PETALING JAYA: A total of 12 individuals were elected to the Malaysian Media Council (MMC) board at its inaugural annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday (Nov 7).
They represented three categories: media companies, journalists and media associations and public and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The individuals appointed in the media company category are former interim chairman of the MMC C. Premesh; Star Media Group chief content officer, Datin Paduka Esther Ng Sek Yee; New Straits Times group editor, Farrah Naz Abd Karim; and The Borneo Post and Utusan Borneo general manager, Wong Yang Yong.
Additionally, in the journalist and media association category, those elected are Mohamad Fauzi Ishak from the Malaysian Media Club Coalition, Mariah Airens Doksil from the Sabah Journalists Association, Mohd Ishak Abdillah Ngah from the Terengganu Journalists Club and Adie Suri Zulkefli from the Kedah Elite Media Club.
In the public and NGO category, the elected members are Zaharom Nain, Terence Ooi Guan Tseng, Cynthia Lorraine Silva and Medina Mahmood.
The MMC is an independent body established as a self-regulatory mechanism for the country's media industry and plays a role in promoting journalistic ethics and media freedom.
The Malaysian Media Council Bill 2024 was passed in the Dewan Rakyat on Feb 26.
The inaugural AGM of the MMC on Friday marks a significant achievement in the establishment of a self-regulatory body for the media industry in this country.
Meanwhile, Farrah Naz, when met by reporters after the meeting, said that the responsibility as the council's board would come into effect on Friday to continue driving and strengthening the consolidation of the media industry in the country.
"InsyaAllah, at the next meeting, we will see more changes and more suggestions. Today (Friday), we also hear from all our media friends that they are truly enthusiastic about bringing about change," she said.
Below is the list of names elected to the MMC Board:
Media company category
- MMC former interim chairman C. Premesh
- Star Media Group Berhad chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng Sek Yee
- New Straits Times group editor Farrah Naz Abd Karim
- The Borneo Post and Utusan Borneo general manager Wong Yang Yong
Journalists and media associations category
- Mohamad Fauzi Ishak (Malaysian Media Club Coalition)
- Mariah Airens Doksil (Sabah Journalists Association)
- Mohd Ishak Abdillah Ngah (Terengganu Journalists Club)
- Adie Suri Zulkefli (Kedah Elite Media Club)
General Public and NGOs category
- Zaharom Nain
- Terence Ooi Guan Tseng
- Cynthia Lorraine Silva
- Medina Mahmood
— Bernama
