KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia urged Facebook operator Meta and short video service TikTok to step up monitoring on their platforms, it said on Tuesday, with the government reporting sharp increases in harmful social media content this year.
In the first three months of 2024, the government referred 51,638 cases to social media platforms, including Meta and TikTok, for further action, up from 42,904 cases recorded in the whole of last year, the communications regulator and Malaysian police said in a joint statement.
The agencies did not specify what types of content were reported, but said the move was part of efforts to restrict the spread of harmful content online, particularly those related to race, religion and royalty.
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, and Meta were also urged to curb content indicating coordinated inauthentic behavior, or related to financial scams and illegal online gambling, the agencies said.
Race and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia, which has a mainly Muslim ethnic Malay majority, alongside significant ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. It also has laws prohibiting seditious remarks or insults against its monarchy.
Malaysia has increased scrutiny of online content in recent months, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration facing accusations of backpedaling on its promises to protect free speech. The government has denied allegations of stifling diverse views, saying it needed to protect users from online harms.
Meta and TikTok restricted a record number of social media posts and accounts in Malaysia in the first six months of 2023, amid an increase in government requests to remove content, data published by the firms last year showed.
Malaysia reports increase in requests to restrict social media content
https://arab.news/cz2v5
Malaysia reports increase in requests to restrict social media content
- Move is part of efforts to curb spread of harmful content related to race, religion and royalty
- In the first three months of 2024, the government referred 51,638 cases to social media platforms, compared to 42,904 cases recorded in the whole of last year
Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’
DUBAI: Bondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrenched his shotgun away, saying the only thing he had in mind was to stop the assailant from “killing more innocent people.”
Al-Ahmad’s heroism was widely acclaimed in Australia when he tackled and disarmed gunman Sajid Akram who fired at Jewish people attending a Hanukkah event on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview on Monday.
“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”
In footage viewed by millions of people, Al Ahmed was seen ducking between parked cars as the shooting unfolded, then wresting a gun from one of the assailants.
He was shot several times in the shoulder as a result and underwent several rounds of surgery.
“I jumped in his back, hit him and … hold him with my right hand and start to say a word like, you know, to warn him, ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing’,” Al Ahmed said.
“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help,” Al Ahmed told the television network.
“That’s my soul asked me to do that, and everything in my heart, and my brain, everything just worked, you know, to manage and to save the people’s life,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: Ahmed al Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic attack on Australia's Bondi Beach earlier this month, is speaking out in the aftermath of the massacre.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 28, 2025
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry still for the lost." pic.twitter.com/gFUfJvv7c6
Al Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.
He is a father of two who emigrated to Australia from Syria in 2007, and works as a fruit seller.
Local media reported that the Australian government has fast-tracked and granted a number of visas for Al Ahmed’s family following his act of bravery.
“Ahmed has shown the courage and values we want in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.
(with AFP)
