ASEAN Presidency 2025: Bernama, JaPEN, RTM should help raise public awareness

PUTRAJAYA: Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil wants government information and broadcasting organizations, namely the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), the Department of Information Malaysia (JaPEN) and the Department of Broadcasting Malaysia (RTM), to increase public awareness and understanding of the importance of the Malaysian chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is currently in Vientiane, Laos, leading the Malaysian delegation to the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits, which started on October 8 and will last until tomorrow.

“Malaysia will officially receive the tools to become ASEAN chairman next year.

“So I call on RTM, JaPEN and Bernama to raise awareness and understanding among the public that this is not only something to be proud of, but also a great opportunity for the ASEAN region. With this presidency, we (Malaysia) can lead and assist the region in several important areas.”

He said this at the Communications Ministry’s monthly meeting, which was also attended by Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching and Secretary-General Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa here today.

Also present were Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) director Datuk Mohd Ali Hanafiah Mohd Yunus, as well as Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) CEO Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj.

Fahmi said the Ministry of Communications will engage in discussions with ASEAN partners on online safety issues, including scams or online fraud.

“Tonight I will meet with several ambassadors and high commissioners of ASEAN countries to discuss issues of online safety and scams,” he said.

Fahmi said the meeting was to provide a briefing on the government’s latest efforts, including the implementation of the regulatory framework or licensing of social media services, which will come into effect on January 1 next year.

He said ASEAN is a region with a total population of more than 600 million people and it is a large market. Therefore, the briefing aimed to inform some of the steps being taken by the government.

In addition, Fahmi said there are several ASEAN platforms that the Ministry of Communications can tap into, including the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI) conference in Brunei next year to discuss issues such as fake news online.

The minister said Malaysia is also a big market and is in an important position considering that many data processing centers have been developed in the country.

“So we must take the opportunity with the ASEAN Presidency and some of our efforts, including licensing of social media companies from January 1, 2025, to help ASEAN countries see the landscape that is changing very rapidly,” he said.

Malaysia will host ASEAN for the fifth time next year, having chaired it four times in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.