ALOR STAR: Media Prima Bhd (MPB) should continue to assist the Kedah government in delivering news based on truth and facts, as part of efforts to dispel misinformation, said Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.
He said apart from owning television and newspaper networks, MPB had news platforms to disseminate facts.
The state government, he said, must dispel fake information as it would cause public unrest.
"When a state government wants to implement a policy, it must disseminate the information to the public quickly.
"For that, we need (a) media (organisation) that is credible and trustworthy.
"Unfortunately, there are many media outlets with unknown owners and backgrounds.
"MBP, however, is well-established.
"We rely on such a media organisation to disseminate facts," he said at Wisma Darul Aman here yesterday.
Earlier, Sanusi received a courtesy visit from MPB, led by its group chairman, Datuk Dr Syed Hussian Aljunid.
Others in the MPB entourage were group corporate communications general manager Azlan Abdul Aziz and Media Prima Omnia general manager Mohammad Effendi Omar.
The MPB top management also met Kedah state secretary Datuk Ammar Shaikh Mahmood Naim.
Sanusi said the state government welcomed MPB's offer to train politicians and senior state officials on media communication.
"We need to give training not only to lower-level leaders, but also political leaders, state executive council members, elected representatives, district officials, and agency representatives in dealing with the media.
"To curb fake news, any official statement from the state government or agencies must be issued and disseminated immediately.
"This must be adopted at all levels," said Sanusi.