MCA will fully support Pahang Youth chief, says Dr Wee
PETALING JAYA: MCA will support its Pahang Youth chief Wong Siew Mun with legal assistance, as she is due for questioning by Bukit Aman over the telco data issue, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
'The Pahang MCA Youth chief is scheduled to be questioned by the police in Bukit Aman regarding a video in which she cited a media report on the Government's directive for telcos to hand over user data,' the MCA president said in a Facebook post Monday (June 16).
'I have assured her that she has the full support of the party, and we will provide all necessary legal assistance." the Ayer Hitam MP said, adding that he was glad to see her in his office on Monday morning, shortly after she was discharged from hospital.
ALSO READ: Dr Wee questions probe against MCA youth leader over mobile data criticism
Dr Wee lauded Wong for her courage and boldness in speaking the truth and standing up for the people which he said was truly commendable.
'The people deserve to know why the Statistics Department of Malaysia (DOSM) has instructed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to order telcos to hand over the data,' he said.
"Wishing you all the best, Siew Mun! Continue to stand with the people and be their voice,' he added.
Dr Wee had also previously flagged the Mobile Phone Data collection exercise.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has since explained that the move is to support evidence-based policymaking in two key sectors, namely information and communications technology (ICT) and tourism.
MCMC also stressed that the data will be anonymised before submission and that no individual subscriber can be identified.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malaysiakini
8 hours ago
- Malaysiakini
MCMC's phone data grab is not harmless
COMMENT | In 2018 and again in 2022, Malaysians voted for reform, demanding greater transparency, democratic rights, and a government that listens. That is why the public backlash to recent revelations about the MCMC mobile data request has been swift and entirely justified. According to local and international media reports, such as The Edge and South China Morning Post, MCMC issued directives to five major telcos requesting mobile phone metadata for the first quarter of 2025. The fields listed include anonymised user IDs (MSISDN), precise date and time stamps, base station identifiers, GPS coordinates, data type (calls or internet), service type (2G - 5G) and mobile country code. On paper, names or identity card (IC) numbers were excluded, but in practice, metadata is never truly anonymous.
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Australia ban bid faces new wildcard: Teenagers
WHEN 13-year-old Jasmine Elkin tried out the age-checking software Australia might use to ban children and teenagers from social media, she was surprised some products could identify a person's age to the month — but she still doubts it will work. "People are always going to find a way to get past it," said the Perth schoolgirl who trialled five photo-based age estimation products with about 30 other students last month. "They can get their brother or sister to take a photo. There's nothing really that you can do about it." Elkin's view echoes one of the main concerns of child protection advocates, tech firms and even the trial organisers about the technology Australia hopes will enable the world's first national social media ban for under-16s: the software works, they say, but young people will find a way around it. From December, social media companies like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok will face a fine of as much as A$49.5 million if they fail to take what the law calls "reasonable steps" to block younger users in an effort to protect their mental and physical health. The platforms say users need to be at least 13 years old to sign up for an account. How well the ban works could reverberate across some of the world's largest companies and the governments seeking to contain them: already Britain, France and Singapore are making efforts to keep children and teens off social media, while American states, including Florida, are challenging free speech laws by pushing for a ban. Even the law's opponents are likely to be watching closely: X owner Elon Musk, who is a vocal opponent of platform moderation and regulation, has criticised the measure and called the regulator overseeing it a "censorship commissar". "Everybody is looking at Australia," said Colm Gannon, chief executive officer of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children Australia, a member of the trial's stakeholder adviser group. "Australia should be really focusing on robust technology, robust testing and making sure the scope of the actual project is in line with the needs that they're trying to address." The organisers of the trial, which ended this month, say it was designed to determine whether the software worked as promised, and that nearly 60 products were pitched. But it also underlined the teenagers' tech skills — testers were so fast completing their assignments, organisers doubled the number of products they tested and halved session times as the project progressed. "It hasn't been our intention to pull apart the software, rip the guts out and work out every different way that you could circumvent it," said Andrew Hammond, general manager at tech contractor KJR, which ran the trial. They are expected to deliver a detailed report to the government by the end of next month. That will inform the eSafety Commissioner's advice to the government, which cited risks from cyberbullying, harmful depictions of body image and misogynist content in pushing forward with the legislation. "We know that social media age restrictions will not be the end-all be-all solution for harms experienced by young people online, but it's a step in the right direction to keep our kids safer," said a spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells. For some of the young Australians who participated, the trial was a glimpse into a world six months in the future where, according to the law, they will no longer be allowed to use a platform they have come to rely on for daily communication. "I use it a lot, but I can still live without it," said Canberra school student Charlie Price, 14, who trialled four software options in a room with about 60 peers and had his age guessed accurately (someone in his testing group was wrongly assessed at over 20). "I know people that will get really shocked and upset," added Price, who uses Snapchat, Instagram and messaging platform Discord and plans to collect phone numbers of his online associates before December. Like Elkin, he said he thought some teenagers might try to get around the block.
The Star
9 hours ago
- The Star
PM Anwar records his appreciation to Razarudin
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed his appreciation to former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain for his service, contributions, and leadership during his tenure heading the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM). In a Facebook post on Friday (June 20), Anwar stated that he conveyed this during a farewell courtesy call from Razarudin. "I pray that Tan Sri Razarudin continues to be blessed with good health and the strength to continue contributing to the nation in any capacity. Thank you for your very meaningful service to the people and the country," he said. Razarudin, who joined PDRM in 1982, was appointed as the 14th IGP for a two-year contract after his retirement, effective June 23, 2023, and will conclude his service this Sunday. Throughout his career, Razarudin held several important positions, including Head of Penang Criminal Investigation Department in 2016, Deputy Commissioner of Sabah Police (2016), Deputy Chief Police Officer of Perak (2018), Chief Police Officer of Perak (2019), Director of Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (2020), and Deputy Inspector-General of Police (2021). Earlier, Bukit Aman Special Branch Director Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail was appointed as the 15th IGP, replacing Razarudin, effective Friday.- Bernama
