KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has received 15,238 complaints on online harassment over the past five years.
Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa told the Dewan Rakyat that the figures from 2016 to Sept 30 this year were general complaints on online harassment that covered bullying, sexual harassment, threats, misuse of personal data and private pictures to victimise or humiliate targets.
He said 963 cases were investigated under Section 233 of the MCMC Act.
Of the number of cases being investigated, 60 of them were brought to court, resulting in 241 charges. A person can be jailed a maximum of one year, fined up to RM50,000, or both, upon conviction.
Annuar however said the commission does not have details on the sex, age, race as well as particulars of the victims and their aggressors' states of origin.
"MCMC also advises and gives guidance to those affected and refers the cases to the social media platform providers for further checks based on their service terms and community guidelines. The steps taken are also based on claims and demands by the complainants.
"Complaints outside our jurisdiction will be referred to the relevant enforcement agencies and technical expertise would be given to them," he said in a written parliamentary reply to Nurul Izzah Anwar (PH-Permatang Pauh).
She had earlier asked the ministry for the statistics on online harassment.
She also asked for the breakdown of the cases according to race, gender, and the states of origin of the victims and perpetrators, among others.