KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 – With the aim of the developing into the 24-hour news channel, Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) is stepping into the new year with the adjustments to its TV broadcast to give more time for the live feeds from Sabah and Sarawak.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak said today Berita Ehwal Semasa 1 (BES 1) or Current Affairs News 1 would be aired from 7am to 10am. He said that the broadcast will begin with Berita Nasional 7 (National News 7) for an hour followed by Selamat Pagi Malaysia (Good Morning Malaysia) up to 10am.
“Berita Nasional 7 will extend the duration of the live feeds from Sabah and Sarawak to 15 minutes for each state daily compared to just 10 minutes now. There would be an increase in the content from Sabah and Sarawak in the form of news on state-wide activities and programmes, follow-up on events and issues as well as government announcements and special reports,” he said in a statement.
Salleh said that nearer to and during the Sarawak state election that was expected to be held soon, the news broadcast would focus on information on the election and profile of the constituencies. As for Sabah, he said, RTM would carry reports from time to time on various activities or issues as well as on security matters associated with the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) and the police.
“Berita Nasional 5 (which broadcasts for an hour from 5pm) will also carry live feeds from four states daily, focusing on current affairs,” he said. The four states are Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Sarawak and one other state on rotation. On Sept 1 last year, RTM launched the BES 5-10 that airs from 5pm to 10pm, and the content includes news on current affairs, prime news as well as magazine and talk shows.
