By Nancy Nais
IPOH, May 28: Sarawak may be the next host for the fourth National Journalists’ Day (Hawana).
Federal Minister of Communications and Digital Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil said his ministry would discuss the proposal with the Hawana committee.
“Sarawak is interested in hosting the event in 2024. It is a good idea to move around and this time over to East Malaysia.
“Let us bring the discussion to the Hawana organising committee first, and then they will discuss with the Sarawak government,” Fahmi said during his visit to the Sarawak media booth at the mini carnival in conjunction with Hawana 2023 today.
He added that Sarawak will have to bid for it as well.
This year marks Hawana’s third celebration, which was held in Ipoh, Perak.
It was first held on April 11, 2018, at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, followed by the second celebration in Melaka last year.
Among those who participated are a delegation of 13 media practitioners from Sarawak along with Bernama, Radio Television Malaysia, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Information Department, CyberSecurity Malaysia, and Tourism Perak.
Kuching Division Journalists’ Association (KDJA) president Ronnie Teo Teck Wei, who led the Sarawak delegation, hopes to bring the celebration to the region next year.
He asserts the celebration is a platform for media practitioners to get together and discuss the industry’s current issues, such as media freedom, fake news and so on.
“The media fraternity in Kuching is very supportive in building connections with other media communities nationwide.
“We look forward to the application and bidding process in the future,” Teo said.
He added that Kuching has the capacity and potential to host an event of this scale, considering its meeting, incentive, convention, and exhibition (MICE) industry. — DayakDaily
