Too much policing of political speech could result in a “rude, rude surprise” at the elections, former minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.
He said the government should have discussions with podcasters before introducing any regulations on online media, to prevent any political backlash.
Speaking at the Malaysian student leaders summit held here, Khairy said the younger generation faced new “frontier issues” involving digital freedoms and privacy.
Khairy, who is a co-host of the Keluar Sekejap podcast, said he was concerned over the possibility of regulations over podcasts, which he added contribute to meaningful public discourse.
Fear of punishment might lead to self-censorship, he said. “The biggest fear is if I say something online and I get a knock on my door or TikTok bans me,” he said.
Laws must be proportionate, he said, urging the authorities to focus enforcement on legitimate threats such as incitement or attacks against the monarchy and judiciary.
“Podcasters, we love being where we are because we aren’t filtered. We’re not regulated. We self-regulate,” he said.
For instance, he said he banned profanity on his podcast. “We don’t use swear words. We don’t feel that it’s appropriate for our audience, and also we have a lot of sponsors now. So we don’t do that.”
