Gobind clocks in as minister, moots media council and review of laws
Gobind signs his attendance before a briefing session with department heads while chief secretary Tan Sri Sharifah Zarah Syed Ahmad (right) looks on.
(MMO) – The fulfilment of Pakatan Harapan’s 100 days pledge such as enhancing media freedom, reviewing existing laws and the formation of a media council is the ministry’s three main agenda, said Communications and Multimedia minister Gobind Singh Deo today.
“As the new Harapan government, we (myself included) are committed towards the implementation of a system where reporters can report news as it is and criticism is welcomed.
“Yes there have been certain constraints in the past whereby content is always there but what gets reported is questionable,” he said after chairing a briefing at the ministry today.
Gobind arrived at the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) in Putrajaya before clocking in at 8.15am sharp.
After clocking in, he was accompanied and escorted by KKMM chief secretary Tan Sri Sharifah Zarah Syed Ahmad to his office before chairing an hour and half briefing session with department heads around 8.50am.
He also gave his assurance that the Anti-Fake News Act (AFNA) would be repealed as promised in Pakatan’s manifesto while several other laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Act would be reviewed due to their overlapping nature.
“News reporting is different from the past 15 to 20 years due to technological advancement which is why we need to bring up the laws to determine how they can be tweaked or updated in regards to media regulation.
“We need to streamline these laws that overlapped one another and take into account of greater press freedom in today’s media world,” he said.
Asked on the need of AFNA to curb the dangers of misinformation, Gobind said there were already existing laws in place to deal with those kind of situations before AFNA was passed.
“As I have always maintained in Parliament, the AFNA was tabled hastily, contained too many broad areas and prone to misinterpretation or abuse.
“When we draft a law, we want the them to be very specific so judges and investigators can interpret the scope of the law,” he added he would meet up with KKMM’s Legal Affairs Department to sort the matter further.
On the formation of a media council, Gobind said discussions were ongoing in early stages despite having not met the Prime Minister on the matter.
“We need to decide how it should be form, who should it consist of and ascertain the term of reference on the council’s role…but most importantly, we must deliver.
“We are interested in finding out how we can work together and that is the difference between Pakatan compared to the previous government,” he said.
He also declined to comment on projects undertook by the previous administration for now, stating he would organise weekly press conference to update the press on their current status after reviewing them.
Gobind also said his first item of discussion in today’s meeting was to find ways to improve existing broadband services.
“If possible, I would like to see how we can double the speed and halve prices…it may take time but hopefully we can come up with some results soon,” he said.
Gobind took his oath of office, loyalty and secrecy together with 12 other Cabinet ministers before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V at Istana Negara yesterday.
