Malaysian-Indonesian media need to strengthen bond to combat fake news, bad narratives

JAKARTA: The existing good relationship between Malaysian and Indonesian journalists need to be further strengthened and continued in efforts to combat the spread of fake news and bad narratives involving the two countries.

Indonesia’s Minister of Communications and Informatics, Budi Arie Setiadi said media practitioners also play an important role in fostering the value of understanding between Malaysians and Indonesians to maintain cordial ties between both countries.

“As we know, journalism is the fourth pillar of democracy for a country, hence Indonesian and Malaysian journalists also (play a role) in safeguarding democracy.

“I am confident that from now on and in the future, the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia will become a familial bond in mutual development and understanding of each other. What’s more when our cultures are so closely knitted,” he said at the ‘Jejak Serumpun (Kinship) Programme’ at the Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kominfo) near here Monday.

In the leisurely visit, several partnerships were also forged between the Malaysian media delegation and Budi, covering aspects of the General Election (Pemilu) for the 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres 2024) as well as the Malaysian and Indonesian media industries.

Off the cuff, Budi also shared his interest in musical works produced by Malaysian artistes including band Iklim, Sheila Majid and Zainal Abidin.

This series of visits was led by the Secretary-General of Iswami Malaysia Mohd Shukri Ishak, who is also Head of Broadcasting (TV & Radio) of the National News Organisation (Bernama) in Malaysia.

In other developments, a total of 16 media leaders from various news agencies from Malaysia are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta, Indonesia today (at 2.45 pm Indonesian time) in conjunction with the 2024 National Press Day celebration which will take place tomorrow.