MCMC to police social media

PETALING JAYA: As part of the move to empower the Sedition Act 1948, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will do everything in its power to prevent anyone from making a seditious remark on the internet.
Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the basic principle in retaining and empowering the act, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak recently, was to curb extremism which is still widespread in the country.
He said MCMC will focus on the internet, particularly social media, to curb any move to spread seditious remarks that touch on any sensitive issues, such as religion and race, that can destroy national harmony.
"We will concentrate on social media, which is always used by extremists as a medium to spread seditious remarks," he told reporters after launching the AMUZ-Space Series for Kidz in 1Utama Shopping Centre, here today.
He added the government would block any website that it found to be seditious to prevent it from going viral as well as to preserve the national harmony and social stability.
However, Ahmad Shabery said the government needs a new approach to handle wrongdoers on the internet as not all websites can be blocked easily.
"We will strengthen the technical aspects available to MCMC to negate these websites," he added.
He noted that the government faces serious challenges in detecting and tracing the perpetrators on the internet as the nature of the internet itself allows the wrongdoers to hide behind fake names.
"This thing is a challenge not only in this country, but also any government in the world," he said, adding that the government would try to seek cooperation with Facebook to get the Internet Protocol (IP) address in assisting the authorities in tracing the perpetrators through their unique IP address.
When asked if the new amendments to the Sedition Act will include a provision on social media, he said the government would look closely into the matter before making any decision and would wait for a decision from the Attorney-General's Chambers.
Meanwhile, he said the Multimedia and Communication Act needs to be reviewed as many of the provisions in the act, which was enacted in 1998, are no longer suitable with the current situation.
Also present at the event was Malaysian astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.