KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (NNN-Bernama) — The establishment of the Centre for Journalism Studies, proposed by Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, can be Southeast Asia’s reference point for journalism as well as to train journalists.
Malaysian Journalism Teachers Association (MJTS) president, Professor Dr Ahmad Murad Merican, said the setting up of the centre was an effort to determine training and research in the form of discourse on journalism to further strengthen the profession, including highlighting its history and origins.
Ahmad Murad, who is also a professor of social and intellectual history at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, International Islamic University Malaysia (ISTAC-IIUM), also proposed that the research centre not only target journalists in Malaysia but Malay journalism as well, especially in the Malay archipelago such as Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines that are interconnected.
“The centre is very important for us to relook into, and for it to become an excellent research centre on journalism as well as to train and educate journalists and prospective journalists,” he said.
Malaysian Prime Minister, when officiating the National Journalists Day 2022 celebration on Sunday, recommended the establishment of the centre to support the standards and boost the professionalism level of journalism in the country.
Ismail Sabri said the research centre could collect reference data from various studies conducted to strengthen journalism in Malaysia.
— NNN-BERNAMA