DA NANG, Sept 23 — The Communications and Digital Ministry (KKD) will focus on Malaysia’s position as Chairman of Asean 2025, via the Asean Ministers Responsible for Information (Amri) Conference platform, its minister Fahmi Fadzil said.
It includes efforts by agencies under the ministry, including the Institute of Broadcasting and Information Tun Abdul Razak (IPPTAR), the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and the Information Department (JaPen).
“The next Amri conference will be held in Brunei in 2025, and we will also host Asean 2025 (as chair) and I see several matters that we can work on these two years.
“For instance, IPPTAR, Bernama, and JaPen can gather journalists from South East Asia to promote Malaysia and foster closer ties between countries,” he told Bernama after the 16th Amri conference concluded today.
Several matters of countries involved in the conference, including Asean dialogue partners like China, Japan, and South Korea, will be prioritised to boost cooperation under the Amri platform.
Fahmi cited China, which was focused on its Belt and Road News Network (BRNN0, a platform encompassing 182 media outlets from 86 countries which was launched in April 2019, to promote its Belt and Road initiative.
Japan meanwhile is focused on infrastructure efforts while South Korea is emphasising artificial intelligence issues that could be misused to produce fake news, he added.
So, Asean plus Three (Asean+3) needs to work together to face such challenges.
In his meeting with Vietnam and Cambodia yesterday, he said the ministry is studying the documents to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vietnam that was signed in 1996 and that KKD is ready to share technical expertise regarding the protection of personal data and civil security with Cambodia.
“The Personal Data Protection Department can assist in the aspects of boosting awareness and personal data security while CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) can showcase their expertise as one of the best technical agencies in the Asia Pacific,” Fahmi said.
The minister held two 40-minute meetings with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Manh Hung and Cambodian counterpart Neth Pheaktra yesterday.
The 16th Amri with the theme Media: From Information to Knowledge for a Resilient and Responsive Asean, held in Furama Resort Danang, was focused on efforts to curb fake news and misinformation and build a more resilient and responsive Asean community.
KKD secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa and JaPen Media and Corporate Communications Division director Datuk E. Sivabalan, Bernama (News Services) deputy chief editor Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, as well as senior officials of the ministry and other agencies were part of the Malaysian delegation.
— Bernama
