Bill on media council to be tabled in Parliament next year

KUCHING (Dec 19): A Bill on the formation of a media council would be tabled at the first session of Parliament next year, said federal Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.

She said the first session in 2024 could either be in February or in March.

“The efforts to set up the media council was mooted about 40 years ago but since then, there had been no progress until a pro tem committee was formed in 2019 when Gobind Singh was the then-minister of communications and multimedia,” said Teo during the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak’s ‘Pre-Christmas cum Media Night’ at a hotel here on Monday, where DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen was also present.

Chong is Stampin MP and Padungan assemblyman.

Adding on, Teo cited the 2020 ‘Sheraton Move’ upheaval as one of the causes for the delay in the formation of the media council.

She said the then-Perikatan Nasional (PN) government did not put the media council as an item on its top agenda.

The proposal cropped up again when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim helmed the Unity Government, and also when Fahmi Fadzil was appointed Minister of Communications, and she herself appointed as the deputy minister of this portfolio recently.

Gobind was appointed the Digital Minister.

Teo said she had re-engaged with the pro tem committee on regular basis and she even chaired their meeting several times.

“At the moment, the draft of the Bill is with us. It has been agreed upon by the pro tem committee and the Communications Ministry. The next step is for us to engage with various other ministries and government agencies.

“Once we have their feedback, we would bring them up to the Federal Cabinet for the greenlight to get the Bill on Media Council to the Parliament,” Teo said.

Also present were Mas Gading MP Mordi Bimol, Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong and several special assistants to Chong and DAP Youth chief Dr Kelvin Yii, who is Bandar Kuching MP.

However, Dr Yii did not attend the event.