Council pro tem committee chairman Premesh Chandran said the draft bill, along with a report that sets out the establishment of the council via a parliamentary act, was submitted on Aug 3.
The committee will now meet Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah on Sept 11 to further discuss the matter.
Premesh said the pro tem committee also anticipates a period of discussion and feedback before the council can be finally established.
“When the proposal is presented, there will be a feedback mechanism with the involvement of the Attorney-General’s Chambers as well as other relevant ministries such as the home ministry.
“We anticipate a period of discussion with the government, but we are keen to know whether in principle the current government is in favour of the media council or they have some other views,” he told Bernama.
The report and draft bill is open for public review and comments at mediacouncil.my (English version) and majlismedia.my (Bahasa Malaysia version).
According to Premesh, the proposed bill also recommends that all members of the media industry be entitled to be members of the council. Membership will also be open to members of the public who are concerned about the media.
“We are recommending the formation of a council via membership so that those who are publishers, media owners, media practitioners as well as those outside the media, including public interest groups like NGOs, can join us,” he added.
Elaborating on the report submitted, Premesh said it also comes with a recommendation for the amendment and abolition of certain laws that are currently restricting media freedom.
“We feel that in order to create media self-regulation, certain laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 as well as the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 need to be amended,” he said.
Premesh said apart from enhancing media freedom, the setting up of the council has a broader purpose, especially in tackling industry issues as a whole.
“Beyond looking at the regulatory aspects, we also need to recognise that the industry is in financial trouble and we can see a lot of retrenchments and other issues.
“So in order for us to safeguard the health of the industry, it is prudent that the media council is formed for us to tackle the issues of sustainability, together with others,” he added.