Fourteen amateur radio stations activated to liven up National Day celebrations

MELAKA: The Malaysian Amateur Radio Transmitters’ Society (MARTS) has activated 14 amateur radio stations to enliven national month celebrations on Aug 30 and Sept 1.

Honorary secretary Zanirul Akhmal Zanirun said the annual event, dubbed Call Que Merdeka (CQ Merdeka), would be carried out by amateur radio operators in Malaysia.

He said each state would activate at least one radio station using special call signs approved by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

"The amateur radio stations will be operated in collaboration with several radio clubs and communities in each state. It will be operated in shifts, with at least three to five operators on duty each time a station is activated,” he told Bernama here Monday (Aug 21).

Zanirul Akhmal said the radio stations will also receive calls for National Day greetings from foreign amateur radio stations such as those in Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, America, India, Japan, and European countries.

He said that the call signs approved by the MCMC for CQ Merdeka were 9M66MW for stations in Kuala Lumpur, 9M666MB (Selangor), 9M66MN (Negeri Sembilan), 9M66MM (Melaka) 9M66MJ (Johor) and 9M66MA (Perak).

Other call signs included 9M66MC for Pahang, 9M66MD (Kelantan), 9M66MT (Terengganu), 9M66MP (Pulau Pinang), 9M66MK (Kedah), 9M66MR (Perlis), 9M66MS (Sabah) and 9M66MQ for Sarawak.

"In 2022, CQ Merdeka stations made and received more than 3,000 calls and independence day greetings from within and outside the country.

"One of the stations, the Penang DX Club, recorded more than 435 calls from various locations, while each station in the other states handled more than 300 calls on the eve of National Day,” he said.

eanwhile, Net MARTS coordinator Mohd Hussairy Sidek said the association would organise the "Net Merdeka" programme on the eve of the National Day to allow all amateur radio operators in Malaysia to send greetings. - Bernama