Gobind Singh Wants To Make Internet Access A Constitutional Right For Malaysians
He will bring the proposal to the Cabinet in the near future.
By Jia Vern Tham — 12 Jun 2018, 12:57 PM
Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said he is proposing to make Internet access a constitutional right yesterday, 11 June
Gobind was speaking to reporters after a visit to Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) yesterday, 11 June.
Image via Bernama"The proposal will bring about an abundance of benefits and information access to the people without involving any political element," Gobind was quoted as saying by Bernama.
The proposal, aiming to let Malaysians benefit from e-economy and e-commerce, will be brought to the Cabinet in the near future.
The Communications and Multimedia Minister stressed that both state and federal governments will take the provision of Internet access more seriously if it was guaranteed under the Constitution
"I am looking at the constitutional amendment. For a start, I will raise (the proposal) at the cabinet level and then I will see whether it will be supported by the Members of Parliament," Gobind said.
He added that the proposal will improve Malaysia's Internet facilities, in terms of connectivity, costs, and speed.
According to the Internet Users Survey conducted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in 2017, the percentage of Internet users in the country is 76.9%
The survey found that there are approximately 24.5 million Internet users in Malaysia, an increase from the 24.1 million users in 2015.
Non-Internet users stood at 23.1%, constituting almost a quarter of the entire population.