The establishment of the media council as an independent self-regulatory body involving various industry parties needs to be implemented immediately without further delay.

In a joint statement, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), the National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJM) and Gerakan Media Merdeka Malaysia (Geramm) stressed that the media council (self-regulatory to enforce a code of ethics) should be given a mandate to protect journalists legally, physically, economically and socially.

“Recognising the importance of the media and maintaining its...