PUTRAJAYA: Government representatives in the Malaysian Media Council are to provide feedback and expedite any processes, says Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said that there should be no issue with the involvement of representatives from Bernama and RTM, both of which are from the media industry.
“Most councils do have government representatives, this shouldn’t be an issue as we have also discussed the matter with the pro-tem committee members who drafted the Bill.
“These two representatives, as informed in the Dewan Rakyat, are not politicians, they must be media practitioners such as from Bernama and RTM,” he said during his weekly press conference here on Friday (Feb 28).
Previously, in welcoming the Dewan Rakyat’s passing of the Malaysian Media Council Bill 2024, civil societies highlighted the involvement of the government in the council which was supposed to be independent.
The coalition expressed reservations over government representatives on the MMC’s board, arguing that their inclusion could compromise the council’s independence.
The Bill, which will move the local mass media industry towards self-regulation, was passed through a voice vote after the third reading by Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
