Communications Ministry identifying founding members of Media Council Bill

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Communications has resubmitted the draft of the Malaysian Media Council Bill to the Protem Committee of the Malaysian Media Council to identify and include the names of relevant parties as founding members.

According to Bernama, Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching said there are three categories for founding members of the Malaysian Media Council: media organizations, media-related non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media practitioners, as well as academics including individuals active in media-related issues.

“Based on the list I received from the Chairman of the Protem Committee on July 22, we already have 15 media companies for the media organization category, seven for the media associates category, nine media practitioners, and seven non-media members so far.

“So, anyone interested in joining the Malaysian Media Council as a founding member can contact the protem committee or contact me. They can review the draft bill, and if they agree with it, they can join as a founding member,” she said.

She made these remarks at a press conference after meeting with the staff of Tamil Malar at the newspaper’s headquarters.

Also present were Deputy Minister of National Unity K. Saraswathy and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal Affairs and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran.

Nie Ching said that once this process is complete, the draft bill will be brought to the Cabinet and the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) for approval.

“But we definitely cannot take too long waiting for everyone to agree on the draft bill. If everything goes smoothly, we hope to present the bill to Parliament in the next parliamentary session,” she said.

The establishment of the Malaysian Media Council aims to develop and implement a reporting ethics code that will empower the journalism profession in the country and ensure that news reporting is done responsibly by the media.

The council will also facilitate communication between media practitioners, the government, and the public, as well as support the professional development of journalists and media organizations.

Regarding today’s program, Teo mentioned that the visit to the newspaper’s headquarters is part of an effort to build stronger relations between Tamil media and the ministry.

“Our intention is to visit each media organization to establish a relationship where they understand that we are very approachable. If they face any problems, we can help and are ready to assist,” she said.

Earlier, Teo and Kulasegaran spent time engaging with Tamil Malar staff and distributed the Jalur Gemilang in conjunction with National Month celebrations.