Jasa not for propaganda, says Wan Saiful

Ravin Palanisamy Ravin Palanisamy Updated 5 years ago · Published on 8 Nov 2020 3:33PM · 5 Comments

Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan says the BN propaganda days are over and Jasa will be put to better use under the Perikatan Nasional government. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, November 8, 2020.

THE Special Affairs Department (Jasa) under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia is not going to be the propaganda unit it was under Barisan Nasional, said Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan today.

He said the newly rebooted Jasa will act as a vehicle to gather feedback from the public.

“Its role changes according to the current situation. I understand that the intention of the government so far is to ensure that it always listens and understands the grievances of the people, and at the same time the people can also get accurate information from the government,” the Bersatu supreme council member said in a Facebook post today.

“It will not be for propaganda like before. That era is over.”

The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government revived Jasa with a RM85.5 million allocation under Budget 2021 tabled on Friday.

The unit makes a comeback after it was disbanded by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.

Budget 2021 provided two allocations for units under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia.

The first is RM4 million under the strategic communications budget and an additional RM81.5 million was allocated under the government’s new policies.

The huge allocation has raised questions among opposition ranks, which in the past have felt the brunt of its work.

DAP has told Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today to withdraw the funding if he wishes to pass a unity budget.

“DAP calls on the prime minister and the government to immediately commit publicly to withdrawing the allocation to Jasa if the government is sincere about seeking a unity budget,” party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said in a statement yesterday.

However, Wan Saiful, who is also the National Higher Education Fund Corporation chairman, defended the funding.

He said that in the present social media era, technologies for effective communication don’t come cheap.

He even said that the emolument allocation of RM4 million is not huge. 

“It is not strange if adequate allocation must be given to ensure that our government has the technology and equipment appropriate to this era of social media.

“We have not talked about the cost of repelling fake news that is deliberately spread.

“Probably the reason is that the funding is only around RM4 million, which is not even big, actually. Others are for the purchase of necessities including the necessary technology,” he said. – November 8, 2020.

Sign up or sign in here to comment.

Comments

  • Lies lies lies lies n LIES

    Posted 5 years ago by Lucky Boy · Reply

  • Why we need JASA when we hv Minstry of Information to do the JOB. JASA SUCKING TAX PAYER MONEY FOR ONE RACE BENEFIT.

    Posted 5 years ago by Lucky Boy · Reply

    • Correction: I do agree that its a waste of tax payers money which can be put to good use else where but it's not for one race as MIC & MCA also has a shared in it, its the benefit for those in power and hungry for more where they want to stay in power forever. Bear in mind not all Malays benefit what this idiots in jasa are doing

      Posted 5 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply

  • Wan Saiful is trying to fool the public and the rakyat will not accept his lies. Why spend limited finances on something that is already done by existing Government machinery? If you want to jimat cermat, the leaders of the backdoor government should crack the whip Abah style to ensure his civil servants increase their efficiency and diligence. Don't waste public funds when you can get the job done with existing resources.

    Posted 5 years ago by Panchen Low · Reply