A TEACHER has lodged a complaint with Communications Minister Datuk Ahmad Fahmi Fadzil that she received a message from a 10-year-old male student asking for indecent photos via the WhatsApp application.
Fahmi said the teacher informed him that the incident occurred at her school and that the student involved was a Year Four student.
"She (the teacher) complained that her student had sent a message to her asking for indecent pictures from the teacher.
"The student is a Year 4 student, so the student must be under the age of 16," Fahmi said today.
According to him, the incident raises big questions since WhatsApp itself sets a minimum age limit of 16 years to use the platform.
"So the question is why did it happen on WhatsApp, how could such a thing happen? There are many examples, but this is one that is very close to me because it came to me," he added.
Asked whether the Ministry of Communications would cooperate with the Ministry of Education, Fahmi said MOE had been informed about the complaint received.
“I believe the MOE is aware of such matters,” he said.
Elaborating further, he said that serious issues like this should be addressed through the proposed restriction on the use of social media by children under 16 years of age.
“We hope that issues like this can be overcome by restrictions on social media and internet messaging systems such as WhatsApp,” he said.
Fahmi previously said that the ban on children aged 16 and below from having their own social media accounts is targeted to be enforced starting next year.
He explained that the move is among initiatives to curb cross-age cybercrime and protect children from the risk of online exploitation and sexual predators.
According to him, among the mechanisms being refined is the implementation of Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) verification which will be mandatory for social media platforms. – December 6, 2025
