Repeat SR claims and face action, warns MCMC
(Mkini) – The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has warned that those found to be republishing content from the whistleblower site Sarawak Report would be subject to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA).
It has said that reports earlier today quoting its enforcement and surveillance division chief Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin saying there is no evidence that the website had carried false reports are ‘inaccurate’.
“The statement by (Zulkarnain) that is published in several news portals has to be seen from the context that it is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the police and the Special Task Force, and not as confirmation that there is no evidence that Sarawak Report’s reports are false.
“In relation to this, the headlines and articles of several online news portals on the issue are inaccurate (kurang tepat).
“Any party found to be republishing content from Sarawak Report, which has been blocked, will also be subject to the CMA,” it said in a statement tonight.
Zulkarnain had held a briefing with online media editors in Putrajaya this morning, including Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider, Utusan Online, and many others.
Malaysiakini subsequently quoted him saying that Sarawak Report was blocked as a preventive measure while police completes its investigation, after which it would decide whether to lift the ban.
He was also quoted saying that there is no proof yet that Sarawak Report’s exposés on 1MBD were false, but indicated that there had been many complaints from the public about the site.
“We could have blocked it much earlier, but we didn’t,” he said.
He also highlighted that misinformation on social media is the most common complaint that the commission had received.
