THE government is not monitoring Malaysian cyberspace around the clock, said Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Eddin Syazlee Shith.

He told the Dewan Rakyat today that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission does not conduct mass surveillance on the internet looking for misconduct.

He said among the challenges faced by MCMC are scams on social media sites, as well as through phone.

Such scams have swindled people of some RM300 million, he said.

“Online scam cases and the Macau scam are handled by police, with the investigations conducted using provisions in the Penal Code.

“The government, through MCMC, cooperates with law enforcement authorities and agencies to tackle these cases by blocking phone lines and websites involved in the scams, and helps investigations by identifying the IP (internet protocol) addresses used.

“But, we face constraints because MCMC does not conduct comprehensive monitoring,” he said when addressing points raised on communications and multimedia matters during debates on the 11th Malaysia Plan midterm review.

Eddin said surveillance and investigations by MCMC are carried out based on police reports lodged by scam victims.

He said it is difficult for MCMC to conduct comprehensive surveillance online.

“We won’t be able to tell where to monitor. We don’t know who are the scammers’ targets. It is impossible when there are too many,” he told Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) and Jalaluddin Alias (BN-Jelebu), who brought up the Macau scam.

Eddin added that MCMC always takes the best steps to guarantee press and internet freedom.

“But, we must take into account Malaysia’s multiracial and multireligious nature. What is wrong in the real world is also wrong in cyberspace.

“If something is not good for dissemination via broadcast and print media, the same applies to social media platforms,” he said, citing as an example content that slanders people and sows hatred of the government.

He said if the authorities find content that jeopardises peace and harmony, action is taken to block the websites involved.

Asked by Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) whether the government would consider retaining the Anti-Fake News Act, a Barisan Nasional legacy, Eddin said there are sufficient laws in place to tackle the problem of fake news.

“This matter is not within my area, but I can tell you that (even without the Anti-Fake News Act) we already have enough laws that can tackle fake news, such as the Sedition Act,” he said, citing another unpopular law that the Pakatan Harapan administration plans to repeal. – October 31, 2018.