KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has never been used as a political tool to curb freedom of expression, particularly on social media, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said.
He said the regulator’s role was instead to oversee digital platforms and protect users from online harms, including cyberbullying, scams and the spread of intimate images.
“There are many misunderstandings, for example regarding the removal of content on social-media platforms such as Facebook. It is not a minister who decides, not Fahmi Fadzil, not MCMC, but the platform itself.
“MCMC is a tool for (the safety of) the people. They complain about cyberbullying, the dissemination of intimate images, scams and many other things. So, if people want MCMC services, then MCMC should serve them,” he said while appearing as a guest on journalist Amin Iskandar’s The Tiger Show podcast today, as quoted by Bernama.
Fahmi said complaints received by MCMC would be referred to social-media platform providers, which would then assess the content based on their respective Community Guidelines and provisions under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).
“For example, if I complain to MCMC, I make the complaint myself, but it does not necessarily mean the content will be removed. The one removing the content is Facebook or TikTok if they review it and agree that the content violates the law.
“That is why, say, MCMC now sends almost half a million requests to remove content, perhaps only 90 per cent of the total is removed, because this is an action by the platform provider, not a decision made by MCMC,” he said.
Fahmi said all platform providers operating in Malaysia had so far cooperated with the government, especially in addressing content involving racial, religious and royal sensitivities, commonly referred to as 3R issues.
“However, for things such as satire and mockery, platforms would usually say that the content does not violate the law,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said the ministry’s current focus in making digital platforms safer was through cooperation between ministries, particularly in regulating the digital economy and e-commerce sector.
“As I oversee the telco and courier sectors, we see complaints from shop owners because many goods are now being sold without adequate quality, with no monitoring, and at prices that are too low, which has severely affected many of our traders, including Bumiputera traders.
“So I want to resolve this together with the Ministry of Finance and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDN),” he said.
Fahmi warned that without timely intervention, Malaysia could face an oversupply of products, especially electrical and electronic goods that do not comply with SIRIM standards and could potentially endanger consumers. – September 24, 2026