The panelists (from left) Khairul (of Penerangan Putrajaya), lecturer Dr Zainal and Borhan (Gapena) speaking at the forum which was moderated by Rosman.
KUCHING: Youths in the state are encouraged to have an open mind when they come across news on issues that may come across as sensitive.
Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that with social media playing a major role in today’s society, it was crucial not to veer to extremes in opinion.
Citing last year’s general election, he pointed out that news on small issues that were reported in newspapers or posted online via social media can be misconstrued and blown out of proportion.
“We are all interested in reading news online including those from blogs where the posts lean towards either the government or opposition parties.
“However, it is better for us to have our own stance and analyse what we have just read before jumping to conclusions,” he said at the launch of the state-level ‘Program Gemilang Siswa & Forum Jati Diri 1Malaysia Siri II’ at Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce Auditorium of Teacher Education Institute of Malaysia (IPG) in Batu Lintang campus yesterday.
Abdul Karim also acknowledged that there is an uphill challenge among the society these days with topics such as religion easily taken out of context and becoming an issue.
“If there is a big disparity and imbalance among the community, this can cause conflict and result in disintegration in our country.
“Therefore, it is imperative that we put in efforts to ensure that our state and country continue to progress with a strong and united community, something of which is still present in Sarawak,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, State Information Department (Penerangan) deputy director Zaini Mohamad said that the programme organised by Penerangan aimed to foster the spirit of unity, identity and patriotism towards the idea and concept of 1Malaysia.
“Penerangan constantly strives to hold scholarly programmes such as dialogues and forum involving the community, specifically youths, in the hope that such initiatives can instill understanding and appreciation of the 1Malaysia concept while also encouraging them to voice their opinions,” he said.
Around 300 participants comprising students and teachers-in-training from IPG Batu Lintang campus participated in the programme, in which the highlight was the forum featuring Federation of Malaysian National Writers Associations (Gapena) secretary Borhan Mohd Zain, IPG Batu Lintang campus lecturer Dr Zainal Abiddin Masleh and Penerangan Putrajaya deputy director general Khairul Anuar Saimun as panelists while Sibu District Penerangan officer Rosman Zaini served as forum moderator.