PETALING JAYA: Anyone who has a grouse about media organisations, journalists and other journalism-related issues in the country can soon make a direct complaint to the Malaysian Media Council (MMM).
According to MMM secretary Radzi Razak (pic), the council is currently setting up an automated online portal for complaints – slated to begin next month – as part of its grievances-handling mechanism.
The complaints mechanism aims to provide a clearer avenue for addressing concerns about journalism, rather than relying on public pressure through social media as in the past.
“People always like to make everything viral (on social media) when they want something addressed.
“They don’t even know which agency they’re going to. There’s no fact-checking,” said Radzi.
He added that MMM’s web portal will introduce an automated complaints response mechanism after March 31 to make it easier for the public to lodge complaints.
MMM deputy chairperson Premesh Chandran said the council’s mechanism can provide a quick and direct response.
“If we use social media, it doesn’t result in getting any resolution,” he said.
As of now, people can e-mail the MMM secretariat about any problems in the media while the broader system is being developed.
“We will reply and we will try to solve it,” said Radzi.
MMM has already been addressing complaints e-mailed to them while the system is being set up, said Radzi, adding that to date they have closed 75% of the complaints received since February.
The council can also issue advisory statements on matters involving media conduct, including cases related to organisations that are not members of the council, he said.
“For something that involves someone who may not be our member, but they went against the Code of Conduct and we need to speak about it, we will release a statement advising on the matter.”
At the same time, under the planned framework, media organisations that are members of the council will maintain their own complaints channels.
Radzi said that the public can first raise their issues with the relevant media outlets before escalating the matter to the council if it remains unresolved.
Star Media Group chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng, who is a member of the media council board, said The Star already has a system in place to handle public complaints, though she noted complaints must fulfil certain criteria, as per the council’s rules.
She also said that currently, The Star’s complaints mechanism is spread out across different departments, depending on the nature of the complaints.
“There is a system and there are plans to improve it further. It’s just that now we need to consolidate to have a more comprehensive system in place. That’s where we are,” she said.
In cases where the issue involves member journalists whose organisations may not be immediately known, Radzi said the public can directly lodge their complaints with the council.
“If you know they are members and they are doing something that goes against our Code of Conduct – that’s accessible on our website, and you can complain straight to us” he said.
Ng also added that the council is fairly new, so it is crucial that people are made aware that “this is the place to go” for media-related issues.
“This body (MMM) was established for this, so this is the best place to do this.
“If we want to be self-regulating, then let’s be self-regulating,” she said.
The council plans to travel nationwide to promote their complaints mechanism to the public after the Hari Raya celebrations, said Radzi.
