Kuala Lumpur: Daily Express Chief Editor James Sarda is among 12 journalists appointed to the inaugural board of the Malaysian Media Council (MMC), which was set up by Parliament in February this year.
The announcement was made by Minister of Communications, Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, at the National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) 2025 celebration at the Putra World Trade Centre, Saturday.
It was attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, senior Malaysian journalists as well as members from Asean media.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});The MMC, which was mooted by former Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak in 1973, was only finally realised with the passing of the MMC Bill in 2025.
The MMC will set ethical standards as well as a Code of Conduct for the media.
The other members comprise Borneo Post and Utusan Borneo General Manager Wong Yang Yong; Malaysiakini Chief Executive Officer Premesh Chandran Jeyachandran and Astro Awani Editor-in-Chief Ashwad Ismail.
It also comprises National Union of Journalists Peninsular Malaysia (NUJ) Secretary-General Teh Athira Mohamed Yusof; Kuching Journalists Association President, Ronnie Teo Teck Wei, Gerakan Media Merdeka President Mohd Radzi Abdul Razak, Tamil Media Association of Malaysia President S. Muthameez Manan and Mohd Azmyl bin Md Yusof.
Other members of the MMC Governing Board are academicians Gayathry S. Venkiteswaran, Celine Lim and Terence Ooi Guan Tseng.
The Hawana 2025 celebration, organised by the Ministry of Communications with Bernama as the implementing agency, aims to recognise the role and contribution of media practitioners in national development.
May 29 was gazetted as National Journalists’ Day in conjunction with the publication of the first edition of Utusan Melayu newspaper on May 29, 1939, to celebrate the contributions of industry players who are the medium in shaping the minds of an informed society.