PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Bar Council has expressed concerns that the recently passed Malaysian Media Council Bill 2024 falls short of ensuring genuine media independence.
Despite recognising the government’s commitment to media freedom, its president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab highlighted several shortcomings in the Bill that undermine its objective of establishing self-regulation within the Malaysian media industry.
“The Malaysian Bar welcomes the passing of the Bill, which aims to establish self-regulation within the Malaysian media industry.
“We recognise that free and independent media is fundamental to a functioning democracy, and the passing of this Bill demonstrates the government’s commitment to media freedom and ethical journalism.
“However, we believe the Bill, in its current form, falls short of ensuring genuine media independence,” he said yesterday.
Mohamad Ezri said a primary concern is the clash between the Bill and the existing Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA), which grants the Home Minister absolute discretion over publishing permits.
“This power has historically affected media freedom, as evidenced by the suspension of The Heat in 2013.
“The Malaysian Bar has long argued that the PPPA contradicts Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution and should be repealed,” he said.
The Bar also pointed out critical issues within the Bill itself, including vague definitions of essential terms like “ethical and responsible journalism” and “media independence”.
He said this lack of clarity opens the door to arbitrary interpretation and potential abuse.
“We recommend that the Media Council members address this by providing clarity to these terms in the Bill’s code of conduct.”
He also said the Bill does not adequately address modern challenges such as online harms, deepfakes and artificial intelligence-generated disinformation.
“A responsible media industry requires laws and guidelines that promote integrity in news reporting and safeguard against the spread of misinformation and disinformation, yet this Bill does not provide any framework to tackle these emerging challenges.”
Additionally, he said the Bill’s current provisions on restricting political influence are deemed insufficient.
Mohamad Ezri suggested extending the prohibition on political party members from holding key positions within the Media Council to all Board members to prevent political control.
Despite these concerns, he said the Bar supports the initiative for media self-regulation and urges the Media Council to integrate these recommendations into its framework.
