Academicians concur on effort to curb fake news
KUCHING: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s recent statement on efforts by the government to legislate a new law to curb the spread of false news on the social media received positive response from academicians.
They regarded the move as timely for a more punitive move to eradicate the problem.
National Council of Professors Principle Fellow and Chief Information officer Professor Dr Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar said the spread of false news or defamatory statements could undermine the country’s stability and racial harmony.
He said it would not be an easy task to curb the spread of false news, being that it had become a culture in the society to send and share rumours and gossips.
“Hence, under the proposed new law, it is like a two-prong move to control the media practitioners, as well as the public. Dissemination of news should be based on wisdom as well as in line with current issues and circumstances,” he told Bernama.
A lecturer at the Faculty of Human Resource Management, National Integrated College, Fazly Nordin, when contacted, said the government should improve existing laws such as the Sedition Act, by including clauses related to the mass media.
He said the media played a major role in delivering and disseminating information and news, without which it could would weaken the government.
“A penalty that commensurates with the offence committed should be imposed as a lesson against any person who is guilty. Indeed, as citizens we have a right to speak up, but it must be based on facts,” he said.
University College of Technology Sarawak ( UCTS) vice- chancellor, Prof Khairuddin Abdul Hamid said a thorough study on the purpose of the law should be carried out prior to its implementation to avoid any quarters from disputing it later on.“The law should not be biased, for example in the interests of one party only. If the decision is made in favour of one party, surely many quarters will not be satisfied.
“We know that the use of social media in society is increasing, with all information and sources can be shared easily. So, with the different levels of thinking that we have in society, every information will be interpreted differently, some maybe true, but when there is no valid proof, the information can be classified as fake news,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
A lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Faculty of Language and Communication, Prof Dr Jeniri Amir said the proposal is an appropriate step in curbing false news which is becoming increasingly difficult to control.
He said from the context of social media, control was needed to avoid irresponsible parties from arbitrarily spreading false news that could undermine peace and harmony in the country.
“Freedom without control means destroying oneself and the nation. No country in the world has allowed its people to speak freely without ethics and limit, so inclusive measures need to be taken immediately for the sake of universal well-being,” he said.