DA NANG, Sept 22 — Almost two billion suspicious calls and 581 million suspicious short messaging service (SMS) were successfully blocked from reaching Malaysian consumers with the assistance of telco service providers to tackle the issue of online scams.

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said from 2020 to April 2023, the ministry also received a total of 8,499 public complaints related to fraudulent activities and within the same period successfully blocked 3,370 phishing sites.

"Malaysia is managing misinformation, especially from the new media by focusing on 2Ps — prevention and protection.

"We are heavily invested in educating and empowering the public with online knowledge and tools to protect themselves,” he said in his remarks at the 16th Conference of Asean Ministers Responsible for Information (Amri) plenary session held after the opening ceremony, here today.

Fahmi is leading the Malaysian delegation to the 16th Amri at Furama Resort Danang, here which officially commenced today.

Meanwhile to tackle the issue of misinformation, disinformation and fake news, Fahmi said Malaysia has set up a task force consisting of various agencies including the Royal Malaysia Police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Attorney General Chambers to establish inter-agency coordination to manage unverified news on new media.

He said this is in response to Amri’s Working Group on Information, Media and Training which has established the Task Force on Fake News (TFFN) to look specifically at the role of Media and Information, to share best practices and even come up with shared initiatives in the Asean region on combating fake news.

"Malaysia also has set up Sebenarnya.my and MyCheck Malaysia which are fact-checking websites. that enable the Malaysian public to cross reference information and report false information. Sebenarnya.my has an average hits of 4.8 million a month and is the most effective fact checking website in Malaysia,” he said.

The minister said it is critical to ensure the information disseminated to the masses are reliable and correct as this can spell disaster to individuals, communities and nations, especially in the case of new media that has witnessed rapid advancement.

Commenting on the 16th Amri theme, Media: From Information To Knowledge For A Resilient And Responsive Asean, he said it is a very apt as media has evolved from what is known as print which delivers news the very next day to what we have now which gives us news the very next millisecond.

"In order to be resilient and responsive, knowledge is definitely the key, and the media plays an effective role in converting information to knowledge,” he said, when sharing Malaysia’s journey and vision with regards to the theme, in line with the Asean Communications Master Plan II 2018-2025 (ACMP II).

He noted that during the last Asean Digital Minister’s Meeting (ADGMIN 3) in the Philippines, the Ministers discussed the possibility of setting up a working group to look into misinformation, disinformation and fake news which was proposed by Thailand and was unanimously accepted by the meeting.

Fahmi noted that Malaysia actively plays a role in creating awareness of Asean and among its people, especially among school children and young adults.

He said the Department of Information (JaPen) has successfully implemented a range of Asean related initiatives, including The Asean Mural Drawing Competition, Right Information Saves and Empowers (Rise Asean), Asean Quiz Competition and Asean @ Socmed.

Also in Malaysian delegation are Communications and Digital Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, Department of Information (JaPen) Media and Corporate Communication director Datuk E. Sivabalan, Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) Deputy Editor-in-Chief (News Service) Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin as well as other high-ranking officials from KKD and its agencies.

Earlier, Vietnam Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan in her opening speech highlighted the importance of promoting timely and accurate information based on digital capabilities, turning information into knowledge to support businesses and people’s livelihoods.

"Minimising the impact of negative information is now an urgent need at national, regional and international levels including Asean,” she said.

Xuan said Amri is an important forum for Asean member states and dialogue countries to exchange to identify priorities and directions for cooperation in future and to jointly achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals as well as the priorities of the ASEAN Community. — Bernama