Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi stated that Bernama and Indonesia's Antara News Agency will deepen cooperation to further strengthen their relationship.
He said during a bilateral meeting with Indonesia's Communications and Digital Minister Johnny G. Plate, both parties agreed to enhance the cooperative relationship between Bernama and Antara in the field of news dissemination.
He said this is to ensure that both news agencies remain timely and credible, and are able to provide accurate and balanced information to the people of their respective countries, which is crucial.
“My discussion with Minister Johnny G. Plate revolved around strengthening the relationship between Bernama and Antara. These two news institutions are extremely important to both countries.
“We can improve relations through the Malaysia-Indonesia Journalists Association (ISWAMI), which is dedicated to enhancing the connection between Malaysian and Indonesian media institutions.”
He said this during an interview with Bernama on Saturday while attending the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Ministerial Meeting 2025 (APT-MM 2025).
Fahmi mentioned that Malaysia has provided various forms of assistance to Indonesia, including regulating Indonesia's social media.
He added that he also discussed several key areas of bilateral cooperation with Johnny G. Plate, particularly communications, media, and digital infrastructure, in line with today's increasingly complex and highly interdependent regional information landscape.
“The Indonesian minister informed me that Indonesia is facing complex and severe challenges, especially concerning the issue of online gambling widely spread on social media platforms, which requires decisive action to curb.
“I believe some of our experiences in establishing regulatory frameworks can be shared with Indonesia, including the capacity limitations and challenges encountered during implementation.”