A group of mainstream print journalists, concerned with declining confidence of the public in their credibility, is preparing a special report to the Home Ministry on the proposal to set up a National Press Council to regulate the local press.

Such a council, they hoped, will also strengthen their demand for the repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), which among other things, requires the annual renewal of all newspaper's publication permit (popularly referred to as the KDN, acronym for Kementerian Dalam Negeri).

An informal committee, initially comprising six senior newspapers journalists, hopes to complete the report in a few months for submission to Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, committee spokesperson Zainon Ahmad told malaysiakini today. The six met with Abdullah yesterday to follow up on a journalists' petition calling for press freedom last year.

Zainon described Abdullah's agreement to look at the press council proposal as well as his ministry's review of the PPPA as "some gains" in the journalists' campaign to regain the public trust and promote greater press freedom.

"We will use as models the press councils in Thailand, the Philippines, Australia and Britain. Britain's Press Complaints Commission has been very established and highly successful," he added.

During yesterday's call on Abdullah, the journalists presented a second batch of 370 signatures by journalists to add to the first petition handed in last May 3 - to mark World Press Freedom Day - which consisted of 581 signatures to a memorandum calling for the repeal of the PPPA.

Zainon reported that other legislation like the Official Secrets Act, Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act, although also imposing constraints on the journalism profession and its practitioners, was not discussed with the home minister.

"We hope as a first step, the press council can be set up quickly, while concurrently we are also carrying on with our campaign to have the PPPA repealed," Zainon said.

The group had requested for the meeting yesterday with Abdullah, who is also Home Minister, as they had not received any response to their memorandum to date.

The memorandum stated that questions had been raised about the media's credibility, not just by the opposition parties and long-time critics of the establishment, but by ordinary members of the public.

"Troubling still are accusations that local journalists are merely a part of the government's propaganda machine and not professionals performing their duties to the best of their ability. Such accusations cast a slur on a noble profession meant to serve public interest," the memorandum added.

"We further note that this perception, rightly or wrongly, has resulted in more and more people turning to alternative sources of information, namely, the Internet, foreign news reports as well as opposition party publications such as Harakah."

The group also noted that "the government has understood the necessity of the Internet remaining uncensored and has avoided over-regulating cyberspace, realising such curtailments would only hinder the country's objective of becoming a regional centre of information" and hoped such understanding could be extended to mainstream media by abolishing the PPPA.