Malaysian Media Council urges restraint over journalist question row

KUCHING (Jan 15): The Malaysian Media Council (MMM) has urged all parties to exercise restraint and for cooler heads to prevail over Free Malaysia Today (FMT) journalist’s question at a public lecture that allegedly had racial overtones.

The council said in a statement that questioning experts, public figures, and stakeholders in public or open settings is a legitimate and well-established journalistic practice.

“Concerns regarding journalistic conduct should be addressed through professional, proportionate, and constructive channels, rather than through public vilification or punitive reactions directed at individuals,” MMM said.

As an independent statutory body established to uphold media standards and accountability, MMM said it was ready to offer its good offices to facilitate dialogue or mediation between the parties concerned, should this be appropriate.

It acknowledged the steps taken by FMT to address the issue and to publicly account for its handling of the situation, in line with principles of transparency and editorial responsibility.

The council also strongly condemned all forms of doxxing, harassment, intimidation, and threats against journalists.

“Such actions place media practitioners at risk, violate their privacy, safety and basic human rights, and undermine the fundamental role of journalism in a democratic society.

“No journalist should be subjected to personal harm or intimidation, regardless of disagreement over their work,” it said.

At the same time, MMM underscored the importance of journalists upholding critical thinking in their reporting, including in the framing of questions and narratives.

“Such critical inquiry must be grounded in thorough preparation, in-depth research, and careful analysis of the issues being covered.”

Equally important, MMM emphasised that the responsibility for maintaining these standards does not rest solely on individual journalists, but on newsrooms and media organisations themselves.

“This includes providing proper training, guidance, and a strong editorial culture that supports responsible journalism while avoiding a climate of fear or self-censorship among journalists,” the council said.

On Wednesday, FMT issued a public apology and an explanation after one of its reporters posed a question during a public lecture that was believed to have carried racial overtones.

The media organisation said the incident occurred during a public lecture featuring United Kingdom politician George Galloway titled ‘Gaza Exposes the Complicity of International Actors’ held on Monday.