round-the-clock Bernama TV, the Malaysian national news agency was prepared to cooperate with Antara should it decides to set-up its own TV station.
Apart from exchanging video clips, both sides agreed to collaborate in the joint-production of TV talk show and even documentaries.
On existing cooperation, they agreed to expand the journalist attachment programme to include photographers. Both sides also agreed to step-up the marketing of their news – a potentially lucrative area.

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.

New Media Freshens China-Asean Diplomacy

A billboard-size screen of its website greets visitors to the People's Daily Online (PD Online) centre here as it flashes up-to-the minute reports of China and the world.

Launched on Jan 1, 1997 by People's Daily -- one of the world's top 10 newspapers -- the website has transformed into one of the largest comprehensive media on the Internet.
People's Daily Online -- http://www.people.com.cn -- releases news, covering various fields including politics, economy, society and culture, in real time and round-the-clock with the support of the newspaper's more than 70 branches home and abroad.
Apart from pictures and text numbering up to 10,000 news items per day, the website uses animation, audio and video clips, the BBS forum, blog, podcast and webcast that has boosted its daily page-view to chart as much as 200 million.

To appeal to the young audience who surf the internet by cellphones, it has also combined news releases with games and working with businesses to offer 'trendies' like E-book.
Besides the Chinese version (traditional and modern Chinese), the website offers six foreign languages -- English, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.
More could be added over time as PD Online president He Jiazheng said it hoped to have more languages, when asked if the website would consider having Bahasa Melayu.
"We will need time but we hope one day, we will have this language," he told participants of the just-concluded China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar, the fourth since its launch in 2002, and hosted by People's Daily.
We had the chance to visit the place last Thursday, Narch 25.


After a decade of existence, the website has become an important window to enable international readers to understand and take a glimpse of China.
But, what's more crucial is that its success story has provided lessons on how new and traditional media could co-exist and supplement one another.
He said the rapid growth of new media had put tremendous pressure on, and poses great challenges to, the traditional media.
"Statistics from the World Association of Newspapers show, in 2009, 507 newspapers in the US saw drastic decreases in circulation.
"The Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, the world's second biggest newspaper, was suffering from its first deficit in 130 years since the start of publication.
"And in France, 154 out of every 1,000 French citizens buy newspapers regularly.
"The total revenue of The New York Times dipped 11.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009 to US$680 million," he said.
Meanwhile, its Internet advertisement revenue rose 10.6 per cent to US$90.6 million, accounting for 23 per cent of all its advertisement revenue, he said.
This, he said, showed that along with the challenges, the media found even more opportunities and new sources of revenue.
With publication having begun in June 1948 and a current circulation of three million, People's Daily is among the most influential and authoritative newspapers in China. According to UNESCO, it takes its place among the world's top 10.
He said, while the 14-year-old website depended on the People's Daily group financial support in its early years, it had recorded profit over the last two years and "made some contribution to the group" .
Its well-equipped audio-visual studio for live internet coverage was built, using its own revenue.
"From this year, we expect business to be better," he said.
Much of the success hinged on the dedication of its 600-odd staff, most of whom are young and versatile for multi-tasking.

Mugshot photographs of the staff, with the words: "Why Can't We Be Number 1?" adorned one of the hallway walls of the old printing press building which was refurbished into a digitalised news operation centre.
On another strategic point was a picture of Chinese President Hu Jintao communicating with netizens when he went to PD Online on June 20, 2008.
The website is a perfect model for the theme, 'New Media Development', chosen for the seminar which is held every two years.
Asean Secretariat assistant director Linda Lee said, with new technology for mobile phones and the internet, the spread of new media was likely to increase, enhancing greater interactivity.
"In Asean, we have a relatively young population - about half of the 580 million people. The new media -- blogging, social networks, video sharing, podcasting etc -- may appeal more to them than traditional media," she said.
It was good news for the Asean delegates when a senior official in charge of the country's press policy assured them that China was prepared to discuss viable media projects to strengthen cooperation with the 10 member-grouping.
Liu Yunshan, head of publicity department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the mechanism for such ventures were institutionalised through the China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar.
"There is big potential for us to strengthen cooperation, particularly in media technology. What is important is to identify good projects and ensure their efficiency," he said.

'Lempeng' breakfast in Beijing...

It's fascinating that simple things like 'lempeng' or pancakes could turned out to be a source of income.
The closest to describe an everyday lempeng in Malaysia is probably the tosai easily found in restaurants all over the country. But 'Lempeng' sold on carts for breakfast is rare in Malaysia.
So it was delightful to see a husband-and-wife selling them on the road pavement not far from the Shangri-La Kerry Centre in Beijing.
Getting a freshly-cooked lempeng in this cold weather is nice.
When we touched down on Tuesday morning, the temperature was zero degree.

But Alhamdullillah, we were spared of the sandstorm which swamped the Chinese capital a few days earlier.
The warm clothing and birthday wishes from friends as I turned 49 in Beijing yesterday kept my spirits high.

The hotel surprised me when it brought a piece of cake to my room.
Thank you all.