Govt can't ban social media and Facebook: Junaidi
Published on: Friday, March 27, 2015
Tawau: The Government at present cannot take actions similar to China which banned Facebook and social media, according to Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. He said this was because the benefit of using the Internet and social media outweighed the benefit gained from banning social media in the country."It is not that the police and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) do not want to take action when social media is used for defamation, but all the domains are in other countries," he said, Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
He explained that this complicates further action because investigations have to be clear and evidence cannot be disrupted because once evidence is disrupted, the case cannot be brought to court. "This is why sometimes the police are viewed as weak when it comes to addressing defamation or wild accusations via Facebook and social media when the real problem is actually the domains," he said. He said it is difficult to obtain details when cases involving online gambling, selling drugs and prohibited items via social media are mostly from Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan or Hong Kong.Apart from lack of cooperation from domains, he said, many Internet users register their pseudonyms instead of their real name.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, he also expressed grief over the gang rape which led to the arrests of five students aged between 14 and 16 in Kg Bunsit, in Keningau on March 4, adding that he believes it could be due to influence from the Internet, handphones, Facebook and social media. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
ADVERTISEMENT
"This is a matter of morals, privacy and lack of supervision…thus I hope it would be addressed by the Education Ministry, State Education Department and parents among others to instil awareness in their children," he said.
