TWO Bills under the Communications Ministry have been passed in the Dewan Rakyat.
The two Bills were the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (Amendment) Bill 2026 and the Communications and Multimedia (Amendment) Bill 2026, which were tabled for the second and third readings.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act (Act588) was necessary to address current challenges, including cybersecurity threats, geopolitical tensions and the country’s growing dependence on communications infrastructure.
To that end, she said a Universal Service Provision (USP) framework capable of meeting current needs, especially in safeguarding national security, is required.
The amendment proposes for a National Universal Service Provision Initiative.
Teo said decisions related to national security under the national USP initiative would be handled by the National Security Council (NSC).
This, she added, ensures that the minister’s authority is applied only where necessary and should not be interpreted as granting unrestricted powers over national security issues.
Addressing concerns that the broader scope of the USP fund could increase costs for consumers, Teo said that the fund is fully financed through mandatory contributions from licensees under the Act at a prescribed rate. These contributions are deposited into a dedicated trust fund.
She said the trust fund can only be used for purposes stipulated under the USP framework in the Act, including the installation of network facilities as well as the provision of network and application services.
On concerns over the expansion of the scope and mechanism for check and balance, she said the scope of the National USP initiative has been limited to the communications and multimedia sector as well as activities licensed under Act 588.
“It is limited to matters directly linked to network facilities and service as well as application services,” she added.
The USP framework ensures that essential telecommunications, broadcasting and Internet services are available to all Malaysians, especially those in rural or underserved areas.
As for amendments to the MCMC Act, MPs had expressed concerns over the wider powers of the minister to make appointments and the commission itself.
One of the Bill’s principal provisions prohibits MPs and state assemblymen from being appointed as the chairman or members of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
During the debate, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau) questioned whether the measure could genuinely be regarded as institutional reform, given that the authority to appoint the commission’s leadership would still rest with the minister.
He proposed that Parliament should instead have a role in the selection and appointment of the MCMC chairman and commission members.
Teo said the minister’s authority to appoint the MCMC chairman and commissioners had been in place since the commission’s founding legislation came into effect in 1998.
She added the proposed amendments did not grant new appointment powers, neither did it expand the minister’s existing authority.
It would limit the minister’s discretion by disqualifying MPs and state assembly representatives from being appointed.
