THE MADANI Community must be equipped to understand sensitive 3R issues—royalty, religion, and race—and take a proactive role in countering false narratives and misinformation about the government, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
Speaking at the MADANI Community Retreat Series 1 for the Sabah Zone in Sandakan today, Fahmi reminded participants that accuracy and verification must come before dissemination of any information.
“Don’t normalise the habit of copying and forwarding information without checking its authenticity. Spreading false news can land you in jail, and distributing inaccurate information can result in heavy fines—so we’re issuing a clear warning,” he said.
“Tell the public not to believe everything they receive. We want a MADANI Community that conveys the truth,” he added.
Around 500 members from 109 MADANI Community groups across Sabah attended the session, which also featured Communications Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, Information Department Director-General Julina Johan, Bernama Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, and Sabah Information Director Jainisah Mohd Noor.
The MADANI Community is a volunteer body made up of Malaysians from various ethnic backgrounds and is managed by the Department of Information (Japen).
Fahmi also cautioned the public about increasingly deceptive tactics used by online scammers, including fraudulent links disguised as wedding invitations.
“There was someone who sent me a supposed invitation to his child’s wedding. When I asked for a screenshot, he insisted I click the link. I asked the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to track him down—he deleted the link immediately. So please be careful, scammers are getting more sophisticated,” he said. - April 27, 2025
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