Latest news with #SafeInternet
Malay Mail
19-05-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
Fahmi: Safe Internet Campaign to reach over 10,000 schools nationwide by year-end
LANGKAWI, May 19 — The Ministry of Communications, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), has brought the Safe Internet Campaign Tour to schools in the Northern Zone as part of efforts to strengthen online safety and build a resilient digital community. Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Ulu Melaka here is the starting point of the tour for the Northern Zone, which will subsequently be expanded to other schools in the region. 'We are starting at SK Ulu Melaka but will later move on to 21 primary schools and seven secondary schools throughout the Langkawi district. 'The intention is to deliver the message especially to primary school students to avoid using social media and to raise awareness among parents about the benefits and dangers of social media and the internet,' he told reporters after launching the Northern Zone Safe Internet Campaign Tour here today. Also present were the Ministry of Communications Secretary-General Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, MCMC Commissioner General (Rtd) Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin, and Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Chief Executive Officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin. Fahmi said the tour will be expanded to other zones after this, with the goal of reaching the over 10,200 schools nationwide by the end of this year. 'It's not an easy task, but I have asked MCMC to leverage its network with NADI ((National Information Dissemination Centres). We have 1,099 NADI centres across the country and 1,878 MADANI Community groups under the Information Department nationwide. We also aim to collaborate with Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs)... and with Student Representative Councils at public institutions of higher learning to help reach out to schools as a start,' he said. More than 1,800 participants, including students from 22 schools, teachers, parents, community leaders and representatives from various relevant agencies took part in the programme today. The campaign is a continuation of efforts to enhance digital literacy among the public, especially children and teenagers, in facing challenges such as cyberbullying, online scams, cyber gambling and child sexual exploitation. Throughout this year, over 100,000 participants across the northern zone comprising Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak are expected to be involved in the campaign. Previously, SK Bidor 2 in Tapah, Perak was the first location for the implementation of the campaign, which was launched on April 10.
The Star
07-05-2025
- The Star
Parents urged to act as gatekeepers, monitor children's online activities
As a father of two, I am aware that young people today are exposed to a dazzling array of information and content on the internet. However, I can't stress enough how important it is that parents take responsibility for what their children are accessing. While the internet is a gateway to the world, it can also give malevolent cyber-intruders a direct line to your children. That's why I spoke out recently against educators using students, especially pupils in primary schools, for social media content. Reason being that such content could be misused by ill-intentioned individuals, including for child sexual crimes. Issues related to safety, personal data and so on may arise if teachers expose their students' faces or names on their social media and this could make children victims of sexual crimes, child grooming or sexual grooming. I do not wish to be a killjoy or an alarmist, and I know children will try to find ways to circumvent parental control. At the same time, I have banned my children from using TikTok and we need to take a proactive attitude. Parents and guardians need to act as gatekeepers and monitor their children's online activities. We need to be aware of the various online risks that can endanger the safety of children and also explore alternative content and platforms that are safer than social media. What is the point of an affordable, fast and widespread internet if it is not used safely? The job has been to make the internet faster and cheaper but we don't want scammers and criminals to take advantage of it. That's why we have the Safe Internet campaign. Let's not forget how widespread the dangers are. Suspected online predators and those in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) were nabbed in a vast swoop on Dec 23 last year, codenamed Ops Pedo Bersepadu. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police) made coordinated raids in which 13 suspects were detained in connection with possessing CSAM. A total of 18 premises across six states were raided, and devices belonging to 13 individuals were seized. The raiding teams also seized 40,000 CSAM material. Online safety also extends to scammers, and last year Malaysians lost RM1.5bil to scammers. Most recently, we have seen trends where scammers trick you by asking you to click on a link and hijack your accounts. Without sounding paternalistic, we have to think about the internet like our cars. The object is to get from point A to point B safely without falling victim to dangerous detours. No person, or country for that matter is left unaffected. The criminals cooperate and collude to infiltrate, pilfer and exploit. Oftentimes a cybercrime takes place not even in our own countries but in neighbouring countries. The amount of money that is stolen is huge and we don't know where the money goes. Whether it will finance an armed resurrection or used to destabilise a society or region. Through memes and viral videos, a new information age is taking shape, which has also led conspiracy theorists to enjoy a field day. How to maintain the national narrative in the age of disinformation? We should think about disinformation like we think about vaccination against virus. Fighting misinformation is not a glamorous task. People love rumours and incendiary fake news and the truth is boring. Indeed, I strongly recommend a book by social psychologist Sander Van Der Linden called Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity. In the book, Van Der Linden makes the case for an epidemiological approach to studying and countering the spread of misinformation, comparing it to how a virus spreads in the population. Be cautious, be sceptical, always verify. Assess the veracity of the information you are consuming. The internet and the ever evolving artificial intelligence (AI) technology is so ubiquitous that you need to protect yourself. And above all, protect the children. Fahmi Fadzil Communications Minister
