THE Pakatan Harapan government is considering restructuring the ownership structure of Malaysian mainstream media companies by limiting the shareholding of political parties and other entities, including private companies, organisations or individuals to 10%, said sources.

The move is in line with Putrajaya’s pledge to reform and accord greater freedom to the media.

“The shareholding cap was suggested by Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) himself,” said a source with knowledge of the proposal.

Another PH source confirmed that the proposal has been raised in several of the coalition’s meetings, but said he was unsure if the proposal has been presented to the cabinet.

In its May 9 election manifesto, PH pledged to review all laws that are a threat to media freedom.

Multimedia and Communications Minister Gobind Singh Deo said on Tuesday that the ministry was in the midst of discussing a mechanism to limit political ownership of media companies.

“(The) government will decide after I present the paper to the cabinet,” he told BFM radio.

The issue of ownership of the media must be resolved and that the government must put into place policies that ensure that media agencies can be free from political influence, he said.

“To do this, I think we need to amend the laws and remove those influences,” he said.

Media lecturer V. Gayathry said removing political influence from media companies was the right step towards a more independent media, but said it would be more challenging than merely limiting shareholdings.

“The implementation will be far more complex than just setting a limit (of shares),” said the lecturer at the University of Nottingham Malaysia.

“In Malaysia, we have direct ownership by political parties and also the use of political party and state financial instruments to invest in the media.”

Umno controls 49.77% of Utusan Melayu Berhad group, the company that publishes Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo!, while Nilam Setar (M) Sdn Bhd, which belongs to businessman Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhari, is the second largest shareholder at 14.76%.

Umno also has a 19.05% share stake in the Media Prima Berhad group, the largest media conglomerate in Malaysia, via its companies Gabungan Kesturi Sdn Bhd and Altima Inc.

MCA’s Huaran Holdings owns English daily The Star and Chinese-language Nanyang Siang Pau, which are two of the best-selling newspapers in the country.

MCA’s stake is 43.03% in the Star Media Group, while 32.57% is owned by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the National Equity Corporation (PNB), Amanah Raya Berhad and Lembaga Tabung Haji.

For Putrajaya’s plan to work, all politician and their proxies – and not just political parties – must reveal their relationship and interests in media companies, said Gayathry, who once headed the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (Seapa) and the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ).

She also said the government has to be very clear on the new ruling, if it comes into force, such as clarifying if the share cap was only confined to public-listed companies, or if it applied to all media companies, including those that also produce news, entertainment and advertising.

Laws pertaining to ownership in media companies also needed to be reviewed, including the Companies Act, Securities Commission Act, Communications and Multimedia Act, she said.

“Instead of such percentage limits (share ownership), there should be clearer rules on preventing monopolies and state control of the media.

“For a start, remove RTM from the control of the government and repeal laws, such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, so that there are no barriers to anyone who wants to publish.” – September 6, 2018.