By — Persatuan Wartawan Bebas Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor (FREJA)

The tabling of the Gig Workers Bill 2025 marks a long-overdue step forward for thousands of freelance and part-time workers across Malaysia — and for us in the media sector, it could not come at a more critical time.

We at Persatuan Wartawan Bebas Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor (FREJA), represent independent media professionals and small and medium enterprise media companies who work outside the boundaries of full-time employment mainly as stringers, independent reporters, freelance photojournalists, and videographers.

We operate in the same challenging environments, chase the same stories, and uphold the same ethical standards as our full-time peers, yet for far too long, we have done so without the same rights or protections.

The Gig Workers Bill 2025 offers a chance to change that, and it will certainly change the landscape.

Recognition of Freelance Journalism as Essential

The inclusion of freelance journalists, photographers, and videographers under the bill’s scope is more than a legal technicality — it is an overdue recognition that journalism is not just a job, but a public service.

And like any profession that serves the public, it deserves the basic guarantees of safety, dignity, and fair treatment.

For years, many of us have been sent to cover floods, protests, crime scenes, and political conflicts often without insurance, without proper contracts, and without any fallback if something goes wrong.

Some could have suffered injuries on assignment, and some have been denied payment for completed work.

The current system has treated freelance journalists as expendable, not essential. That ends with this bill — if we, as a society, choose to implement it with courage and conscience.

A New Social Contract for the Freelance Era

This bill introduces the possibility of SOCSO contributions for gig workers. For us, this is not just a formality — it’s a lifeline.

It means that a freelance photographer injured during a rally can now access compensation and rehabilitation support. It means that a part-time reporter covering environmental disasters no longer has to risk their safety without a safety net.

But the bill must not stop there. We call on the government to include sector-specific protections tailored to the media industry:

• Standardised contracts to ensure timely payment, ownership rights over published work, and protection against exploitation.
• Access to training and professional development, so that independent journalists are not locked out of workshops on safety, media law, and ethical journalism.
• Field insurance schemes that provide immediate, claimable support when covering high-risk assignments, regardless of employment status.

These are not luxuries. These are necessities in a media environment that increasingly relies on the labour of freelancers without offering them the tools to survive — let alone thrive.

Journalism Needs Protection to Serve the Public

There can be no press freedom if the people doing the work of journalism are left unprotected. A free media is not just about editorial independence — it’s also about the economic and physical security of journalists, regardless of how they are employed.

The reality today is that the media landscape is shifting. Newsrooms are shrinking. More journalists are going independent, not by choice, but by necessity.

This bill is the government’s opportunity to meet that shift with policies that reflect today’s workforce, not yesterday’s assumptions.

Freja urges Parliament to pass the Gig Workers Bill 2025 swiftly and to ensure its implementation includes provisions that reflect the lived realities of media freelancers.

Protecting freelance and part-time journalists is not just about labour rights. It’s about protecting the integrity and future of journalism in Malaysia.

Opinion By:

Ramani Parkunan

Secretary

Persatuan Wartawan Bebas Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor (FREJA)