Consumer organisations on Tuesday issued a statement strongly criticising the National Reform Steering Assembly’s endorsement of the controversial draft bill on media regulation, and vowed not to be part of the so-called media professional council unless the NRSA removes the clauses that infringe on the people’s rights to information.

The organisations, including the Foundation for Consumers, called for the NRSA to scrap the draft bill’s proposals, having a new bill drafted that established co-regulation between citizens and the media, and to promote the people’s awareness in media consumption as well as protect their rights to information.

In the statement, the organisations said that they opposed the NRSA and its media reform committee for their insincerity in the reform effort, as reflected through “a media control bill” which undermined public participation.

Although the committee has removed the licensing system and some penalties from its proposals, it maintained the requirement for two ministerial permanent secretaries in the professional council and the fine for failure to attain accreditation, the statement read.

This demonstrated a lack of sincerity in the reform effort, which should have been about protecting press freedom and promoting professional standards, it added.

Deprivation of such rights is against the new constitution, it insisted.

The committee’s report on media reform overlooked the fact that media regulation overseas was based partly on a strong civil sector, the organisations said in the statement.

Despite the flaws, the NRSA passed the report, hence the organisations now denounced the NRSA for not protecting the public interest, it concluded.