KUALA LUMPUR – Journalists and media organisations may have to wait longer for reforms in the industry, as the Government is not ready to establish a Malaysian Media Council (MMC).
The Communications and Multimedia Ministry, in a parliamentary written reply to Fahmi Fadzil (PH – Lembah Pantai) yesterday, said that they have received a report from MMC’s pro-tem committee regarding a proposal for a draft bill to establish the council.
“After a detailed inspection of the draft bill, there are certain provisions in it, which require further clarification from the pro-tem committee,” the ministry said.
On January 16, the media reported former communications and multimedia minister Gobind Singh Deo’s initiative to set up a pro-tem committee to establish the Malaysian Media Council.
The reason for the initiative was to ensure the media had a regulatory body to protect and regulate media organisations and journalists.
The MMC pro-tem committee had presented a bill to the government, and on February 3, chairman Premesh Chandran said among other things, the bill would recommend that all laws curbing press freedoms be abolished.
"The pro-tem committee is in the midst of preparing our responses to the ministries questions, which at this point are more of a technical and legal nature," Premesh told The Vibes. – The Vibes, December 11, 2020
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