A media veteran today questioned the government's seriousness in keeping its promise to the press on a proposal to set up a National Press Council.

Karangkraf Group executive editorial adviser Abdul Jalil Ali told reporters that the idea for an independent press council was mooted since the time of second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein in 1973.

"But it (the proposal) has been like a game of tug of war between media and the government," said Abdul Jalil when met on the sidelines of a Malaysian Press Institute forum held at the Royale Chulan Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.