THE PROPOSED Malaysian Media Council (MMC) cannot be set up yet due to differences in opinion among media practitioners in the country, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said however, efforts to ensure such a council was set up soon, would go on and implemented upon receiving an unanimous decision from all media practitioners.
“In this context, there is no urgency to discuss the matter in Parliament.
“We hope to first receive views, feedback and recommendations from media practitioners on its formation,” he told the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday when replying to a question by Mohd Nizar Zakaria (BN-Parit) on the need for such a council.
He said the formation of the council would be a platform and forum to forge goodwill and relationship between then government and the media through formulated meetings three times a year.
Rais said the MMC would also be a medium for both the government and the media to discuss and share ideas and plan the development and transformation of the media.
“The setting up of the council is expected to comprise all the government industries involved or related to the media, including print, electronic, new media, internet, bloggers, media organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs),” he said. — Bernama