November 05, 2009 16:22 PM

Rais Calls For Creation Of Asean Media Network

From Zulkefli Salleh

VIENTIANE, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim has urged Asean member nations to create an Asean news and information network.

He said the creation of such a facility by the Asean member countries was crucial in enhancing the dissemination of news and information on the Asean countries in efforts towards achieving the objective of creating the Asean Community 2015.

"All this while, we (Asean) have only been paying lip service on the need for Asean to intensify cooperation in the fields of information and the media, but there is no mechanism for it," he told RTM and Bernama on the sidelines of the 10th Conference of Asean Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI) at the capital city of the Democratic People's Republic of Laos, here Thursday.

Rais said the network was one of the two fundamental issues raised by Malaysia at the conference as it was crucial in the effort to achieve the Asean Community.

The other matter raised by Malaysia was the need for the member nations to enhance cooperation in providing appropriate content services to fill up the communication and information channels of the member nations, he said.

Asean member countries, he said, must think together on ways to develop their own content industry that would reflect the cultures and values of the member nations.

"The Asean community is currently too dependent on the western content whether in the form of films and animation or others.

"Why don't we create Asean's own content industry in cooperation with the Asean+3 allies namely China, South Korea and Japan?" he said.

Rais said that all the while, these allies had been receiving from Asean and there was much opportunity for them to contribute in cooperating to spread Asean's creative industry.

He hoped that China, Japan and South Korea, who would be attending the inaugural meeting of AMRI+3 tomorrow, could allocate funds in their respective countries for the purpose of cooperating with Asean in developing the creative industry.

Rais said the matter would be extended to the Asean Secretariat.

Malaysia was now on the right track to develop the creative industry when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, in his national budget recently, allocated RM200 million besides another RM100 million to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for the purpose, he said.

The minister said he would raise the matter at the Cabinet to find ways how Malaysia could play its role in cooperating to widen the Asean creative content.

The host, Laos demonstrated a similar stand when its Deputy Prime Minister Thongloune Sisoulith, in his speech at the opening of the conference, stressed the need for a network to disseminate Asean news and information.

Rais also emphasised on the need to elevate the alternative media, which had now become part of the Asean youth culture, by the Asean governments as one of the media channels that could be utilised by the government.

"We should not ignore the alternative media. It is now the choice of the young generation and we should use it as our information channel," he said.

The AMRI biennial conference is responsible in ensuring smooth cooperation in disseminating information on Asean projects and activities within the ambit of the three pillars of the Asean cooperation framework namely socio-culture, economy and political security.

Malaysia was chosen to host the 11th Conference of AMRI in 2011.

-- BERNAMA

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