News Portals May Have To Register With The Government Under New Cyber Law Amendments

Putrajaya must create laws to curb the spread of lies on social media because Malaysians have no self-discipline when it comes to sharing false news, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said. The Barisan Nasional (BN) communications director said he was bemused by the fact that many Malaysians continued to spread stories that were clearly not true.

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Abdul Rahman, who is also the housing, local government and urban wellbeing minister, argued that regulating the Internet is necessary to preserve harmony as social media in Malaysia have fast become a platform used by the irresponsible few to disseminate false information.

“If we cannot have self-discipline, then the government has to step in,” the Umno leader said in his opening speech of BN Youth Malaysia Ride Day, a cycling programme meant to educate voters about the so-called hazard of social media under the hashtag #tolakfitnahsosialmedia (reject lies on social media).

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"That one I don't understand. I am trying to understand the psyche of Malaysians. Why is it that you know the story is so outlandish, so you know that it's not right, but still you want to forward it to your Whatsapp groups and whatnot."

"That's the nature of us. So if we cannot have self-discipline, then the government has to step in," he said at the pre-launch of the Malaysia Day Ride 2015 programme at the Putra World Trade Centre.

Rahman denied that introducing laws to regulate the Internet was political, saying that the spread of lies and slander threatened the nation's security, stability and the economy. He said it was the government's responsibility to step in and protect Malaysia from being destroyed by lies on social media.

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“We cannot say Malaysia is ruled by an iron fist or we are against freedom of information… we have spent billions of ringgit to roll out broadband and fast internet. If we are afraid, would we have done so?” he asked.

Abdul Rahman said even in rural areas like his constituency, Kota Belud in Sabah, voters are able to access online news portals deemed critical of the government, which proves that there is media freedom.

“In Kota Belud, they can still read Free Malaysia Today, Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider faster than Utusan. This is right in the heart of an Umno family so no one can accuse this country of not having media freedom. Such allegation is baseless,” he said.

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"But we have to draw the line. This is not about Umno, this is not about politics. It is about the stability of the economy, the nation's security, the functioning of the country," he said.

He said it was dangerous for any government if classified information from Cabinet meetings or ongoing investigations were leaked to the public.

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“What we are worried about is stability, economic stability. Look at Low Yat… we cannot let this happen. If it comes to a stage where it is detrimental to stability, we must act”.

Abdul Rahman also said instability could give fodder to the opposition, and that containing the problem was key to BN's political survival.

“When they say they too care about peace and so on, I will have to take it with a pinch of salt. If there is instability, this will be their bullet against us,” he said.

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The new Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak recently said that news portals may have to be registered under proposed amendments to current cyber laws. He told The Star in an interview that the proposed amendments may be tabled at the next Parliament sitting in October.

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The amendments could also include registration requirements for independent online news portals, a move critics say was aimed at stifling media freedom.

Calls for stricter Internet controls grew louder among leaders of the ruling coalition after the government took heavy criticism over its handling of the 1MDB fiasco. With the country's economy is on the verge of decline, many, including Abdul Rahman today, have attributed the problem to lies about the scandal spreading through social media.

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The Government had announced earlier that it was looking to introduce amendments to the Communi­cations and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Communications and Multi­media Commission Act 1998.

Dr Sallehsaid the ministry was looking at several models, including one adopted by Singapore.

Under the Singapore model, news portals with more than 50,000 unique visitors a month must obtain an annual licence from the Media Development Authority (MDA). They must deposit a SG$50,000 (RM140,431) bond with the MDA, which can be forfeited if they do not comply with rules set by the government.

At present, online news portals operate relatively free as it does not require a publishing licence from the Home Ministry unlike the traditional media, and is therefore not subjected to the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

“I’ve been meeting Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) officials to study the proposals," he said.

“We are also looking at the structural aspects of MCMC and at amendments to tackle issues such as pornography, online gambling and Islamic State (IS) threats, among others."

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“This is being done in the national interest,” he was quoted as saying. The Star reported Salleh as saying that changes would include giving MCMC more bite, including blocking sites deemed as threats to "national security and stability".

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“What we want to do is to improve whatever amendments in the next Parliament meeting to strengthen our social media but at the same time, be able to control the situation,” he said.

“We want comprehensive amendments. The laws were introduced in 1998, and since then, there has been a lot of developments. We must take into account these developments. Many countries also amend their cyber laws to ensure that social media does not cause problems,” he said.

"We cannot be monitoring every social media user. If there is a complaint and there is basis to it, we will look into it," Dr. Salleh said.