Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Pakatan Rakyat state governments want air time over RTM - NST

IPOH, Tues: April 15, 2008

The five states under Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Front) want the mass media, especially the electronic media, to be fair and to give them air-time to highlight their activities although the front is still the opposition at the federal level.

Perak Menteri Besar Perak Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin wants Radio and Television (RTM) to provide programme slots to air the new policies of the state government which is under Pakatan Rakyat.

“The people need to know what the new state government is doing for them and one way is for the electronic media to help us,” he told reporters after a function which was attended by about 15,000 supporters of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP here last night.

He was asked to comment on PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa’s speech earlier that the five opposition state governments should be given licences to launch radio and television stations.

The other four states under the opposition are Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Kelantan.

Mohammad Nizar said there was no other way to reach the masses on the policies of the new state governments except through the electronic media and they would apply to RTM for a one-hour slot.

He said the “Bersama YAB” programme aired by RTM before the formation of the new state government should be continued because it gave the state executive councillors or elected representatives a chance to interact with and explain their vision and mission to larger groups of people.

Asked whether the state government would apply to the Information Ministry to air the programme, he said: “It’s the ministry’s duty to disseminate the government’s policies and programmes to the people.” — BERNAMA

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