Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and Gerakan Media Merdeka say that the government could adopt more significant approaches.
CIJ executive director Wathshlah Naidu said any briefing would be a form of preventive education as it would create a uniform understanding of, in this case, the protocols on the use and significance of the Jalur Gemilang.
“While a briefing is useful, it is more critical for the government to take a progressive position and stop the overboard legal actions against the media organisation and its staff,” she told FMT.
And while Geramm director Radzi Razak welcomed the plan to hold media briefings, he said it would be better to encourage continuous editorial training, internal checks, and space for accountability without fear of criminalisation or intimidation.
Both Wathshlah and Radzi called for the setting up of the Malaysian Media Council to be expedited.
Wathshlah said it was more critical to speed up the establishment of the MMC and get the body to create the necessary grievance mechanisms and develop ethical guidelines on emerging issues.
Radzi said the council could serve as a platform for best practices, ethical discourse, and constructive resolutions between the media, government, and the public.
“Empowering this body would be far more sustainable than ad hoc briefings,” he said when contacted.
Wathshlah and Radzi were commenting on communications minister Fahmi Fadzil’s statement on Thursday that his ministry will conduct a briefing in response to Sin Chew’s error in depicting the Jalur Gemilang without the crescent moon in a graphic image on the front page of its paper this week.
The gaffe led to brickbats and a police probe as well as a rebuke by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, who said Sin Chew’s mistake was unacceptable and that the news outlet should have been more vigilant.
The controversy also led to the suspension of its chief editor Chan Aun Kuang and deputy chief sub-editor Tsai Shwu San.
Wathshlah said it was important for the government to present a narrative which would educate the public and “silence the avenging politicians”, acknowledging that while an error had been made, Sin Chew had apologised and taken corrective steps.
Radzi said any investigation or response should be proportionate, transparent, and not punitive.
“Mistakes, especially those that are editorial and non-malicious, should be approached through open dialogue, and not through arrests or excessive action.”
Low Boon Tat, a vice-president of the National Union of Journalists, said the government and the media should sit down and discuss a solution.
He said Sin Chew’s gaffe had even led to some politicians trying to capitalise on the matter, despite the daily issuing a public apology. “We hope for a win-win solution.”