KUCHING, Nov 28 — There is a future for radio stations, especially those that broadcast in English, said Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

He said such stations had an important role to play in educating the public on the English language besides ensuring that important information was disseminated.

“I am speaking in English and all of you understand me and that is important. We can’t ‘ignore the elephant in the room’,” he said at the launching of Tea FM, a privately-owned radio station based in the state.

Adenan had recently announced that English would be the state’s second official language after Bahasa Malaysia, sparking a debate over the position of the latter as the national language.

The chief minister commended KTS Group and Redberry Group for taking the bold step of setting up Tea FM.

He applauded them for recognising a niche that has yet to be fully explored in east Malaysia as there was a strong demand for local content, especially in English.

“The main medium of communication (in Sarawak) is still the radio because it has the greatest penetration,” he said.

While he believed radio would never go out of fashion, he said it must adopt new approaches and strategies.

“Radio can no longer be passive,” he said, adding the state government believed in freedom of expression.

Ancom Bhd group managing director Datuk Siew Ka Wei, who is also Redberry group chief executive officer, expressed hope Tea FM would become the radio station of choice in east Malaysia.

“We want Tea FM to be the ‘go to’ station for English and Chinese-speaking listeners of Sarawak and Sabah.”

He said Redberry was happy to find a partner like KTS Group chief executive officer and managing director Datuk Henry Lau, who has put his heart and soul into the station.

The event, which was broadcast live over Tea FM, was attended by members of the state Cabinet, community leaders and Chinese Consul General for Sarawak, Liu Quan.

Adenan and his wife, Datuk Jamilah Anu, also raised RM200,000 for charitable groups by singing three songs during the event.