This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 12, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Be responsible when posting content on social media, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo told the public. He said he has been receiving complaints about the lack of guidelines on action that should be taken against provocative statements on social media.

“Freedom of speech does not mean absolute freedom; it must come with responsibility. We are all responsible for this country. If there is speech which can result in a problem with unity or national security, I think that is something we have to deal with.

“Freedom of speech has its limits; it must be looked at in the context of the law and the limitation that exist to ensure public order and that national security is maintained,” he told reporters in Parliament after Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah delivered his Royal Address.

“We have no issues with social media and the press, but everybody must be mindful that whatever is published will impact society. This is where I think there is a need for us to be responsible, and to make sure we observe and check what we post.”

Gobind said he intends to have a dialogue session with certain social media portal owners, to discuss measures to curb provocative statements.

“I have received many complaints about this. People have asked me why we allow some of these comments, very inflammatory in nature, to remain, [and] why we do not have rules to deal with them. Technically, we are looking at the strict application of [the] law.

“One can argue that a publisher is responsible for whatever that appears on his website. Likewise, one can argue that a person allowing the comment on his portal should be responsible for the comment made.”

Earlier, in his Royal Address, Sultan Abdullah said the media’s influence, especially the irresponsible use of social media, may threaten values based on religion and society’s moral principles.

“Although our government embraces openness and freedom of speech, these rights must be exercised within the legal framework and the accepted societal norms. Meanwhile, enforcement agencies must take firm action against any dissemination of unlawful social media content,” he said.