Fahmi calls on platform providers to act quickly against misinformation on polling night to avoid public confusion.
JOHOR BAHRU: Social media platform providers need to be proactive in curbing the spread of false information related to the 16th Johor state election, especially on polling day to avoid confusion among the people.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the platform does indeed have a policy that does not allow the spread of false information, but monitoring and enforcement need to be enhanced, especially on polling night, this Saturday.
“We are quite worried on polling night. We do not want false information about the results or who won in a seat to be spread,” he told reporters after visiting the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) operations centre for the Johor state election here today.
In this regard, Fahmi, who is also the MADANI Government spokesperson, said platform providers need to cooperate with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to overcome the issue.
He said previously, MCMC and the Malaysian Media Council had expressed their intention to help tackle the spread of false information, especially the misuse of media logos to produce fake graphics.
“However, that is only half of the problem. The other half is the content on social media itself produced by netizens, whether in the form of graphics or writing that may contain false information related to the election.
“So we hope that the relevant platforms will take action more quickly,” he said, adding that so far, MCMC has not received any complaints regarding campaign misconduct on social media.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said PH remained confident in its campaign strategy in the last week of the Johor polls by focusing on encouraging returning outstation voters to fulfil their responsibilities.
He said the good reception to public transport was a positive sign, besides there were several bus companies that were also providing special packages to make it easier for outstation voters.
At the same time, he said that students from the Youth and Sports Skills Training Institute (ILKBS) were also given leave to go home to vote, besides hoping that employers, especially in the retail and food and beverage (F&B) sectors, could give flexibility to employees to go out to vote this Saturday.
Commenting on the target voter turnout, Fahmi hoped that the rate could exceed 60%, besides urging the public to fulfill their responsibilities as voters.
“We hope that more parents will convey the message and invite their children who are outside Johor to come home to vote.
“This is important not only to carry out their duties and responsibilities as citizens, but also as Johoreans to determine their choices for the next four or five years,” he said.
