We’re just doing our job, says MCMC over ‘big brother’ claim

 

MCMC said news outlets had been found to spread misleading information or intentionally publish inaccurate content.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has highlighted the “alarming increase” in news reports that lack responsibility, sensibility, and accuracy.

Responding to a statement by senior media figures urging it to stop playing “big brother” by blocking sites and questioning journalists, MCMC said that as information proliferates online, telling fact from fiction had become a challenge which could potentially threaten harmony.

In a statement, MCMC said some news outlets had been found to spread misleading information or intentionally publish inaccurate content, which it said was allowing false narratives to be created and propagated.

“To combat these issues, MCMC remains resolute in executing its regulatory obligation to ensure the integrity of information and maintain societal harmony,” it said.

“This includes taking necessary actions to tackle issues such as the spread of false information, offensive content, and defamation.”

Recently, a group of senior journalists released a statement calling on MCMC to stop playing “big brother” by blocking news portals and questioning media staff over content that was published.

The statement said many of the content labelled as “offensive” were merely “reports and opinion pieces deemed critical of the government”.

Among the signatories of the statement were veteran journalists A Kadir Jasin and Johan Jaaffar, Karangkraf founder Hussamuddin Yaacub, former Bernama chairman Azman Ujang, former Bernama CEO Yong Soo Heong, Malaysian Press Institute CEO Chamil Wariya, and political analyst G Manimaran. - FMT