By Asmahanim Amir
Pix Ikhwan Hashim

BANGI, 7 Oct 2015 – Malaysia needs to implement restrictions on the use of the internet and social media (new media).

Despite having many positive effects in relation to new media, the internet has been abused by certain quarters, said the Director-General of Information, Dato’ Ibrahim Abdul Rahman.

“With this background of contradictions, other countries including Malaysia have to implement restrictions on new media,” said Dato’ Ibrahim at the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Media and Communication (MENTION) 2015, here on October 5th.

To improve the reputation of media and communications in Malaysia, media practitioners need to ensure their contents are relevant and follow current developments, he explained.

He said all media organisations should highlight the positive aspects of the country such as instilling the spirit of unity and good interaction among multiracial communities.

“This will be beneficial to the country as it can be a catalyst for achieving the objective in the future because social media also has an important role in disseminating information, especially in building the spirit of nationhood,” he stressed.

He said, the provisions of a suitable platform for social media are important for clarifying the perceptions of government policies.

“The past and present communications are different. Now media haS become more influential as it is more sophisticated and widespread,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Malaysia (UKM), Prof Datuk Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali said MENTION 2015 with the theme Media Globalisation and national transformation: Reality, Challenges and Aspirations aimed to build collaboration and to create a network of scholarship and expertise towards academic and research excellence amongst academia and the industry.

He said papers presented in this conference covers insights of the sub themes under media and communication, new media studies, health communication, information and communication technology (ICT) and development, social media and subcultures, but not limited to media and family communication.

The biennial conference was organised by the School of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM.