Sunday, June 12, 2011

Conflicting stands - Shabery vs Rais Yatim

Youth & Sports Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek is passionately advocating for the 'Sports Industry'. He believes that it can become one of the major revenue sources for the country and offer job opportunities for many Malaysians.

However, Information, Communication and Culture Minister, Dato' Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim, seems to have different ideas.

Whilst Shabery embraces the idea of 'open competition' to bring the best out of all stakeholders in the sports industry - be it athletes, officials, sponsors, companies, media etc - Rais apparently is clinging to different ideology.

This assumptions were based on Rais latest statement to 'curb the monopoly of broadcaster to popular sports (coverage).'

I am puzzled with Rais latest announcement. Everyone knows that broadcasters have to pay rights fees in order to broadcast sports events in their respective channels. RTM also does that. They spent huge amount of money to buy last year's World Cup fees and many other events.

Is Rais serious with this latest statements? That all broadcast should be shared between all tv stations? Are there 'hidden hands' behind all this? People who will benefits without paying a single sen?

If coverage of the Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) is the main point, I do hope people in RTM briefed their big boss properly. Tell Rais the real reason why there's no live coverage of events. It was quoted as the reasons why Rais wants to end this so-called 'monopolization by certain parties'.

Tell Rais that for SUKMA, there's no rights fees involved. That any TV stations are free to show live coverage of events, free of charge. Its up to the 'powers-that be' in various stations to decide whether to air the events live or just cover it in the news or highlights programs. Tell Rais that the decision was made by RTM, not other people, to only cover SUKMA in the news and highlights programs.

I would not want to comment on why RTM, this time around, decided not to show any SUKMA events 'live'. They did a good job with the coverage of SUKMA in Melaka, last year.

But to shift the blame to others - who give wider coverage of the events - and try to use that to 'justify' policy changes? I do believe its not a very solid arguments, right Dear Sir?

I understand that there's a need to balance the need of the public. But at the same time, it should not come at the expense of 'open competition', or denying the rights of others who have the means to compete.

Seriously, I do hope this latest hiccups does not come out from the mindset of 'since I didn't have it, no one can have it, too!'.

The full story on Rais' announcements:

No more monopoly For TV broadcast for popular sports, said Rais.

Kota Kinabalu, June 11 (Bernama) - The Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture will implement a new policy to ensure that popular television programmes, especially popular sports, are no longer monopolised by a particular broadcasting or media corporation.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, said the matter had been conveyed to the parties concerned, including Astro.

"We want Astro, for example, to create a productive and fair cooperation network with Media Prima and especially the RTM.

"Those without Astro facilities don't get (TV sports programmes) whereas the RTM is a government broadcasting body, and in this matter, I apologise on behalf of the ministry," he told reporters after the simultaneous launching of the 1Malaysia Community at the Sabah state level and Mobile Post as well as appreciating the election workers for the Batu Sapi (Sandakan) parliamentary by-election, here.

Rais said this to reporters when asked to comment on the complaints, especially from those who don't subscribe to Astro, who could not watch the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) held in Kuala Lumpur this year.

"We want to implement the new policy and under the licence issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), we will change this situation." - BERNAMA.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lupa kot. Dah tua, tanda-tanda besar perlu di-retire-kan.

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