A mass communications lecturer has suggested that representatives of civil society be included in any media council set up in Malaysia.

NONE Kiranjit Kaur of Universiti Teknologi Mara said this would help curb abuse of power, as has been alleged to be the case in the all-media UK Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

Speaking at a forum themed ‘Good governance and accountability’ in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Kiranjit referred to the phone-hacking scandal involving British tabloid News of the World as a case in point.

It is not enough for a self-regulatory body to comprise journalists alone, she said, explaining that it could end up being syiok sendiri (self-satisfied).

NONE theSun political editor Zainon Ahmad ( left ) agreed, saying there is a standing proposal that any such council should be chaired by a former judge, lawyer, teacher or business executive, among other candidates.

News of the World , owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, has been accused of breaching the privacy of 600 people by intercepting their voice mail messages.

This led to British Prime Minister David Cameron ordering the ‘Leveson Inquiry’ into the UK media culture, practice and ethics.

Its report was published last month, with a key recommendation being that the government should place limits on the press.

Noting that the UK media has rejected this proposal, Zainon also registered his objection to any such government intervention in the media in Malaysia.

He also called for plurality of the media, saying that members of the public could better judge the situation when they have access to a diversity of views. In turn, this would promote good governance.

Zainon called attention to mergers under conglomerate Media Prima Bhd, which now controls dailies in the New Straits Times Group, as well television stations including TV3 and ntv7, besides advertising agencies.

“This is a monopoly. This is never good,” he said.

NONE Responding to a question from the floor, in which doubts were expressed about the need for plurality, he said Malaysians were mature enough to accept it.

“Don’t underestimate the intelligence of Malaysians. I think we can,” he told the audience of some 200 people.

‘Politically motivated report'

Kiranjit called on the media to practise freedom with responsibility, criticising Umno-controlled daily Utusan Malaysia for a report on a sex scandal allegedly involving PKR deputy president Azmin Ali.

She said the report was politically motivated and a breach of privacy, and that there was no attempt to verify the authenticity of the photo that was circulated.

azlan Observing that younger journalists do not know what is required of them under the journalism code of ethics, Kiranjit cited the increasingly common practice of accepting cash gifts.

Zainon said journalists must reject bribes.

The other panellists were Radio-Television Malaysia deputy director-general Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus, Singapore academician Kalinga Seneviratne and local academician Roslan Ali.

The moderators were Bernama chief editor Yong Soo Heong and Information Ministry under-secretary Ismail Jamaluddin.