KUCHING: Media practitioners from across Malaysia and ASEAN will gather in Kuala Lumpur this June as the country marks the 2025 National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA).
The event will serve as a platform to enhance ties, foster cooperation, and address emerging challenges in the industry.
According to the 2025 HAWANA secretariat, the three-day programme will be held at Sunway Putra Mall, Kuala Lumpur, and at the World Trade Centre (WTC) Kuala Lumpur from June 13 to 15.
Organised by the Ministry of Communications, and with national news agency, BERNAMA, as its implementing agency, this year’s event will carry the torch of previous editions with a series of curated programmes, including exhibitions, media forums and the highlight – Majlis Kemuncak HAWANA – on June 14.
“The thee-day programme is expected to kick off on Friday, June 13, with a public exhibition at Sunway Putra Mall, Kuala Lumpur, which will run from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and continue throughout the entire HAWANA weekend.
“The key highlight of 2025 HAWANA falls on Saturday, June 14, with two major events expected to take place at the World Trade Centre.
“From 9:00 am to 11:30 am, the Forum Media will convene and this will be followed by the Majlis Kemuncak HAWANA at 12:30 pm on the same day.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be the guest of honour to officiate at the Majlis Kemuncak HAWANA on that day,” the secretariat said after the HAWANA 2025 Coordination Meeting with the Media today.
The final day, Sunday, June 15, continues with the exhibition at Sunway Putra Mall.
It was previously reported that Communications Minister, Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, said HAWANA would invite media practitioners from ASEAN member states to participate in certain programmes in conjunction with Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship.
“I hope that during Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship, we can have our media counterparts from across ASEAN, besides the official media and other media companies, come to Kuala Lumpur.
“This will help us understand the challenges faced by our media counterparts within the Asean region. At the same time, I believe that discussions among these media organisations will chart a positive direction for the industry as a whole,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, media personnel nationwide are also invited to take part in the HAWANA-DBP 2025 Pantun Festival.
The festival is a special event held in conjunction with the 2025 HAWANA celebration.
Organised for the first time by BERNAMA in collaboration with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), the programme aims to celebrate and elevate ‘pantun’ as a treasured cultural heritage that deserves to be preserved and honoured.
The HAWANA-DBP 2025 Pantun Festival is open to all media personnel, with the deadline for registration set for May 15, and the grand finale is scheduled to take place on May 31.
In addition, in Sarawak, the state government will also organise the Sarawak Media Conference (SMeC) in conjunction with the 2025 HAWANA.
HAWANA at the state-level will also be enlivened by the organisation of sports event for the first time for media practitioners involving three zones, namely Kuching, Sibu and Miri.
The Sarawak Public Communications Unit (UKAS) together with local media strategic partners will lead the main working committee for SMeC and HAWANA at the Sarawak-level this year.
First introduced in 2018 and officially gazetted in 2022, Hari Wartawan Nasional or National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) is commemorated on May 29 each year.
It marks the date of the first publication of ‘Utusan Melayu’ on May 29, 1939, a newspaper that played a critical role in the development of journalism in pre-independence Malaya.
HAWANA was first held on April 11, 2018 at the MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) in Kuala Lumpur, under the theme ‘Defending the Nation, Building the Country’.
Around 1,000 media practitioners from across the nation gathered for the inaugural celebration then.
The annual celebration is meant to recognise the contributions of journalists toward nation-building, with the second celebration being held in Melaka in 2022, Perak (2023), and Sarawak (2024).
For further updates, visit 2025 HAWANA’s website at https://www.hawana.my/index.php.
