PART-time teacher Nafisha Shahfiee was nervous as she stepped in front of a television camera to read from a script.

But when the camera rolled, her confidence grew, and she finished with a smile.

Nafisha, 28, was trying out the news anchor simulation at the Sarawak Public Communications Unit’s (Ukas) booth during a media exhibition at Plaza Merdeka in Kuching.

Nafisha Shahfiee (left) getting ready to try out a news anchor’s role at the Ukas exhibition booth. – ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star

The three-day event was part of the National Journalists Day (Hawana) celebration from May 25-27, hosted by Sarawak for the first time.

“News reading is something I’m interested in, so this was a good opportunity for me to actually try it,” said Nafisha.

“It was exciting but also a little scary at first. The nerves you feel in front of the camera are different compared to other situations.”

For Nafisha, the exhibition was an opportunity to learn about the media and discover new television programmes from state-owned broadcaster TVS.

“I think it’s good for youths and students as well.

The Hawana exhibition at Plaza Merdeka in Kuching was launched by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. – ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star

“Through this exhibition, they can learn more about various media agencies like Ukas,” she said.

Ukas graphic designer Ronney Bukong said that the news anchor simulation encouraged visitors to experience what it’s like to read the news.

“Who knows, we may find someone who has the skill and talent to be a news anchor.

“We are looking for part-time news anchors as we now have news bulletins in Mandarin, English, and Iban in addition to Bahasa Malaysia,” he said.

Ronney highlighted Ukas’s aim to showcase its history and activities.

The media exhibition was held in conjunction with the Hawana celebration in Kuching. – ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star

Established in 2018, Ukas offers Buletin Ukas, a daily news programme on Sarawak affairs available on Facebook and other social media channels.

“We are still quite new, so we are trying to expose ourselves and let people know that Ukas is where they can get accurate information,” he said.

The exhibition featured 17 media organisations and agencies showcasing their products and services.

Kuching Division Journalists Association (KDJA) president Ronnie Teo emphasised the focus on Sarawakian media.

“It’s a chance for us to show the community what we do and how the community can engage with us and help us play our role in communicating information to the public,” he said.

KDJA president Ronnie Teo adjusting a photograph on display at the association’s booth. – ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star

The KDJA booth featured a photo gallery showcasing the media in action behind the scenes.

“People might not realise what the media faces in the effort to bring the news to the public.

“The photo gallery shows how we got that picture, that video, that piece of news that we were able to deliver to the public,” Teo said.

At the Sarawak Information Department’s booth, visitors glimpsed the past with a display of old equipment, including a 1970s cassette recorder, a typewriter, an early 1990s laptop, and a projector used for outdoor films in villages and longhouses in the 1970s.

Muhamad Syazwan Abd Rahman (left) explaining the Sarawak Information Department’s services to a visitor at the Hawana exhibition. – ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star

“To celebrate Hawana, we wanted to showcase something different.

“Other exhibitors might focus more on the digital era, but we decided to display equipment used by journalists in the past,” said designer Muhamad Syazwan Abd Rahman.

“The Information Department was established over 100 years ago, so we went down memory lane to show the kind of equipment that was used to disseminate information to the public before the digital era.”

The booth also displayed the department’s latest services such as DBook, which features publications in ebook format, and MyFoto, a digital archive of photographs from 1948 to the present.

An old projector used to show outdoor films in the 1970s displayed at the Sarawak Information Department’s booth. – ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star

“Despite evolving technology, the role of the media is still relevant to the public,” Muhamad Syazwan said.

Besides the exhibition, the Hawana celebration included the inaugural Sarawak Media Conference and the “Juh Raon” (meaning ‘let’s go wandering’ in Sarawak Malay) programme, allowing participants to visit places of interest in Kuching.

This year, Hawana welcomed some 1,000 media practitioners from 11 countries