Media council bill to be tabled by March

The bill for the establishment of the Malaysian Media Council (MMC) is expected to be tabled in Parliament by March next year, said Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

As of now, he said the process required a memorandum to be submitted to the Cabinet.

“We have to go through that process first, subsequently through the AGC (Attorney-General's Chambers) and then to Parliament.

"We hope that before the end of the year either in the October session or February or March 2024 session, the bill can be tabled," he told the media after his ministry’s monthly gathering yesterday.

On May 3, Fahmi was reported as saying that the government was looking into several bills relating to the media, including the draft bill for the formation of the MMC in a bid to ensure press freedom in the country.
 
He said the MMC draft bill was currently in the discussion stage among media organisations, related companies and media practitioners' associations.

Meanwhile, regarding the data leakage incident involving Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Fahmi said the personal data protection department (JPDP) has contacted the university to ensure that UiTM fills out the data leakage notification form and would give its cooperation in several matters.

"I understand that JPDP should be getting the information today. So far I have not received any updates but I hope we can identify what happened and prevent a recurrence," he said.

He said priority should be given to amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act to ensure that data holders understand the important aspects of data storage and data management as well as to be more careful and organised in the future.