M'sian mission fetes media

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - THE Malaysian High Commission held an appreciation dinner for the media at Sheraton Utama Hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan on Friday.

It was graced by the attendance of Malaysian High Commissioner Dato' Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari.

In his address, Dato' Ku Jaafar thanked the media for their role in disseminating information to the public and help to strengthen the Malaysia-Brunei bilateral relations.

"Not withstanding the recent development of the blogs, websites, Facebook and Twitter, the role of traditional journalists continue to be vital and yet has become more challenging.

"Certainly there is need for a hardcopy in the form of printed publication, irrespective of lifestyle changes.

"But what we could observe is that people now have so many sources of information where they could certainly dug up," he affirmed.

"Alternative media has also attracted thousands of new writers to express their views in their blogs.

"This is a big challenge for the mainstream media to 'compete', to give the latest information," added Dato' Ku Jaafar.

Dato' Ku Jaafar also announced that Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, will be in Brunei next week for the 13th annual consultation with His Majesty, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

Both leaders are expected to discuss bilateral and regional issues with a view of further strengthening close relation and cooperation between the two countries.

Present during the reception were the media, officials from the Malaysian High Commission, and invited corporate guests.

Also present was the director of Tourism Malaysia in Brunei, Jamilah Abdul Halim.

She told The Brunei Times that this is the first time that an officer of Tourism Malaysia is stationed in Brunei.

Courtesy of The Brunei Times