‘Cyberlaw review to curb social media abuse’

KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s cyberlaws will be studied and enhanced to prevent abuse of information technology and social media, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

She said the move was necessary based on recent developments, which saw social media playing a major role in people’s lives.

“The benefits of social media as an easy, quick and cheap agent of communication cannot be denied.

“But, the trend of cyberattacks, as well as the abuse of social media, is getting worse,” she said after attending the 2016 Student Parliamentary Session lunch here yesterday.

She said certain parties were abusing social media with the aim of committing fraud, recruiting terrorists and sowing seeds of hatred against the government, as well as disrupting national harmony.

Azalina stressed that the government did not intend to curtail the freedom to voice opinions and the right to use cyberspace, but studies on legal cyber limits needed to be carried out to protect users from becoming victims.

“The review is aimed at looking at the balancing point between a user’s freedom and responsibility,” she said.

Azalina was earlier reported as saying a special cyber court to try crimes under cyberlaws was expected to be operational here next month, followed by Selangor and Johor.

In this regard, she supported Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement that the government wanted the individuals named in the United States Department of Justice report pertaining to 1Malaysia Development Bhd to clear their respective names to ensure that there was no abuse of public funds.

“I think that in any civil or criminal case, the defendants must clear their names.

“That’s the principle of jurisprudence,” she said, noting that Malaysia was a civilised country, where people were innocent until proven guilty.

“But, what’s happening now is that people are using the opportunity to say ‘you are guilty until proven innocent’,” she said, adding that this was unacceptable.

On the Student Parliamentary Programme, Azalina said it had become an effective platform for students to sharpen their leadership talent through debates.

“The government feels that it needs to be continued so that more students are exposed to the process of debate and functions of Parliament as a legislative body.” Bernama