Non-Malays to appear more in radio, TV programmes

Malaysia Sun (IANS) Sunday 30th December, 2007

The Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) has plans to produce more programmes that would feature or are handled by non-Malays, Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin has said.

The initiative has been planned as many of the current programmes in the national language (Bahasa Malaysia) aired by the TV station only involve Malay actors with no active participation from other races.

'This could lead to non-Malays feeling that they are marginalised in the television industry.

'Even if there are non-Malays in RTM's entertainment programmes, they only hold minor roles,' the minister noted.

'Many non-Malays from the professional groups were proficient in Bahasa Malaysia, with some even better than the Malays in the language,' official news agency Bernama quoted Zainuddin Maidin as saying.

He said there would be no reduction in Mandarin or Tamil programmes over RTM2 and neither would such programmes be translated into Bahasa Malaysia, The Star newspaper said.

Malaysia has a multi-ethnic population of 27 million, of which over 60 percent speak Bahasa Malaysia, about 33 percent are of Chinese origin, and eight percent are ethnic Indians - predominantly Tamils, but also from other parts of India.

Hindu Rights Action Group (Hindraf), a group claiming to speak for the Tamils, courted controversy recently by staging a protest rally complaining of socio-economic discrimination and religious persecution.