Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
Zimbabwe and Malaysia are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on media cooperation, with most provisions of the proposed agreement already finalised.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana revealed this at the end of a four-day working visit to Malaysia by a Zimbabwean delegation aimed at benchmarking the country’s media industry against Malaysia’s and fast-tracking the proposed agreement.
“Part of this journey is to build a collaborative relationship in the media sector between Malaysia and Zimbabwe, and we are working on an MoU,” he said.
“Most of the clauses have already been agreed, outlining how we can cooperate in the media space.”
The proposed MoU will provide a framework for cooperation in broadcasting, digital transformation, newsroom operations, media innovation, capacity building and professional exchanges between media organisations in the two countries.
During the visit, the delegation held meetings with officials from Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).
RTM, Malaysia’s national public broadcaster, operates six free-to-air television channels and 36 radio stations, providing news, entertainment, educational and cultural programming.
It also runs RTMKlik, an online streaming platform, with its content available on YouTube and other digital platforms.
RTM migrated to digital terrestrial television in 2019 as part of Malaysia’s digital transition programme.
The broadcaster’s mandate is to inform, educate and unite Malaysians while promoting the country’s cultural heritage through programming in multiple languages.
The Zimbabwean delegation also visited Bernama, Malaysia’s national news agency, which was established by an Act of Parliament in 1967 and began operations in 1968.
Bernama provides news through wire services, television, radio and digital platforms, with content available in Malay, English, Chinese, Tamil, Spanish and Arabic. The agency has about 1 000 employees and maintains offices across Malaysia, as well as correspondents in several international cities.
The delegation also engaged with Media Prima Berhad, Malaysia’s largest integrated media group, with interests in television, print, radio, digital media, out-of-home advertising and content production.
Media Prima publishes the New Straits Times, an English-language newspaper whose origins date back to 1845, when it was established in Singapore as The Straits Times.
At Media Prima, the delegation was briefed on the New Straits Times’ KLIK digital archive, which contains more than 15 million documents, photographs and news articles dating back to 1845.
The delegation also engaged with Business FM 89.9 and visited Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, which focuses on technology, digital media and innovation. Mr Mangwana said Zimbabwe had drawn valuable lessons from Malaysia’s approach to modernising traditional media.
“They have been very nimble and creative in keeping legacy media relevant while embracing new technologies to ensure they are where the audience is,” he said.
“It was quite a journey of discovery for us. We have many lessons to take home and incorporate into our practices.”
Mr Mangwana said stronger media cooperation would complement existing diplomatic relations by improving public understanding between the two countries. “Even though we cooperate very well at a diplomatic level, if nobody is talking about it, then our populations do not get to know about it,” he said.
“So now we just need our media to cooperate so that Malaysia does not become a strange country to Zimbabweans and, of course, Zimbabwe will not be a strange country to Malaysians.”
Mr Mangwana said about 5 000 Malaysians visit Zimbabwe annually, while Zimbabwe has sent about 500 students to Malaysia each year over the past 17 years.
The proposed MoU is expected to formalise cooperation between media institutions in the two countries through information sharing, skills development, digital transformation and professional exchanges.
