KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching said it is incumbent on Members of Parliament (MPs) to make sure that every statement they issue is accurate, so as to set a good example to others and to prevent the dissemination of fake news.

"If we do not know how to verify information and we believe in fake news, how about people out there? There are so many social media users. Efforts have been made to educate society (on verifying information), such as the Klik Dengan Bijak programme undertaken by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) since 2022.

"Maybe MCMC needs to organise a special session for all MPs including the member for Kepala Batas (Siti Mastura Muhammad) so that as leaders we can show that we are capable of verifying any piece of news before sharing,” she said.

Teo said this when replying to a supplementary question from Wong Shu Qi (PH-Kluang), who asked about Siti Mastura’s statement which was said to be false and the steps taken by the ministry to improve media literacy among elected representatives.

Yesterday, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan) gave Siti Mastura until tomorrow (Nov 9) to prove her allegation that he has family ties with former Malayan Communist Party leader Chin Peng and former Singapore Prime Minister the late Lee Kuan Yew. — Bernama