Two months sufficient for pro tem committee to submit proposed Media Council Bill — Kadir

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 16): The two-month period given to the Malaysian Media Council pro tem committee is sufficient for it to come up with proposals for the Bill on it, said media personality Datuk A Kadir Jasin.

He said it was not a short period of time as most of the members of the pro tem committee formed today had already been involved in the discussion on setting up the MMC more than a year ago.

“Most of them sitting there have already been involved in the discussions. There are already almost 10 proposals, they just have to be compiled.

“We have already set up the pro tem committee, we will have something to show at the end of this year,” he told Bernama after appearing as a guest on the television programme ‘The Nation’ at Wisma Bernama today.

He said the reason for setting up the council was to improve the level of journalism and the media, maintain or increase public faith in the mass media, and to resolve disputes between the media and society.

Kadir said as part of the effort to set up the MMC, the implications on existing laws must also be looked at as on its own, the council cannot guarantee media freedom because there are laws and regulations which relate to the media, including its freedom.

He said the council cannot promote and ensure media freedom if certain acts such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act are not abolished or amended.

“The media is not just subject to Acts aimed at it but also to many other laws and regulations which concern all the people and has a big impact on the media such as the Sedition Act 1948 and the Official Secrets Act 1972,” he said.

Kadir said in line with the promises made by the Pakatan Harapan, MMC is being set up to fulfill the pre-conditions for the media in Malaysia to be more free as there is no need for any party to interfere.

“The media council, directly and indirectly, will help bring back the faith of the people in the media, especially in the mainstream media,” he said.