AG: Media council as soon as possible

The legislation to form a Malaysian Media Council, a body to monitor the media industry, may be tabled as early as the next Parliament sitting.

According to Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, the draft of the law is already ready but requires media practitioners to iron out certain issues.

“I have left it to all the representatives of print media, alternative media, and bloggers, and so on. To settle certain issues. I'm waiting for them to finalise everything,” he said, adding that one of the unresolved issues include the definition of a journalist.

“In any case, a law has to be made. We are looking at tabling it in the next parliament sitting. I am very keen that we can do this as soon as possible,” said Abdul Gani.

He said that the AGC has previously gone through the draft with media organisations, both for and against the setting up of the council.

“We don't want to tell you what to do. It is up to you media, we are not imposing on you what the law should be like, we just want to give it to you, you decide on it, discipline yourself, that's all we're interested in,” he said.

The Malaysian Media Council is supposed to a self-regulatory body that promote media freedom and ensure ethical reporting.

The late Zainon Ahmad, a veteran newsman who passed away recently, was the chairman of the working committee (under the Malaysian Press Institute) to set up a press council.

In May 2011, Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the government plans to set up the National Media Consultative Council which aims to discuss matters related to the media, harmoniously.

Rais had said the proposal, which would be worked out by his ministry and the Home Ministry, would be tabled to the Cabinet.

While there are proponents of such a council, there are also journalists protest having such a body as they argue will further restrict press freedom. The idea to create a media council was first mooted during former premier Tun Razak Hussein's tenure in the 1970s but it failed to take off.