Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Media Council (MMC) will serve not only as a regulatory body, but also a key support system for local media agency and practitioners to safeguard the industry amidst rapid technological advancements. MMC pro-tem committee chairman Premesh Chandran said industry players should view the Council’s framework as a form of strategic collaboration, rather than merely a regulatory mechanism. He emphasised that its focus should be on empowering the industry to function effectively, rather than solely on punitive measures.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, speaking as a panelist at HAWANA 2025 Media Forum, Chandran agreed with the panelists that the media must be accountable for the content it produces, and MMC will ensure a fair and balanced measure for a more conducive industry. ‘The goal is to help the media industry thrive as it plays its role in informing society, holding the government accountable, and ensuring that the society is knowledgeable and well-informed, so that we can make sound decisions about our democracy and policies. So, can the Media Council achieve that? That is the ultimate objective, to support the media industry in doing good work while ensuring its long-term sustainability as I think the biggest constraint many of us face today is financial limitations,’ he said during the HAWANA 2025 Media Forum titled ‘Malaysian Media Council: Regulator or Media Protector?’ held today.
The session was also joined by Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) executive director Wathshlah G Naidu, Star Media Group senior news editor Philip Golingai, and International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, International Islamic University Malaysia (ISTAC-IIUM) Professor Datuk Ahmad Murad Merican. Moderated by Bernama TV anchor and broadcast journalist Jessy Chahal, the forum was attended by more than 250 journalists, media practitioners, academicians, and students.
Also present were Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) president Datuk Yong Soo Heong, MPI chief executive officer Ainol Amriz Ismail, Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, and Bernama editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, who is also the project director for HAWANA 2025.
Sharing the same sentiment, Wathshlah opined that MMC should not function solely as a regulatory body but also serve as a mechanism to rebuild public trust in the media by promoting media literacy and ethical journalism. Wathshlah said the Media Council should be seen as a body that balances support and accountability, playing a critical role in ensuring media sustainability while also holding media organisations accountable, not just internally but to the public as well.
The media council formation has been a long-standing discussion among media stakeholders in Malaysia, aimed at promoting self-regulation and press freedom while improving media standards. The HAWANA 2025 Forum, jointly organised by Bernama and MPI, also serves as an important platform for the pro-tem committee of the MMC to voice their views on the direction of the industry post the approval of the Malaysian Media Council Bill 2024 (MMM 2024) in Parliament last February. HAWANA 2025, the largest gathering of Malaysian media practitioners, themed ‘Journalism in the New Era: Embracing AI, Safeguarding Ethics’, is organised by the Ministry of Communications through Bernama as the implementing agency.