Need to steer the young away from smut, offensive contents on Internet – GM

There is a need to steer the young away from pornography and contents that promote violence on the Internet through proper education, continuous advocacy campaign and good parenting, said Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) general manager Datuk Yong Soo Heong.

He, however, noted that these three key elements should be supportedby industry regulators in ensuring that offensive materials would not be easily accessible to corrupt young minds.

In this regard, Yong commended the effort by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) via the ‘Klik Dengan Bijak’ ( Click Wisely) programme.

“It encourages wise usage of the Internet because we know that smartphones, tablets and other devices (on which the Internet is accessible) have become the babysitter for the kids of today,” he said at the 7th World Summit on Media for Children, here, yesterday.

Yong said more educational campaigns for young adults should also be introduced to counter social ills such as unwanted teenage pregnancies, drug abuse and crime.

Meanwhile, MCMC’s Outreach and Engagement Division senior director, Eneng Faridah Iskandar said concepts that promoted safe use of the Internet should be applied to ensure a positive online experience.

Such online experience should be had with safety, security and responsibility in mind, she told Bernama on the sidelines of the three- day summit which ended yesterday. The summit drew participants from about 60 countries. — Bernama