PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) only investigated 963 out of 15,238 online harassment complaints lodged from 2016 to Sept 30 this year.
This was part of the statistics revealed by the communications and multimedia ministry in a written reply to Nurul Izzah Anwar (PH-Permatang Pauh) yesterday.
According to the ministry, the 15,238 cases included online bullying, online threats and intimidation, sexual harassment, and misuse of personal information, details, or photographs of individuals for the purpose of humiliating them.
The 963 cases investigated by MCMC were related to online abuse via social media and investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Of the 963 cases, only 60 cases have been brought to court with 241 charges filed against the perpetrators.
The ministry said MCMC also provided advice and guidance to the victims, as well as reported the cases of online harassment to the relevant social media platforms for their further action.
It added that complaints that are beyond the jurisdiction of MCMC will be handled by the relevant enforcement authorities, with technical expert assistance provided to them by the commission.
However, the ministry was unable to provide the breakdown of the data requested by Nurul Izzah on the race, gender, and state of origin of the victims and perpetrators.