Proposed press council a bad idea
A press ombudsman, instead of a press council, can better serve to protect the interests of an individual against a media corporation which has funds and legal experts at its disposal, a veteran media practitioner said today.
Hong Kong-based Society of Publishers in Asia chairperson Cyril D Pereira said the proposed press council appears to be a bad idea because it is about monitoring an already-controlled media.
"A press ombudsman is a better idea as it serves to protect the small man against a big media corporation.
"Furthermore, many press councils around the world have failed because they have no clout or true influence to do anything," he told malaysiakini after a seminar on "Journalists, Press Freedom and The Law" in Kuala Lumpur today.
About 60 participants, mostly lawyers, academicians and journalists, attended the day-long seminar jointly organised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Bar Council.
During the summing-up of the seminar, Pereira expressed disappointment over the presentation on the topic "Does Malaysia Need a Media Council?" because he said the panel of speakers did not have a "commonality of objectives".
The panel comprised Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia communications lecturers Dr Faridah Ibrahim and Dr Mohd Safar Hasim, and World Association of Press Councils secretary-general R Gunasingam.
A watchdog watching over another watchdog
The panel, apart from being unclear on the concept of the proposed media council, seemed to suggest that the body is more about monitoring journalists rather than improving professional standards.
The government, which recently announced a media council proposal, had commissioned the Malaysian Press Institute to prepare a report on it, said to be in respond to the sky-high defamation awards obtained against journalists and media companies in recent years. However, the trend is currently being reversed.
Mohd Safar, who was with Bernama for 12 years, explained that restrictive laws on the media "cannot be repealed just like that because it is like a booby trap, you cannot lift up your leg without replacing it with something of equal weight".
"This means that the laws will only be repealed once self-regulatory rules are in place."
Faridah, also a former journalist, categorised the proposed media council as "a watchdog watching over another watchdog" to improve and enhance professionalism and standards.
She said the media should be a go-between of the government and the masses, especially in a multi-ethnic society like Malaysia.
Abolish printing law
However, Pereira had a different opinion where he said that never in his 30 years in the publishing business he had seen a third party being instrumental in helping to improve and enhance the standards of the media industry.
The only way to achieve a high standard of professionalism is by the journalists themselves, and not any third party, he said.
Elaborating further, he said the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, which underpins all the restrictions faced by the Malaysian media, should be abolished.
"What ails the press today is the licensing laws which and manipulated grants of publishing rights.
"Until the PPPA is removed, all other discussions on improving the media, on education, on professionalism and any watchdog role are irrelevant."
Pereira said the main reason why any power structure would fear an independent media is the possibility that wrongdoings will be exposed, leading to the overthrow of the government.
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