Press bosses to silently protest against Putrajaya’s media council plan

By Clara Chooi

July 22, 2011

Joint chairmen Raise Yatim (left) and Hishamuddin Hussein.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Several media heads are expected to protest against Putrajaya’s proposal to form a Media Consultative Council (MCC) by snubbing a meeting next week to discuss the body’s terms of reference.

The Information, Communication and Culture Ministry has sent letters inviting numerous media organisations to attend the inaugural meeting at the historic Sultan Abdul Samad complex here on Monday afternoon.

But a source told The Malaysian Insider that instead of attending the meeting themselves, several media chiefs have agreed to show their protest by sending junior editors.

It is believed that the heads, including those from Barisan Nasional-controlled media, fear that the council will only impose further restrictions on press freedom.

According to the ministry’s letter, sighted by The Malaysian Insider, the proposed MCC will be jointly chaired by Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

Its members are to include representatives from the government, print, electronic and new media organisations and selected non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Among those invited are mainstream media organisations such as state news agency Bernama, Utusan Malaysia, Astro TV, Media Prima stations such as TV3, NTV7, TV8, TV9, Hot FM, Fly FM and One FM, AMP Radio Network, AlHijrah Media Corporation, Suara Johor, Star RFM, and Husa Network.

Others include all newspapers under the NSTP group such as New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro, Karangkraf media groups like Sinar Harian, The Star newspaper,The Sun, The Edge, Malay Mail, Makkal Osai, Tamil Nesan, Sin Chew Jit Poh, Malaysia Nanban, Kwong Wah Yit Poh, China Press, Nanyang Siang Pau, Sarawak Press, See Hua Daily and United Daily News.

All newspapers have to seek an annual publishing permit while broadcasters are controlled by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Blog House Malaysia will be the sole representative for “new media”. The three NGOs are Malaysian Press Institute, National Union of Journalists Malaysia, and Persatuan Penerbit Majalah.

Alternative online news portals such as The Malaysian Insider, Malaysiakini, Free Malaysia Today, Malaysia Today or Merdeka Review have not been invited, although they are accredited by the Information Department.

The ministry’s letter came with a proposal paper for the MCC. It details the council’s terms of reference, to be discussed at the meeting. These include its roles, objectives, functions, membership and activities.

The suggested roles include fostering a “participative and engaging” cooperation between the government and the media; strengthening journalistic ethics, social responsibility and spirit of patriotism; setting the direction for media growth; and development and protecting press freedom “according to the law”.

The key objectives include ensuring all MCC members share the responsibility of “protecting and supporting” all matters of national importance, ensuring that media development grows in tandem with current trends, and ensuring that in protecting its independence, the media must also exercise its duties and responsibilities to the people and the country.

The proposal outlined five functions:

1. To improve the management and sharing of information on government policies, programmes and community activities;

2. To discuss current issues and draw up communication plans to address them in an integrated and organised manner;

3. To improve efforts on educating and strengthening the people’s minds and spirit for the purpose of instilling a sense of patriotism and achieving developed-nation status;

4. To share information and feedback on how to improve the civil service sector;

5. To detect, address and eliminate all negative elements in protecting the Federal and state constitutions as well as the country’s integrity and sovereignty.