Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on July 7 that complaints against journalists from recognised media organisations will no longer trigger automatic investigations or enforcement actions. Instead, such complaints must first be referred to the Malaysian Media Council (MMM) for review [1, 2, 3].
The new mechanism aims to ensure that actions against media practitioners are fair, transparent and independent. It is intended to prevent arbitrary investigations or prosecutions without proper scrutiny, the Prime Minister said [1, 2, 4, 3]. He added that journalists should not be penalised merely because a complaint has been lodged [1, 2, 4, 3].
The MMM is a self-regulatory body that reviews complaints on journalistic practice, media ethics, accuracy of reporting, right of reply, corrections, unfair media treatment, and matters of public interest. It performs these functions before any enforcement action is considered [4]. The council emphasised its role as an independent entity ensuring fair handling of media complaints [4].
Anwar highlighted that no law anywhere grants absolute media freedom and both journalists and the Prime Minister are bound by Malaysian law [1, 2, 3]. Government enforcement typically targets cases involving race, religion and royalty (3R) matters or other serious offenses, rather than political inaccuracies or factual errors [2]. He noted no journalists had been prosecuted over the past year despite many complaints being lodged [1, 3].
Complaints relating to untrue or inappropriate social media content may also be directed to the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) or the platforms themselves, who may take action when necessary [3]. The Prime Minister said he was unaware of reports that RTM’s logo was used without permission on a Facebook political livestream but said it could be investigated and corrected if true [1].
Prime Minister Anwar outlined the referral requirement in Parliament on July 7, the same day MMM issued a statement emphasizing its role as an independent regulator [1, 2, 4, 3]. The council's involvement introduces an additional layer of scrutiny to complaints against journalists before enforcement agencies may take action.
