Dr Mazlan Ismail (right), the Umno representative who contested for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has been revealed to be among the names considered for the MCMC chairmanship. – Facebook pic, January 6, 2015.
Malaysia's fiercely independent communications chief regulator Datuk Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi's contract has not been renewed for another term and Putrajaya is said to be considering an Umno politician as his replacement.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman's two year contract ended on December 31 and sources say the Chief Executive of Services and Support Tengku Zaib Raja Ahmad is now the acting chairman pending a decision.
"The MCMC chairman's contract was not renewed. The position is being held by MCMC staff Tengku Zaib," the source told The Malaysian Insider.
Sources said among candidates being considered as the new MCMC chairman is an Umno man who had contested for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim – Dr Mazlan Ismail.
He holds a degree in Communications Electronics from Salford University in the UK and has a Masters in Operational Telecom from Coventry University and had obtained a PhD from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under a TM scholarship.
He has served with TM since 1983, with his last position as general manager.
The Malaysian Insider has attempted to contact Mazlan to verify the news but has yet to receive a response.
Sharil has been under pressure, particularly from right-wing groups and some Umno division chiefs over what they see as a reluctance to control Malaysia's digital space, particularly postings on social media critical of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government and Umno.
But a check in the MCMC website still lists Sharil's name as the chairman of the government agency. It is understood that he has received a thank you note from the government for his services.
Sharil, a lawyer by training, first joined the MCMC in 2000 before leaving in 2006 to be an executive director and head of strategy of financial consultancy firm BinaFikir.
He later rejoined MCMC in 2008 and was made chairman in 2011. Industry circles say he is well-respected abroad as a firm and progressive regulator.
It is understood that Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek was expected to announce the new chairman soon but it has been put off because of the floods in the east coast.
MCMC is the regulator of communications and multimedia industry in Malaysia.
It recently came under fire after it fined business radio station BFM for RM10,000 for airing an interview on the "Allah" controversy with Iranian-American Muslim scholar Reza Aslan on October 21 last year.
MCMC was severely criticised over the move, which critics say was an infringement on the freedom of expression and damaging to media freedom.
In the BFM interview last year, Reza criticised Malaysia's ban on the use of "Allah" by non-Muslims and described the Court of Appeal's ruling on October 14, 2013, as a "political decision".
BFM is currently appealing against the fine.
- TMI
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