Media council bill falls short of true press freedom, says Bar

 

The Malaysian Bar has long maintained that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 should be repealed, saying it is an ‘affront’ to the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.

PETALING JAYA: 

The Malaysian Media Council (MMC) Bill passed last week falls short of ensuring genuine media independence and its vague provisions can stifle press freedom, according to the Malaysian Bar.

In a statement, its president, Ezri Abdul Wahab, said the bill, which aims to introduce self-regulation within the media industry, is a step forward but remains undermined by laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA).

“The absolute discretion granted to the home minister to issue, revoke or suspend publishing permits under the PPPA renders any attempt at independent media regulation meaningless,” he said, adding that this contradicts the principle of self-regulation.

He said history has shown that such powers have, on occasion, impacted media freedom, as seen in the suspension of The Heat in 2013.

Ezri Abdul Wahab.

“More recently, reports that the government is considering amendments to the PPPA to impose further restrictions on media coverage of race, religion and royalty only reinforce concerns that the media in Malaysia is not independent,” he said.

Due to that, Ezri said the Malaysian Bar has long maintained that the PPPA should be repealed, calling it an “affront” to the freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution.

He said a major concern in the MMC Bill was its failure to define critical terms such as “ethical and responsible journalism” and “media independence”, leaving them open to abuse and arbitrary interpretation.

On content regulation, the council would have the power to create a code of conduct, but Ezri warned that without clear guidelines, it could impose restrictions on what qualifies as “unethical” reporting.

“The bill does not adequately address emerging issues such as AI-generated disinformation and deepfake content which pose serious risks to media integrity,” he added.

While the bill bars political party members from serving as the chairman of the council, Ezri called for this restriction to extend to all board members and key positions to prevent the council from becoming a tool of political control.

Moving forward, Ezri said the media council should establish an efficient and cohesive framework for the industry to have complete autonomy and self-governance.

He said the path forward for the council is clear – to work towards repealing the PPPA, ensuring freedom from political interference and guaranteeing full autonomy in its operations. - FMT