VETERAN journalist ad blogger Datuk A. Kadir Jasin has detected “vagueness” over the purported move by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to broadcast daily live briefings from the Madani administration to counter the spread of disinformation and misinformation.
This follows Saturday’s (March 1) revelation by the Prime Minister’s senior press secretary Tunku Nashrul Abaidah that the briefing will be published on the Facebook accounts of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PMO at 11am and 5pm beginning today (March 3).
Recall that he last time daily briefings were conducted – they were carried live over mainstream local TV channels – was at the peak of the COVID-19 unsought a.k.a. the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
“This is a bit vague. Twice daily or as needed? This kind of ambiguity is what causes misinterpretation. Misinterpretation can be defined as fake news,” the national journalism laureate penned on his Facebook page.
“Fake news can result in the police waiting in front of one’s house and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) confiscating one’s gadgets.”
Aimed at ensuring that the rakyat receive accurate and authentic information directly from official sources, the twice daily briefings will be conducted by Tunku Nashrul himself.
“Through this briefing, the PMO will explain current issues, important policies and latest developments that should be known by the people,” Tunku Nashrul pointed out in a video clip posted on Anwar’s account on X.
“This is an important step to curb the spread of slander and fake information that is confusing the society.”
Elaborating further on the necessity aspect of the twice daily briefings, Kadir remarked that it would be “good if the government would communicate more frequently and, hopefully, sincerely and transparently with the people”.
“I don’t need to teach you anything about communication. There are many communication experts in the PMO and around him (Anwar),” asserted the former editor-in-chief of mainstream New Straits Times.
He went on to cite the Canadian philosopher and communication guru, the late Marshall McLuhan, who 60 years ago delved on quality delivery of information.
“He said: “The medium is the message”. This means that the intermediary or carrier of information is the determinant of the information. If the intermediary or carrier of information is credible, then it’s easier to convince the audience about the message or information being delivered,” justified Kadir.
“At the end of the day, it’s up to the audience to judge which medium is more authoritative because the Madani government has already experimented with several mediums such as JKom (Community Communications Department), townhall sessions, with the PM and even government spokesmen.” – Focus Malaysia
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