KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysia Media Council (MMC) asserts that its efforts to champion responsible media ownership will be based on post-publication accountability, rather than imposing control over anyone who wishes to establish a media company.
This approach follows concerns regarding how easy it is for anyone with financial resources to establish a new news portal without any prior screening.
The Malaysia Media Council deputy chairman, Premesh Chandran, stated that it is difficult and inappropriate for the Media Council to assess in advance whether an owner will be ‘responsible’ or not before they publish any content.
“We can’t say, well you can have a company, and you cannot. Because media happens after the fact,” he explained, adding that it is impossible to know an owner’s potential responsibility beforehand.
Premesh made these remarks when he appeared as a guest on the latest episode of Trick Lama by PoDaBoom, a podcast produced by Big Boom Media, which also publishes Scoop.
Trick Lama is hosted by Big Boom Media Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Zainul Arifin Mohammed Isa; Group Executive Director, Datuk Ahirudin Attan (better known as Rocky Bru); and Group Editor-in-Chief, Terence Fernandez.
According to Premesh, who is also the founder of the bilingual portal Malaysiakini, the Media Council firmly upholds the principle of freedom of expression enshrined in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, which has been expanded by the courts to include the right to publish.
This statement also refers to the historic court case won by Malaysiakini against the Ministry under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), where the judge ruled that freedom of expression cannot be undermined by the requirement to obtain a pre-publication license.
Thus, the Media Council insists that they cannot enact regulations that contradict the Constitution by prohibiting anyone from establishing a media company.
“Once you have a company, what you publish can be scrutinised. If your publication is found to be irresponsible, that is where accountability begins,” he said.
This approach is considered a more effective way forward—to monitor and assess what is published rather than who is publishing.
Commenting on the welfare of journalists and media practitioners, which is also within the MMC’s scope, he clarified that the Council will not take over the role of unions such as the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).
“The employer-employee relationship is a contractual law issue that the Media Council cannot directly interfere with,” he said.
However, the MMC can play a role in highlighting complaints related to unpaid wages or welfare and holding discussions with the management to try and improve the situation.
He stressed that employees have rights, and if they are not paid, they must seek remedies through the normal channels under the current labour laws.
The Malaysia Media Council is an independent body established by the government as a self-regulation mechanism for the country’s media industry.
It was officially established on June 14, 2025, after the Malaysia Media Council Act 2024 was passed by Parliament and gazetted concurrently with the National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) 2025 celebration. – November 22, 2025