Fahmi: King has consented to Online Safety Bill

SULTAN Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia has consented to The Online Safety Bill which was approved by the Dewan Rakyat in December last year, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said Sultan Ibrahim also consented to amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act and the Penal Code, to address cyberbullying and online harassment.

"I was informed yesterday that His Majesty has given his consent to the bills and once they are gazetted, we will be able to address several issues.

"These include paedophilia, online sexual crimes against children, cyberbullying and issues related to scams," he said.

He was speaking at the launch of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot Sebenarnya.my, developed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

He said the chatbot named Artificial Intelligence Fact-Check Assistant (AIFA) is part of the government’s initiative to curb misinformation and promote digital literacy among Malaysians.

“Many view WhatsApp as a source of news and information, even though some messages appear official but are fake.

"The AIFA is designed to allow users to submit questionable messages for verification," he said.

Fahmi said that according to data from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), 20,000 pieces of fake news content were detected last year.

“Of this, 17,245 were removed from social media platforms after being confirmed as false. As of 27 January 2025, 1,575 fake news items have been identified, and 1,233 have been successfully taken down,” he said.

Seized laptop to be returned

On the issue of a laptop belonging to a Malaysiakini senior editor being seized by the police, Fahmi said it will be returned after the investigation is complete.

“I believe the laptop taken from Malaysiakini will be returned after the probe is complete,” he said.

The laptop belonging to Malaysiakini’s executive director RK Anand was seized by police after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms)  Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said’s aide Suraya Yaacob lodged a police report against Khairy Jamaluddin for defamation.

She lodged the report against the former Umno leader for allegedly claiming that Azalina had conspired to "hide" the house arrest addendum on Datuk Seri Najib Razak's pardon order. - January 28, 2025