PUTRAJAYA, Feb 20: A bill that will enable press freedom in the country is in its final phase, according to Communications Minister, Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the process to establish the Malaysian Media Council (MMC) Bill, has taken some time due to consultations with the Attorney General’s Chambers and it needed to be considered and decided upon by the cabinet.
“It will be concluded in the not-too-distant future.
“This is one of the several media-related bills to safeguard the welfare of media practitioners in the country and we urge the Information Department (JaPen) to initiate programmes that could benefit the said group,” said Fahmi during the launch of the Malaysian Code of Ethics for Journalist here, today.
According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Human Resources, there are a total of 9,750 media accreditation cardholders in Malaysia and more than half of them are freelance journalists.
“I have had a meeting with the minister (Steven Sim Chee Keong) and we want to ensure that the welfare of freelance journalists are also taken care of, especially through the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso).
“The welfare aspects of EPF and, Perkeso are under consideration. I need some time to discuss the matter with the secretary-general of the Ministry of Communications, Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa… there is some positive news for stringers. Just give us a little time,” Fahmi added.
He then called on JaPen to assess the suitability of extending the validity period of media accreditation cards for international media practitioners, currently requiring annual renewal, in contrast to the two-year validity period for local media.
The matter was also considered as many Malaysians are also involved in providing news for international news hubs but are based locally. – TVS
