Government to consider proposal to register news portal

The government is considering a proposal to register news portals in future under the amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 when it is tabled in Parliament in October.

Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said the minister is currently studying the several models, including one adopted by Singapore.

“We will look at the structure aspects of Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Comission (MCMC) and at amendments to tacle issues such as pornography, onine gambling and Islamic State (IS) threats," he said in an exclusive interview to The Star.

With the amendments, the MCMC in the future is also expected to have the power to block sites that are deemed to be “threats to national security and stability.”

However, Salleh assured that the usage of social media will not be restricted unless there is a complaint and basis for the government to look into.

Salleh also stressed that the amendments were not due to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issue.

“It has nothing to do with 1MDB because many countries also amend their cyber laws to ensure that there has been a lot f development since the laws were introduced in 1998,” he told the portal.

So far, MCMC has met more than 250 stakeholders to get their feedback on the amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

If the amendments are passed in Parliament, news portals like www.astroawani.com must also require registration with the ministry.