KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 – The Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) will abide by Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s advice to continue combating the dissemination of fake news comprehensively.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said as an agency under the ministry, Bernama would uphold Sultan Sharafuddin’s command to intensify efforts to combat fake news, a menace that needs to be tackled comprehensively.
“On behalf of Bernama, I would like to express our gratitude to Tuanku for his advice, and together with Bernama staff and our media partners, we will combat slander and fake news comprehensively.
“In this regard, Bernama has informed His Royal Highness about the special portal MyCheck Malaysia (MyCheck) which was created to serve as a platform for verifying the authenticity of facts which have gone viral on social media,” he said.
Fahmi told reporters this after accompanying Sultan Sharafuddin and Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin on their visit to the Bernama headquarters on Tuesday.
Fahmi said he and the Bernama management would look into the need to strengthen the MyCheck unit so that, together with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) sebenarnya.my and the ‘Biar Betul!’ segment produced by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), it could more effectively check the spread of fake news.
Fahmi, who is also the Unity Government spokesman, said apart from government media agencies, it is also essential to get other media organisations involved in the war against fake news.
He also said Bernama valued the Sultan of Selangor’s suggestion that the national news agency become a source of reference by functioning as an ‘archive or museum’ documenting developments in Malaysian journalism.
“We do not have a place displaying developments in the field of journalism … as Bernama has been around since 1968, for sure it has been deeply involved in the evolution of the world of journalism.
“With various equipment at its disposal, from hybrid to digital, Bernama can be a part of an archive or museum showcasing developments in journalism in Malaysia,” he said.
On another matter, Fahmi said he would present to the next Cabinet meeting the Cabinet Memorandum on the 5G implementation committee’s decisions, including the establishment of a second 5G network.
He said the second 5G network rollout needs to be decided at the Cabinet meeting so that any developments on switching from the current single wholesale network (SWN) to a dual network model can be announced after next month’s Chinese New Year celebration.
“Yesterday, I held a meeting with the chief executive officers of all telecommunications companies and they said it would not take long to develop the second network, maybe just 12 to 18 months.
“In this matter, Insya-Allah I will bring the Cabinet Memorandum to the attention of ministers soon so that a decision can be made soon on establishing the second 5G network,” he said.
Fahmi also said all mobile network operators have agreed not to impose additional charges on consumers who upgrade their subscriptions to 5G.
