CHINA DAILY ASIA PACIFIC HOPES TO COLLABORATE WITH BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- China Daily Asia Pacific hopes to collaborate with the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) in disseminating information and news in Malaysia and China, including Hong Kong.

Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai said this was conveyed by the China Daily Asia Pacific delegation during their visit to Wisma Bernama here today, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations.

“Their visitation, among others, aims to find ways on how China Daily can work together with Bernama, which is considered the most trusted news organisation in Malaysia.

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“Issues related to fake news were also discussed, as it is a significant problem not only in Malaysia but also in other countries. Bernama is responsible for addressing it, so, they are very impressed with Bernama,” he said after the visit.

The 10-member delegation includes China Daily Group deputy editor-in-chief Zhou Li, China Daily Asia Pacific assistant to the publisher Sheila Shi and two Hong Kong Legislative Council members Dominic Lee Tsz King and Lam Lam Nixie.

Wong further said that the delegation was impressed with Bernama’s ability to provide news in multiple languages, including Malay, English, Mandarin, Tamil and Arabic.

“They said this is something we (China Daily) hope to understand better. They are quite impressed by this ability (providing news in multiple languages) and it is something new for them,” he said.

Regarding the anticipated collaboration between China Daily Asia Pacific and Bernama, Wong said it is expected to be materialised through a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Last December, Bernama and China’s Xinhua News Agency strengthened their ties through the renewal of the News Exchange and Cooperation Agreement, in line with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China celebrated this year.

Meanwhile, Dominic said the planned cooperation discussed was on ways to increase the exchange of news between Malaysia and China, especially in Hong Kong.

“We found out a lot of news from Hong Kong that is not being covered right now in Malaysia and vice versa. So we thought that by enhancing our relationship, we could provide more accurate information to the organisation (Bernama).

“Hopefully, people from Malaysia can hear more about Hong Kong and people in Hong Kong can hear more about Malaysia,” he said.

Dominic also noted that Bernama is different from other media organisations in Malaysia.

“Bernama provides first-hand information from the government which makes it a legitimate source. It also disseminates news to other media outlets. So, it was a great experience to learn more about how Bernama operates.

“Bernama also has a charismatic chairman (Wong), who explained how Bernama works, including with the new technology such as artificial intelligence, which helps with the workflows,” he said.

Also present during the visit were Bernama deputy editor-in-chief (Economic News Service) Azlina Aziz and International News Service executive editor Ravichandran DJ Paul.

-- BERNAMA