THE Malaysian Media Council Bill scheduled to be drafted next year will address, among others, issues related to online advertising revenue for media organisations. 

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said addressing this issue was important as, currently, online advertising revenue is only paid to social media platform providers and not to media organisations. 

“I think we need to have a balance so that there are some returns for media companies. This is still under discussion, and I believe all parties can be brought to the negotiation table so that a conducive atmosphere can be created. 

“We can apply the same approach in managing issues related to the 5G implementation before, where I managed to invite all telecommunication companies to sit and discuss, and ultimately, everyone agreed. So, we can use the same method to address this issue of advertising revenue.” 

He told reporters this after delivering a keynote address at the launch of a seminar on “Transcending Disinformation: Towards Responsible Media Consumption” organised by the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development today.

Fahmi said he would soon meet with the leadership of the Community Communications Department (J-Kom) to discuss the appointment of its new director-general.  

He added that he would find out whether a new director-general had been named while the agency was still under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department. It is now placed under the Communications Ministry. 

“Prior to this, the prime minister mentioned that a replacement had been identified, but whether it has taken effect or not, will be confirmed in today’s meeting. There’s no deadline, but this appointment will be made as soon as possible because it’s important. Please give me a little time,” he said. 

Asked whether the new J-Kom director-general would be a civil servant or externally appointed, Fahmi said it would be discussed in today’s meeting. 

On November 15, Mohammad Agus Yusoff confirmed he had submitted his notice of resignation as J-Kom director-general to the prime minister, just nine months after being appointed to the post on February 2. 

Earlier in his keynote address, Fahmi said advertising expenditure was one of the biggest challenges faced by local media, where it was estimated that media owners lost about RM2 billion from a total of RM4.5 billion of annual advertising expenditure to the top three social media giants – Meta, Google, and TikTok. 

He also hoped platform providers would conduct more engagement sessions with media organisations to help them use social media platforms more effectively. – Bernama, December 14, 2023.