PETALING JAYA: An Online Safety Committee, headed by a former Chief Judge of Malaya, will serve as the government’s highest strategic advisory body on online safety, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (pic).
The committee was established under the Online Safety Act (Onsa) 2025, which came into force on New Year’s Day.
In a statement yesterday, Azalina said the appointed members come from diverse professional backgrounds to ensure transparency and credibility.
“The members of the Online Safety Committee are drawn from the public sector, private sector and civil society,” she said.
The committee includes experts on the rights of vulnerable groups, service provider experts, lawyers and a media NGO representative.
Former 13th Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, who retired last November, was appointed chairman.
Other members include Datuk Lim Thean Shiang (deputy chairman), Barhoum Abe Abed (licensed application service provider), Mohd Kasyful Azim Ab Rahman (licensed network service provider) and Dr Ruzimi Mohamed (representative of persons with disabilities).
Additional members are Datuk Zurkarnain Mohd Yasin of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Thiyagu Ganesan (legal affairs division), lawyer Datuk Seri Dr Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos and Wathshlah Naidu from the Centre for Independent Journalism.
“The Madani government remains committed to creating a safer online ecosystem, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children, by addressing the harms of increasingly complex cybercrime through the enforcement of the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866), which officially came into force on Jan 1,” Azalina said.She added that the committee was formed in accordance with Section 5 of Onsa 2025.
“The Online Safety Committee will serve as the highest strategic advisory body to guide online safety policy, including monitoring and providing recommendations on content safety.
“This committee will not merely play an administrative role; it will carry out substantive functions, including advising the MCMC on the classification of harmful content, prioritising areas such as child sexual abuse and financial fraud.
“It will determine risk analysis methods and mitigation strategies to protect users from online harm, assess the effectiveness of complaint mechanisms and enforcement against content that violates the law, and conduct technical research and expert analysis on emerging cybercrime trends, including the misuse of artificial intelligence technologies and deepfakes.
“These appointments are for a three-year term, effective from Jan 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2028.
“The government remains committed to ensuring freedom of expression is respected without compromising the safety of the public, especially vulnerable groups,” Azalina said.
In a previous statement on Nov 25, she noted that MCMC will act as the primary and sole regulator under Onsa 2025.
Gazetted on May 22, Onsa 2025 was enacted to regulate harmful content and define the responsibilities of licensed application, content and network service providers.
The law was introduced primarily to enhance online safety for minors.
On Dec 3, MCMC said Onsa 2025 established a proactive regulatory framework with clear obligations for platforms to manage high-risk content, including child sexual abuse material, pornographic content, obscene content and content related to self-harm.
