KEMAMAN, Sept 2- The communication and multimedia ministry will obtain the people’s feedback on the effectiveness of playing the national anthem in cinemas before deciding to continue the practice in future.
The minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, said on the whole, all cinemas gave their cooperation and when the Negaraku was played, all patrons stood up, except for a minor incident in Penang where a few viewers failed to do so.
“On the whole, the reception was good. It is just that we want to get the opinions on whether it should be lengthened, or repeated next year, based on our survey.
“The case (in Penang) was an isolated incident…in some places, the patrons were reminded by cinema staff and some were ticked off by fellow cinema-goers for not respecting the national anthem,” he said.
Ahmad Shabery was speaking to reporters at an open house held by the Kemaman parliamentary constituency in Dataran Kuala Kemaman here Sunday. More than 20,000 people attended the event.
Also present were Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Kamaruddin Siaraf and National News Agency (Bernama) general manager Datuk Yong Soo Heong, as well as the Malaysia Book Of Records chief executive officer Aziz Hamdan.
Earlier, Ahmed Shabery received a march pass by 1,000 participants of a fibre boat tour and fishermen’s boats carrying the national flag, in conjunction with the 56th Merdeka Day and 2013 Merdeka Raya celebrations.
In another development Ahmad Shabery said to facilitate the channeling of emergency service calls, the ministry would launch the ‘Malaysia Emergency Response Services 999 on Sept 9, in Putrajaya.
According to him, the integrated system would combine the five emergency service agencies, namely police, fire and rescue department, health ministry, civil defence department and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, as a platform to manage and channel calls and emergency information through one number, 999.
Later, the boat parade mounted by 265 fibre boats and fishermen’s boats was recognised as the largest parade on water by the Malaysia Book Of Records.
– BERNAMA
