KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said while Malaysia advocates for a free and open internet, it has to be within the ambit of the country’s laws and cannot be unfettered.
Freedom of speech, he said, is not a license to abuse – but a responsibility.
“The rule of thumb is simple – what is illegal offline is almost always illegal online.
“Freedom of speech is not a license to abuse, it is a responsibility. Freedom of speech without any concern for good human behaviour would be a disaster for any society.
“In enforcing our laws to protect the public, all stakeholders need to work together to overcome technical challenges as well as address the need for greater information sharing towards the disclosure or discovery of information to facilitate law enforcement agencies to carry out their duties effectively,” he said at the launch of Facebook’s new expanded office here on Tuesday.
Also present were Communications and Multimedia minister Gobind Singh Deo and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak.
Dr Mahathir urged Facebook and other social media platform providers to continue to collaborate with the government and law enforcement agencies to ensure that social media continues to generate positive change instead of creating negative ones.
On another note, the prime minister said the government is committed to moving forward by focusing on the digital economy to help the people communicate and stay connected, as well as see businesses compete positively as they develop into global brands.
“Both large and small companies need to embrace digital connectivity, use of data analytics and digital skills to explore opportunities to build digital businesses.
“SMEs are essentially a vibrant push-factor in our economy, and technology could ensure businesses become more effective, which in turn could yield an increase in productivity and output as well as wages for workers.
“For SMEs, it can be exciting to have thousands of 'friends' on Facebook driving lots of extra traffic to their website or retail locations,” he said.
He recalled that in 2016, some 18 million Malaysians were active on Facebook monthly, which translates to about 81 per cent of Malaysians on the Internet.
“Amazingly, 94 per cent of Malaysians discover products and brands on Facebook and significantly, 62 per cent make a purchase after discovery.
“As of March 2019, the numbers have increased to 26 million Malaysians active on Facebook,” he said, adding that SMEs could take this opportunity to further expand their businesses online and to penetrate the global market successfully.
Facebook Malaysia celebrated the opening of its new expanded office space at Q Sentral, and announced new investments in local programmes and partnerships to support business growth and community-building.
Operating since 2016, Facebook Malaysia reaffirmed its commitment to support Malaysia’s ongoing efforts to progress in its digital focused economic development path through a long-term initiative called Fast Forward Together.
It will focus not only on helping businesses grow and transform at home and abroad, but also enabling improved internet connectivity and supporting community building efforts.