PETALING JAYA, Nov 10 — Despite national news agency Bernama and state-owned broadcast channel RTM undergoing a lot of reforms and transformation, their staff will not face any job cuts in the near future, Gobind Singh Deo promised today.
The communications and multimedia minister told the press that at the moment there is no indication from both agencies’ management of any retrenchment exercises.
“When looking at entities such as Bernama, Bernama is going through a lot of reforms as well. We have already started on efforts to change how we project ourselves. We can see the new programmes and look and feel factors they have adopted.
“The question of jobs hasn’t come back to me yet. I leave that for Bernama to decide. They will come back to me about it later.
“At this point in time, no indication there will be cuts and for RTM we are also seeing how they can transform,” Gobind told reporters at the Selangor DAP Convention here.
This comes as media giant Media Prima Bhd confirmed earlier this month that it is undergoing a “business transformation” that includes a change in corporate model and internal restructuring, amid rumours of a new round of lay-offs.
In a statement, it said that the move, which will be completed by the first quarter of next year, is aimed at making itself more competitive and sustainable in the future, amid the uncertain economy and shifting global media landscape.
Gobind pointed out that currently RTM’s focus is on enhancing its digital service especially after it has shut down its analogue services.
The Puchong MP said he believes that the digital landscape have far more potential for content creation being produced for television.
Gobind also promised that his ministry will focus on developing the staff and try to retain as many as possible despite the change from analogue to digital.
