This cannot be done in one shot,” he said in an interview on Bernama TV’s World programme titled “Online Safety in Focus: Understanding Malaysia’s ONSA 2025” yesterday. In balancing regulation with freedom of speech, Selvakumar stressed the need for transparency and independent oversight, proposing an independent online safety body involving civil society and academic experts. “We need to have an online safety Appeal Tribunal. This gives both our users and platforms a fair opportunity to challenge decisions.”While the government has created an Online Safety Committee under the Online Safety Act to provide strategic guidance on online safety issues, Selvakumar said there remains a need to strengthen independent oversight mechanisms, mainly in ensuring transparency and fair avenues for appeal involving users and platforms. We want to work with them.”On cross-border digital crimes, Selvakumar noted that regional coordination was critical given the borderless nature of online platforms.

Source: The Star January 20, 2026 02:47 UTC