Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to be reviewed — Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA: The government has agreed in principle to review the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for improvement and enhancement, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

Towards this end, Fahmi, who is also the Unity Government spokesman, said the Ministry of Communications would hold meetings and engage stakeholders to review aspects that could be enhanced in the act.

“This is a continuation of the policy decided around August 2022... issues involving Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, for example, many Members of Parliament have strong views, but at the same time, there are views on whether this act is strong enough or not,” he said at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting here yesterday.

He said certain matters such as fines or penalties in the act have long existed and need to be reexamined.

“There are several factors we will look at, one of them is the value or fines in the context if I mention compliance with standards, for example, the value (fine) at this time is a value based on the value of the ringgit in 1998 and the size of the economy at that time.

“If we compare, whether the value is appropriate and beneficial to the current situation and if there are changes in that value, it is at a rate and value commensurate with the economic situation,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked whether the details of the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH730 were discussed at the Cabinet meeting today, Fahmi said the matter had not been brought up for discussion at this meeting.