KUALA LUMPUR, June 15: The Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) booth at the 2025 HAWANA Carnival has been a crowd-puller as it offers an interactive sign language learning session through sign language interpreter Tan Lee Bee who has vowing visitors with her special skills.
The booth, located at the lobby of Sunway Putra Mall here, provides visitors with an opportunity to better understand and connect with the culture of the Deaf and disabled community.
Tan said the initiative not only provides visitors with an opportunity to learn sign language, but also exposes them to the unique culture of the deaf community.
“The public can come and learn sign language. For anyone or broadcasting station with interest, they can start by taking a basic course, followed by training and interacting with the deaf community to better understand their communication culture.
“Over time, they will become more skilled and have the potential to become sign language interpreters like me,” she said.
Lee said mastering sign language is not just about memorising hand gestures, but rather requires a deep understanding of the facial expressions, body language and communication culture of the deaf, which is different from the general public.
“To be a good interpreter, one has to be close and familiar with the deaf community. From there, we can understand how they communicate more accurately and convey the true meaning through signs.
“Maybe one day, we can broadcast news delivered by deaf individuals themselves using sign language. Who knows, the time will come for TV stations to feature news presenters from this community,” she said.
A visitor at the carnival, K. Ariaratnam, 77, who is a government retiree, described the HAWANA 2025 Carnival stall as having beneficial content, especially in helping to obtain information on cybersecurity.
“I read in the newspaper yesterday that there was a HAWANA carnival here, so I came to see the stall regarding the media. I was amazed because I saw many initiatives that I could share with my children and grandchildren.
“I was at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) booth just now and only found out about the existence of Sebenarnya.my to get the authenticity of the news, as well as about the 997 hotline to report scam crimes,” he said.
The three-day HAWANA 2025 Carnival, which ends today, is part of this year’s National Journalist Day (HAWANA) celebration, with the culminating ceremony held yesterday and officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre (WTCKL).
The HAWANA 2025 celebration, organised by the Ministry of Communications with the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) as the implementing agency, aims to recognise the role and contribution of media practitioners in the country’s development.
— BERNAMA