The Information Department said it is currently in the process of reviewing standard operating procedures (SOP) for issuing media cards, including the period of validity.
It said this is following an instruction from Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil to do so when the Information Department launched the Media Code of Ethics on Feb 20.
It said the review will also affect validity terms for media cards issued to foreign media and journalists working with local online publications.
“This streamlining process will take some time. However, media practitioners can still renew media cards which have expired,” it said in a statement.
This comes after Malaysiakini reported that the Information Department had quietly slashed the validity period of media cards issued to journalists working with online media this year.
Some, including Malaysiakini journalists, were issued cards with one-year validity while others, like journalists of news website Twentytwo13, received cards with just six-month validity.
On its website, the Information Department said media cards for online journalists have a validity of two years while cards issued to foreign media are valid for one year.
Some of the journalists who got media cards with shorter validity periods received their cards before Feb 20, when the Information Department said it received the instructions to review the SOP.
Sources within the Information Department told Malaysiakini the differing validity period for media cards issued to online journalists this year is temporary until the SOP review is completed in the next two months.
“The review is not looking at reducing the validity terms. That is not the intention.
“We’re looking at enhancing it further, not making it more difficult (to get a media card) or shortening the validity period,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because civil servants cannot make media statements without authorisation.
‘Form of control’
The media cards are essential for journalists as they allow access to key events like press conferences at the police headquarters Bukit Aman, the Prime Minister’s Office, or parliamentary sittings.
Media freedom advocates Gerakan Media Merdeka said this could be perceived as a form of control to hinder journalists and media outlets from performing their duties.
Arbitrary decisions on the validity of media cards for online media is reminiscent of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, which gives the home minister sole discretion to revoke print permits, required for print newspapers to publish.
Over the decades, the PPPA has been used to curtail press freedom, including revoking print permits or issuing show cause letters to media bosses, forcing the publications to toe the official line. - Mkini
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