Malaysian Media Council bill to be tabled for first reading, says Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Media Council (MMM) Bill is set to be tabled for its first reading during the current Dewan Rakyat session, says Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said the bill experienced a brief delay due to a request from the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC) for it to undergo a Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA).

"MPC initially requested that the bill go through the RIA process. However, after we clarified that a committee had already provided preliminary discussions and feedback to shape the regulations, they agreed to proceed.

"I am confident we can present it for first reading in Parliament in the coming weeks... Insya-Allah,” he told reporters after visiting and providing aid through the Tabung Kasih@Hawana fund to two Hindu media veterans in conjunction with Deepavali in Batu Caves on Monday (Oct 28).

The minister’s visit included former Tamil Malar journalist R. Saraspathy and former Tamil Nesan proofreader S. Batemaly at their homes.

Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Chief Executive Officer Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and Malaysian Tamil Media Organisation (MTMO) president S. Muthameez Manan were also present.

Before this, Fahmi, who is the spokesperson for the Unity Government, informed that the Communications Ministry had submitted the draft of the Malaysian Media Council (MMM) Bill to the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) for final review.

In another development, Fahmi said the Online Safety Bill, which is also set to be presented in Parliament soon, will enable the removal of all illegal content.

He said the new legislation outlines the role of curators responsible for ensuring that non-compliant content is removed from their platforms.

"This means that these social media curators need to be more proactive and emphasise to their platforms that they should not only act based on user complaints or reports," he said.

Fahmi had previously said that the bill would be brought to the current parliamentary session, with plans for a second reading expected in early December.

He said the initiative to bring this bill to Parliament soon aims to comprehensively address online safety issues, particularly concerning four major types of criminal activities: scams, online gambling, cyberbullying and sexual crimes against children. - Bernama