Why despite having Malaysian Media Council, the cops, MCMC, politicians still wielding the stick?

THE past few weeks have been eventful for the Malaysian media.

A journalist from Free Malaysia Today (prior to his eventual resignation) was hauled up by the cops in the middle of the night over a question which is said to have carried racial overtones at a lecture on Gaza which featured British politician George Galloway.

Top guns from Malaysiakini went to the UMNO general assembly to apologise to the party president over inaccurate social media visuals it had posted on its official account.

Sinar Harian posted an apology over an erroneously-heard “Hidup Anwar” chant at the recent 2025 UMNO annual general assembly following complaints from UMNO leaders.

China Press landed in hot soup after mis-translating the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s speech, triggering a probe by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

To be fair, most of the lapses were not intentional and in fact, had been rectified or withdrawn swiftly. It’s the likes of “social justice warriors” such as rightist UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh or Muslim convert preacher Firdaus Wong Wai Hung who amplify the mistakes that draw the attention of the multitudes.

Which brings us to the Malaysian Media Council. In fact, the council’s Code of Conduct was to have taken effect this year.

‘Judged by your peers’

But in all the major controversies that have plagued the media in the past two weeks or so, it’s the authorities like the police, MCMC and sometimes politicians who wield the stick.

Rightfully, the council is supposed to be the “adult” among the media, hence shouldering the task of admonishing, disciplining and advising errant members of the media.

But it looks like the council is “invisible” as far as the police, MCMC, politicians and the public at large are concerned. The idea that they should bring their grievances to the council never crossed their minds.

Imagine aggrieved parties by-passing the Malaysian Bar Council when complaining against errant lawyers. Whatever happened to the idea of being judged by your peers in the Malaysian media?

Perhaps the council – being new – is still finding its footing. And parties like the police and MCMC are not used to having to go through the Malaysian Media Council or may have forgotten that it exists in the first place.

On top of that, not all media organisations come under the council’s umbrella. These days, anyone with some knowledge on WordPress and access to the Internet can claim to be a news provider. This creates a vacuum.

But the uncomfortable truth is that while we may have the Malaysian Media Council, we have not gotten used to it being the obvious first stop when things go wrong. And that some publishers, especially online outlets, fall between the cracks.

This brings us to a larger question: Is the Malaysian Media Council a toothless tiger and if not, how else can we further empower it in an era where the media landscape is evolving faster than the rules meant to govern the Fourth Estate? –  Focus Malaysia