PUTRAJAYA, May 29 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called on to all relevant parties to support Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil’s decision to take action against Telegram.
He said although Telegram is not as widely used as other mobile applications, the information transmitted through it has negative effects and is detrimental to society.
“When the media channel operator refuses to cooperate with the Communications and Digital Ministry or the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, I think follow-up action should be taken.
“We have a system, even if we have protocols to entertain these media channels, but if the contents are detrimental to society, action must be taken immediately,” Zahid added.
On Saturday, Fahmi said that Telegram has been “unwilling to cooperate” with the ministry, despite multiple requests for a meeting since January.
Fahmi said that his ministry has received many complaints of ongoing misuse of the platform, such as scams, pornography and illegal drug sales.
He added that most of the other social media platforms, such as TikTok, Facebook and Twitter, have been cooperating with the ministry, and that Telegram is the most worrying.
