Online safety for children needs to be emphasised by parents - Fahmi

ONLINE safety aspects, especially for children under the age of 13, need to be emphasised by parents, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. 

He said parents should always monitor their children's social media accounts because at such a young age they could be easily influenced by inappropriate cultures.

"If there are children under 13 years old, prohibit them from having social media accounts because we see that at that age they are quite easily influenced by certain trends and in terms of mental development, there is still much they need to go through," he said.

He told reporters this after launching the Back to School programme with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Shopee at the Sri Pantai People's Housing Project (PPR) in Kuala Lumpur involving 200 recipients today.

Also present were MCMC Transformation and State Coordination Division chief Bukhari Yahya and  Federal Territory Director Hanita Izam Abdul Rahman.

Fahmi also said his ministry would meet with the Ministry of Education (MOE) in the near future to discuss the matter besides examining several issues that could be collaborated on.

He said the Communications Ministry would also propose an awareness campaign to be held in schools, which would be attended by social media platform operators.

"Generally, I see that social media platforms are ready to do CSR (corporate social responsibility) together with the ministry to increase awareness among students so that they understand and do not engage in social media at a young age," he said.

"God willing, we will discuss what quick wins and what is long-lasting that can be done," he said.

Fahmi also said he met representatives from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Parliament last week and has several plans to ensure the success of awareness campaigns among teachers, parents and students regarding online safety aspects.

On another matter, Fahmi said the MCMC had blocked accounts of individuals spreading the teachings of The Ahmadi Religion of Light and Peace on social media and had contacted Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar regarding the issue.

"I checked this morning and the account can no longer be accessed. Previously, MCMC said they received views and reports from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) regarding the deviant teachings.

"Certain actions have been taken including investigations to ensure this evidence is not compromised. So after several matters were performed, MCMC received the go-ahead from the Religious Affairs Minister and today I see that the account can no longer be accessed," he said.

Last Thursday (March 7), Mohd Na'im was reported to have said that the teachings of The Ahmadi Religion of Light and Peace are contrary to Islamic law and his department will ensure that all content on social media regarding the teachings is taken down immediately to prevent the public from being influenced. - Bernama, March 9, 2024