The Malaysian Information Ministry plans to improve further the news coverage and presentation by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) in Sarawak and Sabah following the commissioning of the Satellite Operation Centre (SOC) last year, which enabled news materials to be transmitted at any time. Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said plans had already been made for Sarawak to upgrade the infrastructure for its news bureau with the setting up of facilities for live crossover and telecast.
“The project involved news facilities at the RTM stations in Sri Aman, Sibu, Miri and Limbang,” he said at a special meeting with officers and staff of agencies and departments under the Information Ministry today. Zainuddin said the projects were under the evaluation stage after tender for these projects were closed in December last year.
“There is a strong possibility that another broadcasting station would be proposed in Bintulu, in the central region of Sarawak,” he said, adding that plans had already been made to improve and set up new transmitting stations to improve the quality of television and radio broadcast in Sarawak. “I believe the projects which had been approved under the Ninth Malaysia Plan involving an allocation of more than RM30 million will be able to improve the quality of radio and TV broadcast to the people of Sarawak,” he said.
He said the Broadcasting Department was now in the process of restructuring the organisation which involved regrading and at the same time provided opportunities for staff promotion. “For Sabah and Sarawak, many posts have been upgraded and several divisions have been restructured to suit current requirements,” he said.
(Source: Bernama/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)