CM: Media plays vital role in devt of Sabah
KOTA KINABALU: The State Government has increased its annual contribution to the Kinabalu Press Awards from RM60,000 to RM100,000 as it acknowledges the important role of the media in the development of the state.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor said the State Government has always recognised the mainstream media as one of its important partners in helping to disseminate government policies and development in the state.
“You are the bridge between the government and the rakyat hence it is very important that through your works, factual information is shared with the masses.
“This is more so at this time where social media platforms have been misused or abused to spread fake news and many untruths and half-truths,” he said at the Kinabalu Press Awards organised by Sabah Journalists Association (SJA) in collaboration with the State Government, Shell Malaysia and Petronas at the Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa near here, Friday.
The Chief Minister said good journalism plays an important role in society and that journalists were able to influence the thinking of the people through reporting and even changed the political landscape of a country.
“In this regard, journalists need to report wisely. I am happy the media in Sabah have carried out their duties with pride and honour. Most importantly, they have provided news coverage responsibly and professionally.
“The Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya is our commitment to developing the State and for the good of the rakyat. We hope the media will continue its role to report on the government’s development agenda,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hajiji said the state government was concerned with the closure of media outlets such as Sabah’s oldest newspaper, New Sabah Times and the retrenchment of media personnel as cost-cutting measures.
“I am also fully aware that the mainstream media, especially the print media is continuing to struggle in the face of dwindling circulation and advertising revenue due to the challenges already posed by social media and aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I am told more than 70 media personnel in Sabah have lost their jobs or faced pay cuts this year alone. I urge media companies (in Sabah) to retain their employees while re-looking at the media business models as what is being done by media houses across the world. I believe it is still a lucrative business and it is a matter of packaging your contents to draw your readers and advertisers,” he said.
Attending the Kinabalu Press Award for the first time since his appointment as Chief Minister, Hajiji said the past two years have been challenging for all due to the battle with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We all have had our fair share of difficulties to carry on with life and our work and all of us have made sacrifices along the way. The Movement Control Orders and subsequent restrictions have somewhat clipped our wings but through all these challenges, there have been lessons learned that have forced us to do things differently, to live in the new normal but most of all it has taught us resilience and to soldier on.
“We are not out of the woods yet but I believe it is also time that we must hit the ground and get to work. My Government has taken various measures to cushion the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and to re-stimulate the growth of our economy. We are confident that the implementation of the National Recovery Plan and various stimulus packages by the Federal and State Governments will spur efforts in Sabah’s economic recovery,” he said.
On another note, Hajiji was glad to note that Shell Malaysia and Petronas have continued to lend support to the SJA, particularly in the organising of the Kinabalu Press Awards.
“With the commitment of the State Government and strategic partners Petronas and Shell Malaysia, I am confident that the SJA will be able to continue hosting this prestigious event in pursuit of journalism excellence.
Later, the Chief Minister accompanied by SJA President Datuk Muguntan Vanar presented the prizes to winners of this year’s Kinabalu Press Award.
Sabah See Hua Group won 11 awards at the Kinabalu Press Award on Friday night.
See Hua Daily News won the News Reporting Category with a group effort on stories about the Movement Control Order, which were written by Yong Ted Phen, Sim Kain Yun , Tee Kok Wai, Shia Kwong Ing, Soo Wan Ming, Ho Yin Yin and Tseu Kui Jin.
See Hua Daily News also won six merit awards under Sports Journalism, Environment, Special Covid-19 News and Photography categories.
Its sister paper, The Borneo Post won one merit award under Covid-19 News category with a series about Covid-19 vaccine written by Mariah Doksil.
Meanwhile, Utusan Borneo won three merits under Environment, Culture and Art and Journalism Awards categories.
Muguntan in his address, said that despite the challenges in the past two years due to pandemic, it is still a proud moment for members of the press in the state to continue to carry out duties, getting the stories out to the public, highlighting their problems and relaying what the government is doing to help overcome their problems.
“In every sense, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenge not only for us to cover issues and to keep our own families safe. It has also since taken a toll on the economy with many of our colleagues in the mainstream media sadly either lost their jobs to closures and retrenchments or faced severe pay cuts.
“Earlier this year, Sabah’s oldest English paper New Sabah Times called time and pulled its shutters down. It was really a sad day for the media in Sabah.
“There is no doubt media companies prior to the pandemic were already facing dwindling circulation and advertising revenue due to the challenges posed by social media.
“In more recent months media companies here have been implementing cost-cutting measures in some cases even taking away allowances for basic working tools including transport and telephone allowances. This has left many of our mainstream journalists struggling,” he said.
“I hope our media companies will be realistic and kind in cost cutting measures especially because the mainstream media continues to play an important role in providing accurate, factual and balanced reports, especially at a time when half truths, fake, false news spread easily via social media.
“To me and many of us in the mainstream media, we should strive to remain a reliable source of information,” he added.
Muguntan also expressed his appreciation to the Sabah government for looking out journalists’ interests during the pandemic, especially giving out financial assistance to journalists in nder B40 group and getting vaccinated early.
This year, a record total of 345 entries from journalists from the print, online and electronic media have joined in to vie for 19 categories, including a special category for news reporting on Covid-19.