Kuala lumpur: A total of 463 media practitioners and veterans nationwide have received benefits from the Tabung Kasih@HAWANA initiative, designed to assist those facing life difficulties and health challenges, as announced by Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Fahmi emphasized the ongoing efforts to support media personnel dealing with health issues or life hardships, aiming to alleviate their burdens. He mentioned plans to collaborate with media associations and clubs across the states to extend this assistance to more eligible media practitioners.
"We will enhance our efforts to aid more media practitioners. Notably, the funds allocated from the two previous HAWANA programmes, including RM1 million announced by the Prime Minister last year, have not been fully utilized," Fahmi informed reporters.
Earlier, Fahmi presented a contribution to Vicky Sylvester Matanjang, a 52-year-old photographer from the Sabah State Information Department, who sustained serious injuries in a road accident in March. The accident resulted in fractures in six of Vicky's left ribs and his left hand, necessitating ongoing physiotherapy treatment. Vicky has dedicated 18 years to the Information Department since 2007 and is the 24th beneficiary of the Tabung Kasih@HAWANA initiative in Sabah.
Fahmi also indicated that Bernama has been tasked with developing a mechanism to gather funds to assist more media practitioners in the future. However, he noted that the current allocated funds remain unused.
Addressing concerns over journalists' salaries, particularly in Sabah, which reportedly remain below RM2,000 despite long service, Fahmi expressed his commitment to further investigate the issue. He plans to gather information from Gabungan Kelab Media Malaysia (GKMM) to facilitate future discussions, considering aspects like employment status, be it as a 'stringer' or a full-time employee.
On a related note, on Tuesday, Nur-ul Afida presented the Tabung Kasih@HAWANA contribution to Sabah News journalist Hafizul Andie Zulkarnain, 35, in Sepanggar, Kota Kinabalu. Hafizul is currently recovering from surgery due to complications from twisted intestines and a ruptured appendix, having started his career in 2020.