LAUNCHING OF “TECHCAMP MALAYSIA: BUILDING TRUST AND MEDIA LITERACY IN THE DIGITAL AGE”
SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
AT “TECHCAMP MALAYSIA: BUILDING TRUST AND MEDIA LITERACY
IN THE DIGITAL AGE”
6 OCTOBER 2020
PENANG INSTITUTE
High Excellency Kamala Lakhdir
US Ambassador to Malaysia
Dr Fadhullah Suhaimi bin Abdul Malek
Chairman of Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
Dato’ Dr. Ooi Kee Beng
Executive Director of Penang Institute
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning and warm greetings to all of you.
To the trainers and participants who are joining us from all over the world, it is a pity that the Covid-19 pandemic has put a dent in the original plan for you to visit Penang in person. But perhaps it is also somewhat apropos to host a TechCamp online – after all, the crux of TechCamp is the application of technology as a solution to problems.
Before we begin, I would like to thank the Penang Institute for organizing this event. This is the first time that TechCamp is hosted in Malaysia, and as the Chief Minister of Penang, I am honoured to have all of you here with us today, even if only virtually. I would also like to extend my special thanks to the US Embassy Kuala Lumpur, Ambassador Ms Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, as well as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and its Chairman Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek, for their support for this event.
As you may know, TechCamp is a program coordinated by the US Department of State in various countries around the world to connect technology experts from the private sector with relevant groups such as journalists, NGOs and civil society organizations to develop and apply technology solutions to global issues. These camps focus on a series of tech-related themes that are tailored to the local context of the host and participating countries. TechCamp workshops are led by local and international industry experts who will provide participants with technological tools and integrative solutions that can be applied to the real-world challenges.
The theme for TechCamp Malaysia, ‘Building Trust & Media Literacy in the Digital Age’, is one that is timely and pertinent to the Southeast Asian region. As it is, Malaysia and its neighbouring countries have seen a concerning increase in the spread of disinformation and misinformation, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. In Malaysia, the spread of rumours and potentially harmful false information was worrying enough to prompt the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to open investigations into Covid-19-related fake news and to set up a Quick Response Team which monitors suspicious news and allegations to fact-check and clarify Covid-19-related news.
The actual degree of damage caused by false rhetoric and malicious rumour-mongering is unknown, but we have all witnessed from anecdotes around the world the harm that such information can cause: people have died from consuming off-label medications, vulnerable groups have been targeted because of hate speech and political propaganda have pit supporters against one another. A general lack of media literacy skills among the general public as well as the difficulty of identifying and tracking the source of information with end-to-end encryption technology, further complicates an already challenging task.
While people have historically relied on journalists and newspapers for information, the advent of technology has made information widely and instantly available to Internet users. Journalists, media personnel and content creators have had and will always have an ethical obligation to produce content that is impartial, evidence-based and accurate. However, with the rise of social media and messaging platforms as sources of information, the onus of verifying facts and sifting through biases now lies primarily with the populace rather than with the media and information professionals. Therefore, counter efforts should focus on educating the public to be more critical and discerning of information they consume, as well as on promoting higher levels of media literacy, which broadly speaking, also involves practices that allow people to access, critically evaluate, and even create media content.
Malaysia, as well as other Southeast Asian, countries have laws governing the dissemination of information and the use of multimedia communications. Nevertheless, it is important that, in doing so, the government does not inadvertently infringe on media freedom and the freedom of speech and expression, as some anti-fake news legislative bills are wont to do. Ideally, the government should avoid exerting any direct control on the media at all. Instead, the authority to hold media providers accountable over the accuracy of the information they publish should lie with an independent regulatory body.
The idea of an informed populace capable of making independent and reasoned judgment is the backbone of a healthy democracy. It is particularly relevant to the Penang2030 vision of the Penang State, which aims to stimulate citizen participation in policy making. This not only requires the people to be well-informed and knowledgeable, but also capable of distinguishing factual and unbiased information from the onslaught of misinformation and disinformation that pervades the Internet. Political misinformation is particularly harmful as it undermines voters’ capacity to make informed choices and ultimately leads to the erosion of the democratic institution itself.
Hence, it is all the more important to rebuild public trust in the news media by raising media integrity and while the same time, to inculcate an awareness in the public when consuming and creating media content. Over the course of this TechCamp, trainers will explore the various ways in which this can be achieved, and hopefully steer the public towards healthier media consumption and greater civic engagement.
With that, I wish this TechCamp every success, and I hereby bid you all a fun, illuminating and fruitful few days.
Thank you.