KUALA LUMPUR: Minister of Communications, Datuk Fahmi Fadzil today announced that the Founding Board of the Malaysian Media Council (MMC) has been finalised.
He said the Founding Board would comprise 12 people, with four representatives for each category, namely the media company category, category for media association, media practitioners and independent media practitioners as well as the non-media member category.
“MMC will be making the announcement soon,” he said when speaking at the National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) 2025 Summit at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) here today.
Themed “Journalism in the New Era: Embracing AI, Safeguarding Ethics”, the summit, attended by about 1,000 media practitioners from home and abroad, was officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching.
Also present were Ministry of Communications secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, Bernama chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, Bernama editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, cum director of HAWANA 2025 Project, along with top management of national media companies.
Fahmi was previously reported to have said that MMC is expected to be established and play its role starting the middle of this year after the Malaysian Media Council (MMC) Bill 2024 was passed in Parliament in February.
MMC will act as a self-regulatory body that protects media freedom and ensures that journalistic ethics are adhered to, thus empowering the media industry in Malaysia.
The HAWANA 2025 celebration, organised by the Ministry of Communications with Bernama as the implementing agency, aims to recognise the role and contribution of media practitioners in national development.
May 29 was gazetted as National Journalists’ Day in conjunction with the publication of the first edition of Utusan Melayu newspaper on May 29, 1939, to celebrate the contributions of industry players who are the medium in shaping the minds of an informed society.
