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KUALA LUMPUR: It is not neccessary to have a special council to regulate the media as it should be self-regulating, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“It is not necessary. It is up to the media. If you deal in a lot of rumour and speculation, then you will not sell newspapers,” he said on Wednesday after launching a school adoption programme between University of Teeside in Middlesbrough and SMK Aminuddin Baki.

He was asked to comment on Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar’s statement that the Government had started drafting a media policy and intended to set up a media council.

Syed Hamid did not state whether the current Printing Presses and Publications Act, which requires the media to apply for an annual permit, would be reviewed or repealed.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek told Bernama on Wednesday the proposed National Media Council (NMC) was not aimed at restricting press freedom but at ensuring a more transparent and responsible media in the country.

He said many countries had their own Press commissions or media councils because it was a better way to monitor the media.

"Some countries like the United Kingdom have press complaint commissions where people dissatisfied because they had been defamed or put in a bad light can seek remedy," he told reporters after attending his ministry's Aidilfitri open house at Angkasapuri. He said this when asked if the intention to establish the council was to restrict press freedom in the country.

On Monday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the council would be established soon to identify existing weaknesses to ensure better accuracy in reporting.

Ahmad Shabery said having the council would also put an end to the prevailing perception that if complaints were made about the government, it would take a long time before action was taken.

Ahmad Shabery said before the NMC was formed, his ministry would hold discussions with stakeholders to identify existing weaknesses so that appropriate remedial action could be taken. "This is a serious matter as it concerns how the Fourth Estate can be better supervised so that it is more transparent and responsible.

"When we say more responsible, we do not want to see only the agenda of certain groups being pushed forward and not the interests of all Malaysians," he said, adding that the models in countries like Australia and Britain would be studied before the matter was finalised.

He also said bloggers and Internet media practitioners must also be held responsible though the numbers abusing the medium was small.

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