KUCHING: The establishment of TV Sarawak will ensure that local contents are prioritised, said associate professor at the Department of Communication, Faculty of Language and Communication, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Dr Mus Chairil Samani.
He said it would also bring various advantages to the state government, including being its own channel to inform Sarawakians of current, past, and future development plans.
“In addition, this is a good opportunity for creative individuals among the state’s younger generation to involve themselves in developing local content,” he said on Thursday.
He commended the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg for successfully obtaining a licence to operate its own television station, with Sarawak being the first state to own a television station.
He said that as a new broadcasting station, TV Sarawak was expected to make use of the latest digital technology to enable its broadcasts to be shown on MyTV and Astro to all parts of Sarawak and Malaysia.
“Such a position gives an advantage to TV Sarawak, which can learn from the experience of private and government television stations,” he said.
Mus pointed out that the vastness of Sarawak, which is almost the size of Malaya, with its population scattered throughout its 12 divisions, made telecommunication channel crucial.
He said that the state government needed the channel to disseminate information to the entire population. “Depending on other broadcasting stations to perform this task is not an option for the Sarawak government.”
He noted that during the 22 months that Pakatan Harapan (PH) ruled the nation, Sarawak news did not get its appropriate place in Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s (RTM) broadcasts.
“This should not have happened, RTM as a federal entity should help all states to channel development plans and information to the people,” he said, adding that during that period, Sarawak government had utilised private broadcasting station Astro Awani as a platform to disseminate information to the state’s population.
He said TV Sarawak, operated by government-linked company (GLC) Sarawak Media Group (SMG), was bound to face competition from existing television stations and social media as well.
In dealing with such competition, the station has to balance the importance of channelling information and generating revenue to finance its operational costs.
Mus urged young creative minds in the state to take up the opportunity to produce innovative programmes. “They have to think and produce the latest content which would meet local and national tastes in order to be well-received by viewers in the state and all over the country.”
He said that Sarawak youths which understood the state’s sentiments, culture and traditions should be given room to showcase their creativity and innovations, adding that prior to this, such opportunities were hard to come by.
He hoped that TV Sarawak would be a catalyst in enabling the youths to showcase their talents and abilities.
“I personally hope that TV Sarawak will have talk shows to provide a space where current state and national matters can be discussed critically, analytically and rationally,” said Mus.
