KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian and Indonesian media should be fast in combating every arising issue by providing the explanation to mitigate it, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

       In a more casual meeting with the top leaders of the Malaysian and Indonesian Journalists Association (ISWAMI), as well as senior Indonesian media leaders in Putrajaya on Monday (May 30), Ismail Sabri also called on the Malaysian and Indonesian media to play a more strategic role to further strengthen relations between the two countries from the same ethnic family.

       "Hopefully, ISWAMI, which was established in 2009, will continue to be the best platform in strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between Malaysian and Indonesian journalists," he said via a post on his Facebook page, tonight.

       The delegation comprising ISWAMI Malaysia president Datuk Mokhtar Hussain, ISWAMI Indonesia chief Asro Kamal Rokan, Indonesian Journalists Association general chairman Atal S Depari, Antara news director Akhmad Munir, Kumparan.com editor-in-chief Ariffin Asydhad and Jakarta Post editor-in-chief M. Taufiqurrahman.

       After the two-hour event, the Prime Minister handed over copies of a coffee table book entitled Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Teraju Keselamatan: Depani Ancaman Covid-19, written by the director of Media and Strategic Communications Division in the Prime Minister's Office Datuk Ruhaidini Abdul Kadir, to the delegates present, as a memento. - Bernama