Syerifah Farah at her work station.
KUCHING: Radio announcer and producer Syerifah Farah Wan Taha will deliver a session titled ‘Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Radio Presenter?’ during this year’s Borneo Post International Education Fair (BPIEF) at Vivacity Megamall here on March 11 and 12.
“I will share on my job as a radio presenter and producer to give you an inside view on how it works – things that we as radio presenters do from scratch behind the radio until we broadcast our radio programmes live on the radio.
“All the necessary information will be revealed to the visitors so they will be able to prepare themselves and figure out whether they have what it takes to be a radio presenter,” Syerifah Farah added.
The 38-year-old is a proud Sarawakian of mixed Malay-Melanau parentage hailing from Kuching.
She attended SMK Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce (Tunaz), furthered her studies at Kolej Pusat Teknologi dan Pengurusan Lanjutan (PTPL) and graduated with a Diploma in Information Technology through a twinning programme with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
Syerifah Farah is currently a radio announcer and producer at REDfm English Radio Television Malaysia Sarawak (RTM Kuching) with 12 years of experience in the media industry.
“My job as a radio announcer and producer is quite hectic, complicated and covers a wide scope since it is my responsibility to share the latest local and international news stories with the listeners. We are trained to be professional and fair when it comes to sharing news over the radio and social media.
“Since modern news media is round the clock, the working hours of a radio announcer and producer are unpredictable and flexible,” she said.
Syerifah Farah would be on air a total of 12 to 15 hours weekly for her radio show, reading news and producing package shows like musical programmes (The Story Behind the Song, Made in Malaysia, Stardom, REDfm’s Sunday Jam) and talk shows (IIC Speaks, To The Point and The Truth on REDfm).
For Syerifah Farah, good oral and written communication skills are must-haves in order to be a good radio presenter and producer.
“I learned a lot through experience since I first started working here in RTM Kuching in April 2005.
“As a radio announcer and producer on REDfm, I also did several live radio crossovers from different locations on various programmes which involved state and international participants including the Sarawak Regatta, Kuching City Day, Malaysia Day, The Governor of Sarawak’s birthday parade and many more,” she said.
She shared that among the live crossovers that she would always remember include covering the MH17 story where she conducted the live crossover from the Royal Malaysian Air Force Kuching base during the arrival of the remains of Sarawakian victims on board the ill-fated aircraft in July 2014.
Meanwhile, in 2017, she did the live radio crossover during the state funeral of the late Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, former Chief Minister of Sarawak at the Samariang Muslim Cemetery.
“I was also trained to deal with the console, know the right song for the right show, and how to utilise radio software to produce pre-recorded shows, radio jingles and capsules.”
Syerifah Farah who regards herself as a self-motivated, organised and committed individual with the ability to pay attention to details and perform well for any occasion has excellent proficiency in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
She has also been actively involved in emceeing for local, state, national and international events in both languages, specifically events which involves the Chief Minister of Sarawak and The Governor of Sarawak since 2013.
Among events she has emceed this year include the launching ceremony for Kuching North City Hall’s (DBKU) Agenda 2017 officiated at by the Chief Minister of Sarawak, the Chinese New Year celebration with the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia organised by Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and the state government, and the Chap Goh Mei 2017 Festival graced by The Governor of Sarawak.