Social enterprise eBario Sdn Bhd, established to operate the remote and isolated eBario telecentre in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, is the recipient of the country’s first licence for a community radio station. Its chief executive officer, John Tarawe, said the licence to operate the Bario Radio Community station was issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) yesterday.
Mr Tarawe said the station, which is intended to serve the people within the Forum of the Indigenous People of the Highlands of Borneo, is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Having won multiple awards for its innovative approach to the use of information and communications technologies for the socio-economic development of the people living in the remote Bario area, he said, the radio station was seen as a natural extension of the eBario telecentre by delivering information right into their homes. The telecentre currently provides information services to the Bario community via shared public access to the internet.
“The station will be managed and operated by the community themselves, broadcasting much of its material in the local Kelabit language,” said Me Tarawe. With plans to broadcast programmes on the internet to provide information services to the wider Kelabit diaspora living throughout Malaysia and beyond, he said, the radio station was also expected to contribute towards a language revival.
Apart from broadcasting local news collected by the residents themselves, it will provide a channel for public service announcements in Kelabit, including relaying national news, as well as providing information to promote better agriculture, encourage commercial enterprises, preserve local culture, extend education and improve public health.
(Source: Bernama)
