KUALA LUMPUR — The long-awaited Malaysian Media Council (MMC) Bill 2024 to establish a self-regulatory body for the press proposes two board members who are appointed by the government.
The bill, which was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday, proposes that the two members be persons involved in the media industry to represent the government in the board that oversees and manages the council.
Clause 8(1)(b) of the bill states that the two board members will be nominated by the communications minister.
For the record, an earlier draft of the bill that was prepared by the council’s pro-tem committee, which the Communications Ministry had engaged for the purpose of drafting the bill, did not mention the appointment of board members nominated by the minister to represent the government.
The council’s objectives include setting standards and establishing a code of conduct for media practitioners and independent media practitioners “in accordance with the standards of ethical and responsible journalism”.
To do this, it is to develop a grievance mechanism and disciplinary procedures to handle complaints against the media.
The bill has been long in coming and was a reform promise under Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto to promote press freedom.
The tabled bill also proposes that other members of the MMC board include four members each from media companies, media associations and non-media representatives. The total of 12 members shall comprise of at least one woman representative and one from Sabah or Sarawak.
Six additional board members will be appointed by the above members to ensure equal representation in gender, locality and media diversity in terms of languages and formats.
Board members are allowed to hold office for a term not exceeding two years and will be eligible for reappointment for another two years. However, a board member who has held office for four years consecutively can only be re-elected after a period of two years lapsed from the last date they held office.
The bill states that a media company which is deemed to have a common ownership with other media companies, is barred from having more than one member on the MMC board.
It also specifies that the MMC excludes the advertising industry, online service providers and content aggregators.
The MMC is also to establish and manage a database on information of media practitioners, including independent ones, for the purpose of collecting data and statistics for the continued development of the media industry and journalism.
With regards to funds, the council has to obtain the minister’s approval to receive foreign funds, and when spending or contributing to international bodies or organisations related to journalism activities.
It is to manage its funds for the purpose of training, capacity building and professional development, and can employ a chairman, secretary and staff to manage its affairs.
If the bill is passed by both Houses of Parliament, the council’s founding board is to be appointed by the minister to run its affairs until a new board is formed. – December 14, 2024
