Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa speaks during a Facebook live session at his office in Putrajaya November 12, 2021. — Bernama pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — The government’s move to allow posters and biodata of candidates contesting the Melaka state election (PRN) to be published on mainstream media platforms is in line with its dynamic political approach, says Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
He said in the current context, if this was not implemented, the news would still continue to be spread on social media, and the people, especially voters in Melaka, also wished to see such a reform in the current election.
“If we (the government) are good, we should not have any insecurities or feel like building a high wall between the government and the opposition, the current approach is where the people can compare between the good and bad in a more mature way.
“So we should not be afraid to give enough space in the process of reviving democracy, so that eventually, the best will be chosen by the people. Although (its implementation) has long been heard of, it all depends on the question of willpower, desire and political confidence to do so,” he said.
Annuar said this while being interviewed on Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s(RTM) Bicara Khas programme which aired live on TV1 last night.
Earlier, Annuar was reported to have said that the government had allowed Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) to broadcast posters and biodata of candidates, taking into account the difficulties faced by candidates to campaign, as well as for voters who were not familiar with the candidates.
Apart from that, he said the government also provided an opportunity to candidates in the Melaka state election to express their aspirations through the MelakaFM radio channel.
The Election Commission had set the Melaka state election to take place on November 20 following the dissolution of the state assembly on October 4, after four state assemblymen withdrew support for the chief minister.
Meanwhile, on plans for mainstream media coverage of candidates in future elections including the upcoming one in Sarawak, Annuar said he would look at options of creating specific digital channels for the purpose.
“Undoubtedly there are certain problems of wanting to do such a thing (providing airtime) because in TV broadcasts, there are already committed programs, and these airtimes are very limited, and cannot be changed on an ad-hoc basis, and there is a cost with it.
“However, looking ahead with the development of technology, perhaps we can see other options such as RTM’s myklik application can make available digital channels dedicated to the elections, as was done recently for the Olympics, with several channels to broadcast all the types of events that took place at the Games,” he said. — Bernama