New radio station to debut
Published on: Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Kupikupifm 96.3MHz, a homegrown radio station, is set to make waves in Sabah with its vibrant announcers and interactive approaches this month.Its Programme Manager Lester Calvin Miol said, the community-focused radio station is set to go on air on Jan 19 after having conducted transmission tests since October last year."Kupikupifm is meant to serve as a catalyst and a vehicle for positive and uplifting change, especially those deep in the interiors of Sabah.
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"We hope to reflect the needs and desires of the community in order to amplify and strengthen their voices. "Through this, Kupikupifm envisions a self-reliant, socially and economically sustainable future for all communities of Sabah," he said during the introduction of Kupikupifm's announcers, here, on Monday.Set up by Sabahans for Sabahans, Lester said, Kupikupifm's tagline is 'Kita-kita juga baini!' or 'This is ours!', while explaining the name of the station derived from an everyday used word as "we want something very local and easy to relate to the people.""It will be a station that listens and interacts with its audience. We are hoping that the radio station will provide people with information and ideas that will help transform their lives for the better."
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Listeners can look forward to topics ranging from customs and traditions to social-economic development, global and social trends, health and nutrition as well as agriculture, Lester said.He added, attention will be given to skills and talent development as well as job opportunities in the State and the country.
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"The station will also give voice to local entertainers, providing them the platform to showcase their talents where we will be playing 80 per cent of local Sabahan songs."We will provide opportunities to all musicians… be it songs with vocals or instrumental pieces, as long as it is locally made, we will play them. This is quite different than other radio stations as we play instrumental music as well."So the opportunity is not only open to singers or bands, but also to instrumentalists in any genre. Kupikupifm hopes to be a sanctuary for the songs of Sabah."He further explained the station will accept and play songs in any language and to date, they have received a few songs in other languages, including Chinese, aside from Malay, English and Kadazandusun Murut songs.For now, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Telekom Malaysia have allocated Bukit Kratong as the transmission site for the radio station which allows for coverage from Kuala Penyu to Kota Belud.Starting Jan 19, there will be five announcers handling various segments from 6am to 8pm daily, including weekends."Greg and Niz, the dynamic duo, will be on air from 6am to 10am with 'Bangun Bogia Kinabalu', Nera from 10am to 1pm with 'Ki Ki Bah', Janrywine from 1pm to 4pm with 'Macam di KK', Velvet from 4pm to 8pm with 'Steady Ko Geng'."There will still be transmission from 8pm to 6am the next morning but we will only play songs without any announcers. But in the future, we will extend the period of announcers on duty.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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