Malaysia To Boost Cultural Ties With Indonesia Through Radio, Film Collaboration - Teo

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysia aims to explore more collaboration opportunities with Indonesian radio broadcasters and film industry players to expand and promote the culture of both nations.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said collaborations between national agencies, Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) and Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), which are celebrating their 81st and 80th anniversaries this year, would benefit the people of the two neighbouring countries.

“I believe Malaysia and Indonesia share the same culture and language. So, there are a lot of opportunities for content collaboration, not just cultural content but also news,” she said in an interview with RRI anchor Risty Rustarto on Satu Udara, Dua Negara: The Power of Relay programme in Jakarta, which was also broadcast on RTM’s Nasional FM.

The close ties between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, she said, should also extend beyond government relations to stronger people-to-people engagement.

Teo is on a three-day working visit to Jakarta for the National Press Day 2026 celebrations.

During the interview, Teo also revealed Malaysia's idea for film collaboration with Indonesia, which she had conveyed to the Indonesian cultural minister’s representative, Giring Ganesha, during a meeting yesterday.

“Joining me at that meeting was FINAS chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib. We have an idea to develop a “Malay storyboard” initiative to train young film producers from both countries to come up with films centred on our shared Malay culture.

“Eventually, we hope to jointly produce the film, with productions targeted to begin this year,” she said.

Earlier, during a visit to RRI in Jakarta, Teo confirmed that RTM and RRI would intensify content and cross-cultural radio programme collaborations, reviving dormant initiatives such as Salam Serumpun and Hubungan Muhibbah, and pushing for more frequent, ideally weekly, collaborations.

She said that further cooperation could include content sharing, joint news production and training programmes.

Also present were RRI president director Ignatius Hendrasmo, Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, deputy editor-in-chief (News Services) Mohd Shukri Ishak, and RTM deputy director-general (Strategic) Hamzah Ishak.

-- BERNAMA