PM Najib: Govt won't impose licensing for news portals

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak with the winners at the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI)-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will not impose licensing requirements for news portals, as implemented by neighbouring countries, said the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"Instead, to maintain the country's harmony, the federal government will enforce laws already in place to ensure that action is taken against anyone who fans hatred and racial sentiments or belittles the monarchy, and those who try to subvert the parliamentary democracy," he added.

Najib said this in his speech at the presentation ceremony of the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI)-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards 2012 here Wednesday.

He said the people must be mature and ensure social media was not misused.

"We must create an environment where there are principles and values as well as responsibility towards anything published in social media," he said.

He suggested a "positive control" to ensure that there was responsibility and that information published did not go against any laws.

The Singapore government recently announced that online news portals that regularly reported on the city state would be required to procure a licence, effective June 1.

(Source: The Star Online)