KUALA LUMPUR – The founding board of the Malaysia Media Council (MMC) is expected to be established by the time the National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) 2025 is observed in June, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi, who is also the spokesman for the Madani Government, said the Malaysia Media Council Bill 2024 was passed in the Dewan Negara today, marking a historic milestone towards establishing a more democratic, free and ethical media landscape in the country, Bernama reported.
“The next step is to obtain the royal assent from His Majesty the King before it comes into force. We expect that by Hawana (2025), the founding board of MMC can be formed, and the process of establishing the council can be expedited.
“Alhamdulillah, I believe we will be able to ensure efforts to enhance the credibility of media practitioners, with the MMC itself setting high standards and governance,” he said during his weekly press conference here today.
Fahmi reiterated the Madani Government’s commitment to empowering the media industry in Malaysia by safeguarding media freedom while ensuring responsible, accurate and ethical dissemination of information to the public.
The Bill was passed in the Dewan Rakyat on February 26.
The legislation paves the way for the establishment of a self-regulatory body to protect media freedom and uphold journalistic ethics, further strengthening Malaysia’s media industry.
This year’s Hawana celebration, to be held in the federal capital, will serve as a platform to bring together media organisations from across Asean to strengthen ties and cooperation while addressing current challenges in the media industry.
Media practitioners from Asean will be invited to participate in several programmes in conjunction with Malaysia’s Asean Chairmanship this year.
Earlier today, the Dewan Negara passed the Bill, which was tabled for the second reading by Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching. The Bill was passed by a majority voice vote after being debated by 17 Senators.
When winding up the debate, Teo said a code of conduct must be approved at the MMC’s annual general meeting to allow the council to establish its own regulations without government interference.
“We want to empower the media council. We believe it can self-regulate, and therefore, we will grant it the authority to approve its own code of conduct, including procedures for handling grievances,” she said. – March 19, 2025