MADANI Community Should Be At Forefront In Addressing Grassroots Concerns - Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA, May 12 (Bernama) -- Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has called on MADANI Community members to become the government’s frontline team in understanding and addressing public concerns at the grassroots level.

He said the role of the community network should go beyond submitting reports, stressing that members must understand the real challenges faced by local communities and help deliver the necessary assistance and interventions.

“Recently, there have been issues that the MADANI Community should help explain. Some people are asking about individual diesel subsidies or the BUDI Diesel programme. Some are unaware that the cash aid, previously RM200, was increased to RM400 on April 21.

“One trader selling bananas at the market asked how he could apply for BUDI Diesel. This shows that the MADANI Community members must be equipped with the right information so they can help local communities access such assistance,” he told reporters after attending the Communications Ministry’s monthly assembly for May 2026 today.

Also present were Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching, the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah and Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj.

Fahmi also urged the MADANI Community to play a more proactive role in carrying out intervention programmes tailored to the specific needs of local communities.

The MADANI Community, established under the Information Department (JAPEN), is a multiracial volunteer body aimed at promoting civic values and patriotism among Malaysians.

In another development, Fahmi stressed that parents must play a key role in protecting their children online by installing parental controls on applications and digital devices, and preventing those under 16 from communicating with adults through direct messages (DMs) on social media platforms.

He stressed that such measures were essential to creating a safer and healthier digital environment, particularly for children and teenagers.

“If parents educate their children and enable parental control settings on applications and devices, this will help ensure a healthier and safer digital environment, especially for children under 16,” he said in response to the recent case involving a 15-year-old girl who became the victim of sexual exploitation by an adult man she met through TikTok.

Fahmi said the disclosure by Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail regarding the arrest of 69 individuals suspected of involvement in paedophile activities during Op Cyber Guardian 2026 should serve as a wake-up call on the dangers of online sexual crimes against children.

“We want not only internet access that is fast, affordable and widespread, but most importantly an internet that is safer, especially for children,” he added.

-- BERNAMA