KUCHING, May 25 — The lyrics of the song Bukan Kerana Nama by the famous rock artist Datuk Ramli Sarip should be pondered upon by communication students as one of the ways to delve into the meaning of communication, said Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Corporate Affairs, Information, and Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas)), Datuk Abdullah Saidol.
He said that through the lyrics, students would understand that messages can be conveyed in various forms and manner.
“You go through the lyrics (of Bukan Kerana Nama), then you will understand ... communication can take place in various forms, (whether) straightforward, narrative, very subjective,” he said during a dialogue session with Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil and communication students of several higher education institutions at Pustaka Negeri Sarawak here today.
The dialogue session was part of the activities of the 2024 National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) Excursion with Students programme attended by about 250 students from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, SEGi College Sarawak and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).
The programme, organised jointly by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and Unimas, was also attended by Bernama Chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, its Chief Executive Officer Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, Editor-in-Chief D. Arul Rajoo and Unimas Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ahmad Hata Rasit.
Abdullah also said that the fifth principle of the Rukun Negara, which is courtesy and morality, should serve as a guide for communication students to understand journalistic ethics in the Malaysian context.
“Regarding ethics (of journalism) and so on, at the end of the day we have to go back to the fifth principle of the Rukun Negara, which is courtesy and morality. We can have all the laws and code of ethics, ultimately we are citizens (of Malaysia),” he said.
He also appreciated Bernama’s effort to collaborate with Unimas in organising the excursion programme, which could be part of the preparation for students involved to start their careers in the communication field.
“We are thankful to Bernama because the purpose is nothing else but to manage students’ intelligence so that when you graduate from university later, that intelligence will yield wisdom,” he added.
Apart from the dialogue session, the programme also included knowledge-sharing and discussion sessions on topics such as ‘Fact-Check’ with MyCheck Malaysia and Bernama Data Journalism Unit editor Sakina Mohamed, as well as Mobile Journalism with Bernama’s Digital Media desk senior journalist Syed Iylia Hariz Al-Qadri Syed Izman. — Bernama
