Review media licencing laws: Suhakam workshop
The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) press freedom workshop, attended by journalists, editors and government representatives, called for a review of the licensing regime of publications as a first step to the eventual repeal of the restrictive printing law.
Participants proposed an automatic approval and renewal of publishing permits to replace the existing annual licencing system.
Referring to Section 12 and 13A of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, the 30 media practitioners wanted the government to also restore judicial review to the home affairs minister's decision to ban publications.
Currently, the home affairs minister's decision cannot be challenged by the court.
The participants also wanted the government to review the Official Secrets Act 1972. This included a clear definition of what constitutes "official secrets" and re-examining the mandatory sentence of at least one-year imprisonment relating to offences under the act.
These were among the proposals, reached at the first ever media gathering of top government officers and media practitioners, which will form the basis of the human rights watchdog's recommendations to Parliament.
The one-day workshop was officiated by Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman, who also delivered the keynote address, with several commissioners in attendance.
The panelists comprised Deputy Home Affairs Minister Chor Chee Heung, Information Ministry parliamentary secretary Zainuddin Maidin, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia mass communications lecturer Dr Mohd Safar Hasim, malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan and alternative media spokesperson Ahmad Lutfi Othman.
Code of ethics
Another recommendation from the workshop was for an independent and impartial media council to regulate the media industry.
The council is also tasked to promote a code of ethics to improve the standards of the journalistic profession.
Another proposal was for the courts, when awarding damages in defamation cases, to take into consideration of their impact on press freedom.
The workshop also recommended for the enactment of a Freedom of Information Act to ensure that the citizens' right to know is respected.
It also called for press tags to be issued all bona fide practitioners including those in online media, and the training of journalists, broadcasters and other media professionals to ensure effective and responsible reporting.
The workshop concurred that there was a need to strike a balance between the need to preserve national security, national interest and racial harmony, and media freedom.
Earlier at the start of the morning session, Chor said that the government would consider the recommendations made at the workshop.
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