CIJ: Change needs to happen

The Malaysian Media Council must be free from government intervention, says CIJ. — 123rf

MALAYSIA’S plunge to the 107th spot in the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2024 World Press Freedom Index is a wake up call for the government to expedite the formation of the Malaysian Media Council (MMC), says Centre of Independent Journalism (CIJ).

CIJ executive director Wathshlah G. Naidu in a statement says the establishment of the council as a transparent, independent, multistakeholder self-regulatory body for the industry can be done by adopting the work of the Protem Committee set up in January 2020.

“It must be free from government intervention, including in its decision-making mechanisms, and adequately resourced.

“Further, it must have a clear mandate of its role which should effectively provide the MMC the ability to establish and harmonise standards in the media as its primary role while serving as an independent dispute resolution mechanism.

“The Malaysian Code of Ethics for Journalists introduced this year must be aligned with the standards set by the MMC and not act as a barrier to the independent functioning of the MMC.”

Wathshlah says 2023 was a year where the new unity Madani government had its first full year in power and brought expectations for reform and a sense of optimism.

“However, Malaysia still faces many challenges and has shown not only stagnancy when it comes to media freedom but also a level of regression.

“The RSF index reflects this as Malaysia dropped 34 spots relative to the 2023 ranking of 73, and is only six spots higher in comparison to the 2022 rankings.”

Wathshlah also says CIJ finds the government backtracking and making little progress on repealing and amending laws that restrict media freedom despite promises made.

The laws media stakeholders have called to be repealed or amended are Sedition Act 1948, Section 233 Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 and; Section 203A, 298A, 500, 504 and 505(b) the Penal Code.

Wathshlah also called for the government to initiate a comprehensive legislative reform of laws that restrict freedom of expression and media freedom in line with Malaysia’s international human rights obligations.

She also says a moratorium on the said laws should be in place whilst working on the reforms.

“The government continues to suppress journalists from critical and unbiased reporting as archaic values remain true in political institutions.

“As RSF posits, draconian legislation continues to be prominently used in the government to both uphold their agenda of the day and said archaic values.”Nevertheless, Wathshlah says there is hope for a better of media freedom in the country, as seen from the Cabinet’s approval of MMC and the move to enact a right to information legislation.

“Nonetheless, this must be located within a transitioning media environment, where legacy or traditional media is battling for its survival in the midst of competing with social media platforms and the emergence of generative AI.

“Media continues to experience a trust deficit due to the proliferation of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech. CIJ’s focus on the establishment of the MMC is in fact to bolster ethical journalism in Malaysia.”