News Portals May Have To Register With The Government Under New Cyber Law Amendments

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Putrajaya must create laws to curb the spread of lies on social media because Malaysians have no self-discipline when it comes to sharing false news, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said. The Barisan Nasional (BN) communications director said he was bemused by the fact that many Malaysians continued to spread stories that were clearly not true.

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Abdul Rahman, who is also the housing, local government and urban wellbeing minister, argued that regulating the Internet is necessary to preserve harmony as social media in Malaysia have fast become a platform used by the irresponsible few to disseminate false information.

"**If we cannot have self-discipline, then the government has to step in**," the Umno leader said in his opening speech of BN Youth Malaysia Ride Day, a cycling programme meant to educate voters about the so-called hazard of social media under the hashtag #tolakfitnahsosialmedia (reject lies on social media).

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"That one I don't understand. I am trying to understand the psyche of Malaysians. Why is it that you know the story is so outlandish, so you know that it's not right, but still you want to forward it to your Whatsapp groups and whatnot."

"That's the nature of us. So if we cannot have self-discipline, then the government has to step in," he said at the pre-launch of the Malaysia Day Ride 2015 programme at the Putra World Trade Centre.

**Rahman denied that introducing laws to regulate the Internet was political, saying that the spread of lies and slander threatened the nation's security, stability and the economy.** He said it was the government's responsibility to step in and protect Malaysia from being destroyed by lies on social media.

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"We cannot say Malaysia is ruled by an iron fist or we are against freedom of information… we have spent billions of ringgit to roll out broadband and fast internet. If we are afraid, would we have done so?" he asked.

Abdul Rahman said even in rural areas like his constituency, Kota Belud in Sabah, voters are able to access online news portals deemed critical of the government, which proves that there is media freedom.

"In Kota Belud, they can still read Free Malaysia Today, Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider faster than Utusan. This is right in the heart of an Umno family so no one can accuse this country of not having media freedom. Such allegation is baseless," he said.

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"But we have to draw the line. This is not about Umno, this is not about politics. It is about the stability of the economy, the nation's security, the functioning of the country," he said.

He said it was dangerous for any government if classified information from Cabinet meetings or ongoing investigations were leaked to the public.