PUTRAJAYA, March 26 – The Media Council Bill has been successfully passed in the Dewan Negara, marking a historic milestone for Malaysia’s media landscape, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil. The next step is to secure royal assent from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, after which the bill will be enforced.
Fahmi expressed optimism that the Malaysian Media Council’s founding board could be established before National Journalists’ Day in June, expediting the council’s formation. First proposed in 1974, the bill represents decades of efforts by press organizations to establish an independent, self-regulating media body, replacing the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
