KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (NNN-Bernama) — Indonesia’s national news agency Antara has appointed Virna Puspa Setyorini as its new resident correspondent in Kuala Lumpur, replacing Agus Setiawan whose tour duty has come to an end.
The handing over of duty from Agus to Virna was held on Monday at a simple ceremony at the Indonesian embassy in Jalan Tun Razak, here, with the presence of officials both from the embassy and Antara.
Antara’s Director of News Department Akhmad Munir and the embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Rossy Verona and other embassy officials witnessed the handing over ceremony.
Antara’s President Director Meidyatama Suryodingrat and other senior officials of the agency also attended the ceremony virtually from Antara’s headquarters in Jakarta.
Suryodingrat in his brief remarks at the event said Antara’s presence in Malaysia since the 1960s is the testament that agency views Malaysia as an important neighbour, and that it too has a role to play in contributing towards bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, the Semarang, Central Java born Virna has been with Antara over the last 16 years and has vast experience in covering the environment and human interest beat.
This is the first foreign posting for Virna and the award winning journalist is looking forward to her stint in Malaysia.
Agus who bids adieu after his six-year tour of duty said he had learnt a lot about Malaysia and will certainly miss the food here.
He said while serving in Malaysia he was concerned over the fate of the Indonesian immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic, as there was initial fears that many of those illegally living in the country may be deprived of vaccine and food supply during the lockdown.
However, much to his delight Agus found that the Malaysian government and the non-governmental organisations in the country were kind enough and did their best in extending all available assistance to them.
— NNN-BERNAMA