Month: September 2021

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Task force to be formed to study issues faced by creative arts industry – Annuar

The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) will immediately form a task force to conduct in-depth studies on issues related to the country’s creative industry.

Its minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said it was also to create a system that would enable the country’s creative industry to grow with a structured framework and push the industry to higher levels.

“It’s not just a matter of helping arts practitioners, but to look at the industry from a larger perspective and recognise their contributions in the context of prospering the country, driving the economy and attracting investment,” he said in the ‘Bersama Annuar dalam Twitter Spaces Bernama’ programme that discussed recovery efforts for the Creative Arts Industry.

The discussion was participated by practitioners of the arts from all levels, including leaders of associations representing the group.

They included Malaysian Artistes Association (Seniman) president Zed Zaidi, Karyawan president Datuk Freddie Fernandez; Film Directors’ Association of Malaysia (FDAM) president Ahmad Ibrahim a.k.a. Mat London and Professional Film Workers’ Association of Malaysia (PROFIMA) president Khir Mohd Noor.

Annuar said one of his missions after the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic was to no longer see the creative industry operating in a ‘business as usual’ manner, and instead make it one of the largest industries to contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

Until then, he said industry players could provide counter-suggestions or even reprimand the government if they found that standard operating procedures (SOP) set for the industry were unreasonable.

“Sometimes, the SOPs are prepared by deskmen in offices, who do not look at things realistically. You can reprimand or suggest to me, and we can amend the SOP,” he said in response to concerns on one such SOP stipulating that filming must be done within a safe zone of at least one kilometer from the nearest settlement area.

Freddie, meanwhile, proposed that a quota system be created for radio stations to provide more airplay for local artists.

On this, Annuar was of the view that there should be a policy or guidelines for radio stations to prioritise local songs over international popular songs to protect and provide incentives and encouragement to local creators, singers and musicians.

“If possible, maybe Freddie can propose this in a formal manner so that the matter can be looked into closely.

“It does not mean that we are shutting out foreign songs but there has to be reasonable balance with priority given to creators, singers and musicians,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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Socso’s song Sifar comes out tops at IMFP in Canada

— The song ‘Sifar (Zero), produced by the Social Security Organisation (Socso), came out tops in the Music is Key category at the International Media Festival for Prevention (IMFP) in Toronto, Canada on Sept 22.

The single, Socso’s collaboration with composers Asfan Shah, Lady D, Tripdisz, and Kmy Kmo, won one of the six categories contested at the IMFP, beating 288 entries from other countries.

Socso Prevention, Medical and Rehabilitation Division head Dr Azlan Darus said the song inserted the concept of Vision Zero, which is an effort to prevent work injuries and promote care among employees, introduced by the International Social Security Association (ISSA).

“The one thing that stood out in the song was its lyrics, which combined the elements of safety, health and well-being of employees at the workplace while the song’s contemporary genre struck a chord with the listeners, especially the younger generation.

“This is our third participation and second win in a different category. We first won in 2014 (Germany) and were third in 2011 (Turkey),” he told at a virtual press conference here today.

The song Sifar will be used as a promotional medium for Socso’s programmes and a platform to educate the public on the importance of the safety of workers and social protection.

Meanwhile, Socso chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammad Azman Aziz Mohammed described the victory as a gift for Malaysians and a recognition of Socso’s hard work to increase people’s awareness of the importance of social safety nets.

Singer and lyricist Asfan Shah admitted that the process of composing the song was quite challenging as it had a specific theme on social safety awareness.

“I am very excited because this is the first time I’ve composed such a song for a government agency. The words used in the song play an important role so as it is easily understood and appropriate.

“The inspiration and idea to compose the song with Lady D and Kmy was based on the movie Warkah that was produced by Socso in 2019, and we added rap elements to the song which led to our win,” he said.

The song Sifar, performed by Asfan, Kmy and Tripdisz and launched in 2019, could be streamed on YouTube and it has, so far, garnered more than 700,000 views.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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UKM applauds Bernama for role in improving Arabic language proficiency

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — The Arabic Language portal of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) has become an additional source of reference for teaching Arabic at the Faculty of Islamic Studies of the National University of Malaysia (UKM), especially for students who are non-native speakers of the language.

Former deputy dean of the faculty, Associate Professor Dr. Zamri Arifin, said the portal provides a variety of local news in Arabic that caters to the needs of students.

“We cannot find reading material like this in that language except on Bernama’s official portal.

“Through (Bernama), our students can learn and know various Arabic terms through political news, economics, health, and so on; while other news agencies are used to increase knowledge on international news,” he told Bernama in an exclusive interview.

He said the various information obtained from the website supports the teaching and learning process of Arabic, such as language proficiency and article writing.

“By using this method, we have received positive feedback from the students,” said Dr Zamri.

Dr. Zamri added that the Arabic language portal has a bright future as it keeps up with the the times, and hopes that it will feature audio visual media and joint activities such as webinars.

Bernama established the Arabic language portal on Oct 24, 2002, to channel news on politics, economy, investment, tourism, education and Islamic religious affairs to 18 news organisations in Arab countries.

The portal contains translations of news, feature articles and special reports produced by Bernama, as well as quotes from authoritative newspapers that are related to the development of Islam in Malaysia or relevant to the relationship between Malaysia and Arab countries.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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PM Ismail Sabri to table 12MP on Monday

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will table the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) in the Dewan Rakyat at 11.30 am this Monday.

Ismail Sabri is scheduled to table the country’s five-year (2021-2025) development roadmap after the question-and-answer session.

The tabling of the 12MP was postponed at least twice from the original date on Aug 6 last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as change in the country’s leadership landscape.

In line with the Malaysian Family theme, 12MP is expected to prioritise the people’s welfare, social protection and people-centred projects.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the COVID-19 pandemic that lasted since early last year had changed the pattern of government spending in shaping the future of the country which was now more focused on post-pandemic developments for five years.

Although new mega projects were no longer a priority, Mustapa said the government would focus on ongoing projects such as the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS).

He said new projects such as ports and airports that could help boost the country’s economy would definitely be planned by the government in the annual budget once the country’s economy recovers which is expected in 2023.

Like any other Malaysia Plans since its introduction in 1966, the government will be focusing on bridging the development gap between states with more national expenditure to be distributed to develop less developed states.

Meanwhile, according to the official portal of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department, 12MP is the last part of the National Recovery Plan under the 6R approach (resolve, resilient, restart, recovery, revitalise and reform) which will build a solid foundation in shaping a high-tech and high-income country with equitable prosperity for the people.

The Parliament calendar indicates that the 12MP debate session will begin from Sept 28 to Oct 4, before the winding up by the ministers.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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King, Queen visit Malaysian High Commission in UK

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah visited the Malaysian High Commission in Belgrave Square, London on Friday.

Their Majesties were greeted upon arrival at 4.30 pm (local time) by the Malaysian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Zakri Jaafar and his wife, Nor Aini Abd Rahman as well as the staff of the Malaysian High Commission.

During the two-hour visit, Their Majesties, who are on a 10-day special visit to the United Kingdom, were given a briefing by Zakri.

“Their Majesties also spent time meeting with the Malaysian community in London during a tea reception,” said Istana Negara in a statement on its official Facebook account today.

Today, Al-Sultan Abdullah is scheduled to visit the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre in Brickendonbury, Hertford while Tunku Hajah Azizah is scheduled to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

During the special visit, Al-Sultan Abdullah is also scheduled to attend the Sandhurst Reunion Dinner at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where His Majesty studied between 1978 and 1979.

His Majesty will also hold a meeting with the United Kingdom’s Chief of the Defence Staff Sir General Nicholas Carter to discuss bilateral military cooperation between Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

Carter had also attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before.

After the special visit, Their Majesties will stay back in London and are scheduled to return home on Oct 23.

The special visit is His Majesty’s second to the United Kingdom since he became the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, with the first being a seven-day trip starting from Dec 9, 2019.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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82.5 per cent of Malaysia’s adult population fully vaccinated

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — A total of 82.5 per cent or 19,311,563 individuals of the adult population in the country have completed their COVID-19 vaccination as of yesterday.

Based on the Health Ministry’s data on COVIDNOW, 93.6 per cent or 21,903,061 individuals, of the adults in the country have received at least one dose of the vaccine until yesterday.

It also showed 25,326 individuals or 0.8 per cent of the adolescents, comprising those age between 12 and 17, have completed the vaccination.

A total of 273,373 doses of the vaccine were dispensed yesterday, with 116,881 doses as first dose and 156,492 doses to second dose recipients, bringing the number of doses dispensed under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) to 41,847,256.

PICK was launched on Feb 24 this year to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, a total of 250 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported yesterday (Sept 22), with 49 of them brought in dead (BID), bringing the total death due to the virus in the country to 24,931 people.

According to the ministry’s GitHub portal, of the total death reported yesterday, only nine cases were the actual deaths reported for the day, while the rest were backlog cases.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

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Road closures near Bandar Tasik Selatan, Segambut Roundabout – DBKL

Several lanes will be closed on the route near Bandar Tasik Selatan and Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (in both directions) to facilitate the implementation of crosshead and portal frame construction work along the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) here.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall in a statement today said that diversions and contra lanes will be activated in the area from Sept 11 to Dec 10 for Phase One, and from Dec 11 to March 10 next year, under Phase 2.

Further information can be obtained from the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang (SUKE)- PROLINTAS Highway concessionaire website at www.mysuke.com.my, or Twitter @mySUKEofficial or the PROLINTAS 24-hour Hotline at 1 300 88 99 22.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, DBKL informed of the traffic disruption in Jalan Kuching near the Segambut Roundabout here was due to road closures in both directions from 10 pm to 5 am from today until Oct 22.

It is to enable the replacement of steel plates with corrugated guardrails at the location.

“Road users are advised to comply with all signages as a safety measure and to avoid confusion,” read the statement.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency