KL will honour autonomy pledge
(Daily Express) – The Federal government is committed to fulfilling its promise to delegate Sabah and Sarawak more autonomous power.
Communication and Multimedia Minister Senator Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Salleh Said Keruak on Friday said that the offer of empowerment to the various government departments and agencies in East Malaysia is not based on empty promises.
“The issues we face in Sabah are very much different to the ones in the peninsula, therefore, the priorities can be different as well,” he said, adding that, however, they will refer the matter and consider the opinions of local leaders.
Salleh said this during the Thanksgiving Ceremony organised by the Sabah Special Affairs Department (Jasa) held at the Sabah Communication and Multimedia Ministry Complex.
Previously, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during the launching of the Merdeka month and fly the national flag campaign at Padang Merdeka in Sarawak had made an announcement of giving more empowerment to Sabah and Sarawak.
“There is too much duplication (in work and decision making processes in state and federal governments). “I will give the empowerment to Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
Najib was also reported to have instructed Chief Secretary Tan Sri Ali Hamsa to thrash out the autonomy details with the State Secretaries of the two Borneo states, which will include streamlining of the administration.
In another development, Salleh said the government’s decision in amending the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 was to ensure that no parties are able to spread false news or statements which could confuse the public. According to him, the restrictions and registrations of online news is crucial to enable the Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission to monitor all news issued.
The restrictions, he explained, also existed in well-developed countries such as United Kingdom.
“In UK, the WhatsApp application is being monitored and controlled whereas online news portals in Singapore must be registered,” he said,
In terms of information delivery and government policies, he said the Ministry will introduce new approaches to explain them to the people.
“The information delivery in rural and urban areas are totally different, therefore, it is important for us to introduce new approaches that are effective in delivering information.
“It is important for the public to understand the messages and information because there are certain parties who would give out incorrect information via social media,” he said.
Towards this end, Salleh also said street demonstrations is not the best solution to voice out issues as it would only jeopardise the nation’s stability.
Street demonstration is not part of the culture and should never be practiced among the people to voice out their opinions, he said.
