NADI ADVISORY PANEL SHOULD TAKE PROACTIVE ROLE TO BRIDGE GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES - FAHMI

SHAH ALAM, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- All chairmen of the National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) Advisory Panel have been urged to take a more proactive role as a bridge between the government and the public to ensure accurate, verified and up-to-date information reaches grassroots communities.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said their appointments carry a significant responsibility to strengthen government communications and counter misinformation and false narratives.

“Advisory panel members should be among the first to receive accurate information on emerging issues, so they can explain clearly to communities what is actually happening,” he said at the presentation ceremony of the appointment letters to chairmen of NADI Advisory Panels for Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, here today.

Also present were Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and State Islamic Affairs and Innovation Culture Committee chairman Dr Mohammad Fahmi Ngah.

Fahmi said NADI centres in all state constituencies were established following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s directive in February 2023, with each constituency required to have at least one centre to bring government services and information closer to the people.

“Previously known as Digital Economy Centres, NADI’s role is much broader. It is not just about the economy, but also information dissemination, community development and capacity building,” he noted.

Fahmi said that rapid technological change demands outreach down to the village level, not just in cities or the capital.

As such, he expressed hope that all NADI advisory panels could visit NADI centres at least once every two weeks to monitor activities, coordinate programmes with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and identify community needs, especially in areas far from the centres.

He said some NADI centres are now equipped with high-speed internet, in some cases faster than in key administrative areas, enabling activities such as artificial intelligence learning, digital entrepreneurship through platforms like TikTok Shop, and skills training, including sewing and cooking.

Fahmi also stressed the need for close cooperation between NADI, the Information Department and MADANI Community groups to ensure a coordinated approach to government communication.

“Government communication is not the responsibility of a single ministry or minister. It must be a collective effort to deliver accurate information and counter misinformation and fake news,” he said.

-- BERNAMA