Dons: Media council plan a bid to combat dissent
Nigel AwPublished: Jul 27, 2011 1:15 AM | Updated: Jul 27, 2011 2:03 AM
The government’s proposed media consultative council is an attempt to combat “non-conformist” views especially in the alternative media, said media lecturer Zaharom Nain.
The government’s proposed media consultative council is an attempt to combat “non-conformist” views especially in the alternative media, said media lecturer Zaharom Nain.
“The online media are seen as being increasingly problematic,” he said when contacted.
The first meeting to discuss the council, led by the Information Ministry secretary-general Kamaruddin Siaraf, was held yesterday among the mainstream media with the sole representative of the online media coming from Blog House Malaysia.
However, several top editors from widely-read publications such as The Star, The Edge and Malay Mail were absent from the meeting.
Zaharom (right), an associate professor at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia campus, said that the council would serve as another layer of control and further erode public’s confidence among its members.
“Such greater control could indeed result in the mainstream media losing virtually all their credibility, having already lost much of it.
“Sometimes, I guess bad things need to die before good ones can emerge, in a manner of speaking,” he quipped.
Earlier media council also rejected
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) media professor Mohd Safar Hasim echoed Zaharom’s sentiments that the council may be perceived as a bid for greater control.
“Anything that appears to curtail that independence would not be viewed favourably.
“The world has changed a lot over the last few decades, especially with the advent of the Internet. This concept (of partnership) may no longer be relevant,” he said.
Mohd Safar (left), who co-authored a research paper on a previously mooted media council in 2002, explained that the new plan was very different from the previous one as the objective then had been to promote good practices with a view to increasing press freedom.
“The proposed number of members of that council (in 2002) was 25, with an eminent media personality as its chairperson and the majority of its members comprising of journalists and editors along with several members from NGOs and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).
“There were no government representatives except editors from Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) and national news agency Bernama,” he added.
Acknowledging the large government presence in the newly-mooted media council, Mohd Safar suggested that it be renamed as a ‘Media Consultative Forum’ instead.
It would be positive if the media could use it to convey their feelings to the government on various issues including the laws pertaining to media. It would not be positive if only the government prevailed in the council, he said.
However, Mohd Safar conceded then even in 2002, media practitioners had rejected the earlier media council as an additional mechanism of control and they had demanded that the restrictive printing and broadcasting laws be repealed first before the council can be set up.
‘Abolish anti-democratic laws’
Echoing this, Zaharom called on the government to abolish all laws which impeded journalistic duties.
“If they (the government) are serious, repeal the undemocratic laws first before even considering the setting-up of something as pathetic as this council,” he said.
Zaharom cited several laws that are creating an unhealthy environment for journalists, among them the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the Communications and Multimedia Act, and the Internal Security Act (ISA).
“There is an unhealthy and undemocratic environment already in existence. You throw in a media council headed by the information minister and home minister into the cauldron, then surely you can’t expect much in terms of greater freedom and healthy development of the media,” he said.
Zaharom stressed that a government-led or government-dominated media council would only worsen the country’s image in terms of press freedom.
The proposed consultative council will see some 20 government officials out of the over 80 representatives to the council.
According to the proposal, the purpose will be to create a “forum” for “harmonious” cooperation between the government and the media to ensure national interests are protected and upheld.
It also stated that the council will aim to “instill patriotism” and “guarantee press freedom in accordance with the law”.
“The online media are seen as being increasingly problematic,” he said when contacted.
The first meeting to discuss the council, led by the Information Ministry secretary-general Kamaruddin Siaraf, was held yesterday among the mainstream media with the sole representative of the online media coming from Blog House Malaysia.However, several top editors from widely-read publications such as The Star, The Edge and Malay Mail were absent from the meeting.
Zaharom (right), an associate professor at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia campus, said that the council would serve as another layer of control and further erode public’s confidence among its members.
“Such greater control could indeed result in the mainstream media losing virtually all their credibility, having already lost much of it.
“Sometimes, I guess bad things need to die before good ones can emerge, in a manner of speaking,” he quipped.
Earlier media council also rejected
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) media professor Mohd Safar Hasim echoed Zaharom’s sentiments that the council may be perceived as a bid for greater control.
“Anything that appears to curtail that independence would not be viewed favourably.
“The world has changed a lot over the last few decades, especially with the advent of the Internet. This concept (of partnership) may no longer be relevant,” he said.Mohd Safar (left), who co-authored a research paper on a previously mooted media council in 2002, explained that the new plan was very different from the previous one as the objective then had been to promote good practices with a view to increasing press freedom.
“The proposed number of members of that council (in 2002) was 25, with an eminent media personality as its chairperson and the majority of its members comprising of journalists and editors along with several members from NGOs and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).
“There were no government representatives except editors from Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) and national news agency Bernama,” he added.
Acknowledging the large government presence in the newly-mooted media council, Mohd Safar suggested that it be renamed as a ‘Media Consultative Forum’ instead.
It would be positive if the media could use it to convey their feelings to the government on various issues including the laws pertaining to media. It would not be positive if only the government prevailed in the council, he said.
However, Mohd Safar conceded then even in 2002, media practitioners had rejected the earlier media council as an additional mechanism of control and they had demanded that the restrictive printing and broadcasting laws be repealed first before the council can be set up.
‘Abolish anti-democratic laws’
Echoing this, Zaharom called on the government to abolish all laws which impeded journalistic duties.
“If they (the government) are serious, repeal the undemocratic laws first before even considering the setting-up of something as pathetic as this council,” he said.
Zaharom cited several laws that are creating an unhealthy environment for journalists, among them the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the Communications and Multimedia Act, and the Internal Security Act (ISA).“There is an unhealthy and undemocratic environment already in existence. You throw in a media council headed by the information minister and home minister into the cauldron, then surely you can’t expect much in terms of greater freedom and healthy development of the media,” he said.
Zaharom stressed that a government-led or government-dominated media council would only worsen the country’s image in terms of press freedom.
The proposed consultative council will see some 20 government officials out of the over 80 representatives to the council.
According to the proposal, the purpose will be to create a “forum” for “harmonious” cooperation between the government and the media to ensure national interests are protected and upheld.
It also stated that the council will aim to “instill patriotism” and “guarantee press freedom in accordance with the law”.
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