KUALA LUMPUR – Reforms watchdog Bersih has denied its absence from an engagement session by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on regulating social media platforms via licensing.
Bersih chairman Faisal Abdul Aziz said representatives attended the dialogue session on behalf of both Bersih and the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ).
“Representatives of the Bersih-CIJ alliance were indeed present at the meeting,” he said in a post on X.
In a separate statement, Bersih said that as a coalition of 70 non-governmental organisations, CIJ as one of its member partners, had attended the session and provided extensive input.
Bersih added that on the day of the session, its top leadership were attending a solidarity walk with Teoh Beng Hock’s family.
The organisation and Faisal were responding to claims that Bersih and youth-based political party Muda failed to attend stakeholder engagement sessions by MCMC on the licensing of social media platforms.
The Bersih chief said CIJ and several civil society organisations have given their recommendations on the topic to the government, but questioned whether Putrajaya would consider their views.
He said the groups have asked MCMC to consider “alternative models instead of social media licensing”, and to hold more in-depth consultations with civil society on the drafting of a code of conduct for social media.
Another suggestion was for a committee of civil society organisations, experts and social media platform representatives to be involved in drafting the code to prevent a “top-down approach” in its crafting, he added.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil yesterday said Putrajaya had invited a total of 103 stakeholders, including civil society organisations and law enforcement agencies, for multiple engagement sessions regarding its move to regulate social media platforms through a licensing requirement.
Bersih, Fahmi said, did not send a representative for any of the sessions, which were held on June 11 and 12, as well as on July 15.
Similarly, representatives from Muda and media advocacy group Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) were also not present at the sessions.
The move to require licensing for social media platforms is Putrajaya’s bid to curb online scamming, cyberbullying and sexual crimes against children.
However, rights groups are concerned it will be abused for censorship and suppression of free speech. – August 2, 2024