Independent Media Council – mooted 40 years ago but nowhere near to being formed
by Chen Shaua Fui, Fz.com
Despite being raised on and off for more than 40 years, the idea of establishing a self-regulatory and independent media council in Malaysia has yet to be converted onto reality.
Different models had been suggested over the period, but it is generally agreed that the council should serve as the body the public can go to over unethical news reports, and a body that promotes media freedom.
The council is seen as the solution towards regulating irresponsible or unethical media, and thereby restore the integrity of the media.
Throughout the years, there were numerous attempts to lay the foundation for the establishment of a media council but to no avail.
One of the main reasons why the attempts did not succeed is the lack of trust among media practitioners towards the government.
Media practitioner groups such as the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) and the National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJ) have emphasised on the independent and self-regulatory features of the media council. They feel the council should be headed by a judge and consist of members from the media as well as the civil society.
Former Bernama editor-in-chief Datuk Seri Azman Ujang, when contacted, said the media fraternity is of the view that the media is over regulated.
Currently, the media is still subjected to old laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), Sedition Act and Official Secrets Act. The PPPA authorises the home minister to approve, reject or revoke the publishing permit of the newspapers.
The publishing permit of the Heat weekly was suspended recently by the home minister for allegedly violating permit conditions. The move came shortly after it published an article on the alleged spendthrift ways of the prime minister and his wife. The ministry has however denied that the article was the reason for the suspension.
When asked if the PPPA should be repealed and a media council take over the role of regulating the media, Azman said: “It is not a precondition as the removal of the clause that required the annual renewal of publishing permit is itself a “major reform.”
Veteran journalist Datuk A Kadir Jasin said he supported “some form of regulation” for the media just like regulating business activities.
“Put it this way, there is a need for some form of official registration as a business concern,” he told fz.com, adding that this could safeguard the intellectual property of the media, as well as keep record of the media organisation.
NUJ president Chin Sung Chew said the media council could operate under the current media environment as long as the media fraternity wants to have it, as he feels that being the watchdog, the media also needed to be scrutinized so that it would not misused its power to report unethically.
Kadir pointed out that the editor and publisher have a different view about the press council as opposed to the government.
In 2011, former information minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim had suggested the formation of a media consultative council that would be co-chaired by him and the home minister. However, the suggestion was rejected by the media fraternity.
One of the developments that could have brought a step closer to the realisation of the media council was a meeting with Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail in 2012, who was seeking feedback from media practitioners for a law that would provide for the setting up of the media council.
Chin, who had attended the session, said NUJ had given its views on the matter, stressing on the council’s independence. However, there was no further progress on the proposed law.
Prior to this, NUJ had organised a forum on the matter and invited media practitioners from India and Hong Kong to share their experiences.
MPI, meanwhile, had in a proposal to the government, called for the enactment of a law to set up the media council.
Among the terms of reference were that the council would act as a tribunal that would investigate complaints against media, give recommendation to the government on law related to media, as well as educate the public on the media.
The idea was brought up again recently by Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong following the suspension of the Heat.
Leong had asked the government to repeal the PPPA and set up the media council to receive complaints on media misconduct.
Media focus on own survival
Another reason why the media council idea has not progressed is the lack of commitment among the relevant parties to push for the council, due to the stiff competition between one another and the need to focus on survival of the media, said Kadir.
He said the printed media is facing strong competition among themselves besides being challenged by the new media, and therefore they were focusing on “finding their way around the problem.”
Kadir added that there isn’t a lot of sympathy within the printed media towards the Heat because it was seen as a competitor to the more established newspapers.
“These people (publications like the Heat) are seen as new kids on the block who are coming in to make the situation worse for the established media. They are not media oriented people or investors, they came into media because they have money to spend or to lose,” he said.
