By Linda Khoo Hui Li
BANGKOK, June 21 (NNN-Bernama) — ASEAN countries should co-produce content including movies and dramas in bid to capture a larger market share in the creative industry, says Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa.
With a combined population of over 600 million, he said ASEAN is a huge market compared to the individual market of the 10 members in the grouping which is small and fragmented.
“We should not confine ourselves by forcing our people just to have local content. Therefore, ASEAN should co-produce content be it movies, dramas or content for radio and TV stations which will be filmed in the region.
“I have been trying to meet my counterparts to sell this idea of making ASEAN as a bigger market. So far, we received positive response,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Annuar said Malaysia is to strategise its bid for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council membership for the term 2023-2026.
“Malaysia had bid to sit on the ITU Council. The number of nations offering their candidature is more than the slots available. Therefore, Malaysia has to strategise among others by working with other ASEAN nations. We hope to support one another and consolidate the votes,” he said.
According to the list of candidates to the ITU Council, published on its webpage, a total of 18 countries have presented their candidature for 12 slots in region E – Asia and Australasia.
Malaysia has previously served as a Council member of the Union from 1998 to 2014. The ITU is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for all matters related to information and communication technologies.
Meanwhile, Annuar also exchanged views with Chairman of NBTC Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck on 5G rollout in Malaysia and Thailand.
He said the 5G rollout in Thailand is much earlier compared to Malaysia.
“We have our own problems including high charges. Therefore, we have to a find a way taking into consideration high speed at lower charges,” he said.
In Thailand, telecoms regulator raised 100.52 billion baht in 5G spectrum auctions. It is reported that the amount raised included 51.46 billion baht for three licenses on the 700-megahertz (MHz) spectrum band, 37.16 billion baht for 19 licenses on the 2600-MHz band, and 11.57 billion baht for 26 licenses on the 26-GHz band.
— NNN-BERNAMA
