By: Aida Aziz
IPOH: The visit of the Minister of Communications and Digital (KKD) Fahmi Fadzil to the Perak Media House, in Medan Istana here today opened an opportunity for a friendly session and dialogue with the state’s media practitioners.
Among the main focuses that became the topic of discussion with about 100 media practitioners included the welfare issues of part-time journalists, copyright and basic needs at Rumah Media Perak.
Fahmi when speaking at the press conference said that his side was aware of the complaints and suggestions for improvement from media friends and he assured that he would take the matter to the upper level.
“This visit to Rumah Media Perak is for us to try to understand the situation, perhaps the challenges faced by media colleagues on duty.
“I understand that many media friends in various states face a slightly challenging situation when their respective bureaus have or do not have offices or even workspaces.
“I am aware of the issues that have been raised, some of which touch on welfare issues in general or are related to contributions to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributions to SOCSO, internet issues and copyright issues.
“Including the issue of copyright, the hard work of journalists and media partners in the field but taken and misused to the extent that the watermark is also removed, I think this is one of the important things that we need to look into,” he said.
He said this to reporters in conjunction with the Perak Media Club Open House at Rumah Media Perak, here on Sunday.
Also present were the Deputy Minister of KDD, Teo Nie Ching and the Chairman of the Perak Communications, Multimedia and NGO Committee Mohd Azlan Helmi.
In the meantime, commenting further on the forum in conjunction with the National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) 2023 which took place in Perak from yesterday to today, he said many things can be a guide for media practitioners in Malaysia.
“I appreciate the views expressed by media friends, especially from Indonesia, at the forum.
“Sometimes in work, we see our situation, sometimes the situation in neighbouring countries can give us a little space for us to either appreciate or work towards a better direction.
“The challenges faced in Indonesia and even in Southeast Asian countries, for me, can be either a lesson or a reflection on what we need to do to improve the social media ecosystem,” he added.
At the event, Fahmi also announced a fund of RM10,000 to the Perak Media Practitioners Association (PPMP) to upgrade the facilities at Rumah Media Perak.
