Marcus (standing, third left) and Kenyah community leaders pose for a group photo with Abdull Hadi (seated fourth right) after their meeting.
MIRI: The Miri Kenyah Association (PKM) is appealing to Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) to extend the daily broadcast for ‘Talidio Kenyah’ from the present one hour to three.
Its chairman Marcus Hugo said the request was made to new RTM Sarawak director Abdull Hadi Mohd Yusoff during their meeting at RTM Miri Auditorium recently.
“The reason is because the Kenyahs, despite being the largest Orang Ulu group with around 70,000 population, was given only one hour airtime, unlike other Orang Ulu ethnic groups which are much smaller in population,” he said.
The Bisaya and Lunbawang are given three hours airtime daily, while the Kayan have six hours of airtime.
Marcus said the meeting, which was also attended by several other Kenyah community leaders, also touched on the airtime schedule.
“Presently, ‘Talidio Kenyah’ is on air from 5pm to 6pm daily. Previously, it was from 11am until 12noon. We would like to change the airtime to noon because more listeners would turn on the radio during lunch time,” he said.
He also suggested for RTM to split the airtime if they cannot run the ‘Talidio Kenyah’ continuously for three hours.
“For instance, they can run the first two hours at noon, while the remaining hour can be aired in the late afternoon,” he said.
Apart from that, Marcus said the community leaders also proposed for a new transmitter to be built in some of the rural areas such as Baram and Belaga to improve the reception.
“With the present equipment, some of these areas cannot tune in to the radio due to the poor reception. We requested for new transmitters so that these listeners can listen to the radio,” he said.
He said the association is thankful to Abdull Hadi for listening to their requests, even though he was unable to give an immediate solution.
“He is very supportive, and for that we are thankful to him. He needs to refer to his top management before giving any reply to our requests,” he said.
‘Talidio Kenyah’ was aired for the first time on April 1, 2009. It was launched by former Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry cum ex Baram Member of Parliament Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan.