KUCHING: All internet service and social media providers have expressed their readiness to be licensed, recognising Malaysia’s significant market potential, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He emphasised that Malaysia’s leverage lies in its market potential and the affordability of its internet services to its citizens.
“Based on my recent engagement with the providers, they are ready. Our leverage is that we make our internet access affordable and fast, which presents a huge market for them.
“We are the second most valuable market in Southeast Asia,” he told reporters during an exclusive dialogue and luncheon with the Kuching Division Journalist Association (KDJA) at The Reef restaurant today.
He went on to highlight the significant data consumption in the country.
“In Malaysia, one user can consume between 30 to 50 gigabytes of data every month. That’s a lot of data compared to other Southeast Asia countries like Indonesia and Vietnam.
“When I look at the data for 5G consumption, especially among students, it’s clear that this is a very big market for social media, videos, gaming, and more. We want this market to be safe, so we aim for a win-win situation,” he added.
Addressing the possibility of platforms failing to obtain the license, he assured that the Ministry would consider shutting them down only as a last resort.
He mentioned that platforms like TikTok Shop have around one million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) relying on them.
“We will begin engagement with media, civil society, lawyer organisations, bar councils, legal societies, and academics to build a code of conduct, ensuring that platforms understand the regulations.
“We’re not going to shut down (any social media providers). We don’t want to. But that’s our last resort,” he said.
On July 27, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that all social media and internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia must apply for an Applications Service Provider (ASP) class licence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).
This regulation will take effect from January 1, 2025, following the introduction of a new regulatory framework for social media services starting August 1. This requirement, however, does not apply to individual users of these platforms.
