May 30, 2018, 02:36 PM 
Following the May 9, 2018 election, Malaysia is a free country unshackled from its past -- in every sense of the word.
World Cup 2018 aired for free
The good news coming out on May 30: Malaysia's national broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) will be airing the 2018 Fifa World Cup live for free.
This was announced following a Cabinet meeting in Putrajaya.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia commences on June 14.
The matches will be shown on RTM1.
Democratise World Cup
“We will air the World Cup over RTM1 for free this year,” confirmed Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo, with a big smile on his face at the press conference held by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The move comes following requests made by several parties and championed by Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
Following the announcement, an elated Saddiq urged for the nation to unite with football, via Twitter.
“Let’s democratise the viewing of World Cup,” he wrote.
Thank you for listening!
— Syed Saddiq 🇲🇾🌺 (@SyedSaddiq) May 30, 2018
Let’s democratise the viewing of World Cup.
Ajak kawan2 dan keluarga, football unites regardless of race & religion. https://t.co/S2LB8dbMP0
There are no further updates on which matches will be aired, but many football fans who have yet to subscribe with Astro in Malaysia are ecstatic.
Astro, a paid TV channel, will be airing all the matches.
Praise for MP
Praise has poured in for Gobind for obtaining permission from the government.
Earlier on Monday, May 28, Gobind told The Star he believes airing the World Cup will be an avenue to increase RTM's viewership.
“As far as I’m concerned, I think this is one of the ways in which we can promote RTM again. I think this is what we need to do to increase RTM viewership,” he said.
The 2018 Russia World Cup will see 32 teams in eight groups competing in 64 games across four weeks from June 14 to July 15.
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