CABINET AGREES TO SET UP SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO ADDRESS CYBERBULLYING - FAHMI

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Bernama) -- The Cabinet in its meeting today agreed to establish a special committee to address issues of cyberbullying in the country, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

Fahmi, who is also the spokesman for the Unity Government, said the committee will involve the Communications Ministry, Home Ministry, Digital Ministry and the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform).

He said the committee will also be supported by a special team involving the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Royal Malaysia Police and the Attorney-General's Chambers.

“The Cabinet is of the view that there should be a sterner action against social media platforms in cyberbullying issues. They (platform operators) cannot just wash their hands, they must be equally responsible for tackling such issues.

“So we (the committee) will look comprehensively at the legal aspects and (make) amendments (to the laws) as well as any other actions we feel are necessary to deal with the issues of cyberbullying,” he told Bernama after checking out the full rehearsal of the Installation Ceremony of Sultan Ibrahim as the 17th King of Malaysia at Istana Negara today.

Elaborating, Fahmi said the setting up of the special committee and the special team was very important because they would be able to utilise all the expertise available in relation to the matter, across ministries and agencies.

“Because the issues of cyberbullying involved new social media platforms, even platforms that have not yet appeared, as well as AI (artificial intelligence) technology. So we need to mobilise all the expertise we have including from the technical aspect to deal with it,” he said.

At the same time, he said they are also open and welcome the cooperation and involvement of other ministries in jointly dealing with the issues of cyberbullying.

At the press conference after the cabinet meeting last Friday, Fahmi was reported to have said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had asked the MCMC and the police to take stern action in cases involving cyberbullying.

The Prime Minister also expressed his disappointment in the case of cyberbullying that led to the death of a TikTok influencer recently.

-- BERNAMA