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