KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — The Cabinet has agreed to establish a special committee to address issues of cyberbullying in the country in its meeting today, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
The committee will involve the Communications Ministry, the Home Ministry, the 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,” Fahmi said.
He was speaking to Bernama after checking out the full rehearsal of the Installation Ceremony of Sultan Ibrahim as the 17th King of Malaysia at Istana Negara today.
The committee's formation and the special team are very important because they will be able to utilise all the expertise available across ministries and agencies regarding the matter.
“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,” Fahmi said.
At the same time, 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 (July 12), Fahmi 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
