The 30-minute live telecast of the Dewan Rakyat sitting over Radio Television Malaysia’s (RTM) TV1 has been increased to one hour, Communications and Multimedia Ministry secretary-general Kamaruddin Siaraf said today.

He said live crossovers with solid and latest information from the Parliament would also be done from time to time through RTM’s radio and television channels.

Kamaruddin said the decision on the matter was made in line with the approval given by the cabinet last May and it had been implemented starting at 10am today.

“The ministry views seriously the need to increase the effectiveness of the government’s machinery, especially the role of RTM in perception war strategies and tactics,” he said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said the move to provide live telecast of the Dewan Rakyat sitting was also aimed at improving the image of Parliament in the eyes of the people, especially among city dwellers and young generation.

Kamaruddin said the increase in the airtime would also enable the viewers to obtain latest, accurate and detailed information from the issues that were being discussed in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said the information will be aired as it was, that is without being screened, to enable the viewers to understand the flow of the Dewan Rakyat sitting, while inadvertently, turned the programme as an official channel for information.

The live telecast also proved the government’s openness to meet the people’s demand for RTM as a public broadcaster, he added.

- Bernama