Not compulsory, but journalists, your annual check-up could soon come with your press card

PETALING JAYA, Oct 31 — The Malaysian Media Council (MMC) should explore mechanisms to encourage media practitioners to undergo health screenings during the process of issuing media passes.

Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said the proposed initiative is crucial to ensure that as many as possible of the 12,000 personnel in the media sector benefit and have health issues identified at an early stage.

“I do not want to say to make it compulsory, but we must encourage them. Perhaps the Information Department, before issuing the annual media accreditation card, could ask if they have undergone a medical check-up,” he said today.

He said this in his speech at the launch of the Journalists’ Health Screening Programme with the Cardiac Vascular Sentral Kuala Lumpur (CVSKL) Foundation ahead of the 2026 MMC Annual General Meeting here.

Also present were Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Chief Executive Officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin, CVSKL Foundation chairman Tan Sri Rashpal Singh, ECM Libra Foundation chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan and MMC chairman Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan.

Fahmi later told reporters that the proposal for media practitioners to undergo annual health screening has not been set as a prerequisite for media card holders, adding that it would be discussed with the MMC in detail first.

“We will discuss this with the Media Council (and) with all media companies to assess its feasibility; for instance, if this initiative involves facilities in the Klang Valley, it may pose some difficulties for our colleagues in Sabah and Sarawak, or in areas outside the Klang Valley.

“We do not intend to make it compulsory, but we would like to encourage all media teams to undergo health screenings at least once a year. That is our intention,” he said.

On today’s programme, he said the RM1 million initiative, contributed by ECM Libra Foundation to the CVSKL Foundation, aimed to help improve access to preventive healthcare services, particularly for active and former journalists.

“We view problems involving the health of journalists as one of the key issues. These screenings can help identify non-communicable diseases at an early stage, allowing us to provide assistance earlier and help prevent any untoward incidents from occurring,” he added. — Bernama

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八打灵再也，10月31日讯——马来西亚媒体理事会（MMC）应探索相关机制，鼓励媒体从业人员在领取媒体通行证的过程中接受健康检查。

通讯部长拿督斯里法米·法兹尔表示，这项提议至​​关重要，可以确保媒体行业的12000名从业人员中尽可能多的人受益，并及早发现健康问题。

“我不想说要强制执行，但我们必须鼓励他们。或许新闻部门在发放年度媒体证件前，可以询问他们是否做过体检，”他今天说。

他在吉隆坡心血管中心 (CVSKL) 基金会举办的记者健康筛查计划启动仪式上发表了讲话，该计划是在 2026 年马来西亚媒体理事会 (MMC) 年度股东大会召开前夕推出的。

出席者包括马来西亚国家通讯社（马新社）首席执行长拿汀巴杜卡·努尔·阿菲达·卡马鲁丁、CVSKL基金会主席丹斯里拉什帕尔辛格、ECM Libra基金会主席拿督斯里卡里穆拉·马舍鲁·哈桑和MMC主席丹斯里纳里尼·帕斯马纳坦。

法赫米后来告诉记者，媒体从业人员接受年度健康检查的提议并未被设定为媒体证持有者的先决条件，并补充说，这将首先与媒体委员会进行详细讨论。

“我们将与媒体理事会和所有媒体公司讨论此事，以评估其可行性；例如，如果这项计划涉及巴生谷的设施，可能会给我们在沙巴和砂拉越的同事，或巴生谷以外地区的同事带来一些困难。

“我们并不打算强制执行，但我们鼓励所有媒体团队至少每年进行一次健康检查。这是我们的初衷，”他说。

在今天的节目中，他表示，ECM Libra 基金会向 CVSKL 基金会捐赠的 100 万令吉计划旨在帮助改善获得预防性医疗保健服务的机会，特别是为现役和退役记者提供服务。

“我们认为记者健康问题是关键议题之一。这些筛查有助于及早发现非传染性疾病，使我们能够更早地提供帮助，并有助于防止任何意外事件的发生，”他补充道。——马新社

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