The government is reportedly mulling over the possibility of limiting shares held by political parties in Malaysian mainstream media companies to 10 percent, in line with Pakatan Harapan's promise to reform and promote greater press freedom.

The Malaysian Insight quoted sources as saying that the 10 percent cap would also apply to other shareholders including private companies, organisations, or individuals.

A source with knowledge of the proposal told the news portal that the shareholding cap was suggested by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Another source confirmed to the portal that the proposal has been raised in several of the coalition’s meetings but said he was unsure whether the proposal had been presented to the cabinet.

Last month, Bernama quoted Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo as saying that political ownership of media companies should be avoided.

He added that this was in order to combat misinformation and create a better environment for the press.

"...My stand, and I’ve always been clear on this, is that we should avoid ownership of media by political parties, but of course the decision to outlaw it has to be decided by the government," he was quoted as saying in a forum organised by Google Malaysia last month.

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