Malaysian Media Council appoints founding board members

The Malaysian Media Council's (MMC) founding board members have been formally appointed today and have received their letters of appointment from the Communications Ministry.

The first annual general meeting (AGM) for the media council is scheduled for Nov 7 in Kuala Lumpur.

Apart from electing the new board, the AGM will also discuss a formal membership fee structure, an industry code of conduct and complaints mechanism, a budget as well as relevant by-laws of the council.

The council's launch represents the fruition of an initiative that originated more than 50 years ago.

First suggested in the 1970s, the idea for a self-regulatory mechanism within the media sector has met with various impediments over the decades, despite ongoing industry efforts to establish it.

The MMC, which is established under the MMC Act 2025, comprises representatives from media owners, media practitioners and non-media.

The following individuals have been appointed to the founding board:

Media owners:

• Phyllis Wong (Utusan Borneo)

• James Sarda (Sabah Publishing House)

• Premesh Chandran (Malaysiakini)

• Ashwad Ismail (Astro Awani)

Media professionals:

• Teh Athira Yusof (National Union of Journalists)

• Radzi Razak (Gerakan Media Merdeka)

• Ronnie Teo (Kuching Division Journalists Association)

• Muthameez Manan (Tamil Media Association)

Public interest representatives:

• Gayathry Venkiteswaran (University of Nottingham, Malaysia)

• Celine Lim (Save Rivers)

• Terence Ooi (Wiki Impact)

• Azmyl Yunor (Sunway University)

MMC membership

The founding board also announced that the MMC membership will open in early August and close at the end of September.

Applications can be submitted via the council’s official website, with a nominal fee of RM10.

Membership is open to media owners, professionals, as well as individuals and organisations involved in the media ecosystem, representing public interests.

“We recognise that the formation of the council is not a silver bullet. Building a credible, effective council that protects media independence and supports the viability of the industry requires a large, active, and committed membership.

“We invite all stakeholders to take ownership of this institution," interim chairperson Premesh said.

Geramm’s Radzi stated that the MMC's establishment would strengthen credible self-regulation whilst reaffirming journalism's crucial function in ensuring accountability and safeguarding the public's right to information.

Utusan Borneo and Borneo Post general manager Wong described the responsibility as enormous and expressed her encouragement at the collective commitment to maintaining media ethics and accountability even before the council's official launch.

For further enquiries, email: premeshchandran@gmail.com

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