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BALI - Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to establish inter-agency cooperation at the implementation level to address online child safety issues, with efforts also planned to involve Singapore in the collaboration.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said online safety, particularly involving children, was an important issue requiring the collective attention of countries in the region.
"We are working towards holding a trilateral meeting involving Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, Insha'Allah, in December, if schedules permit,” he told Bernama after a bilateral meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Meutya Hafid, here on Tuesday.
He said that although ASEAN countries have different laws and implementation approaches, the initiative by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore could encourage other countries in the region to participate.
"We not only have aligned policies, but may also have several similar mechanisms, although they may not be exactly the same,” he explained.
Fahmi also welcomed Meutya’s intention to strengthen cooperation between the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Indonesia’s Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry.
MCMC’s experience in handling public complaints related to social media could also be useful to the Indonesian authorities, he added.
In a related development, Singapore’s Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo said she and Fahmi had exchanged views on developments in their respective telecommunications sectors during an impromptu meeting at Ngurah Rai International Airport on Monday.
In a post on her official social media account, Teo said the discussions included quantum-safe communications, as well as online safety for children and young people.
She also expressed hope of hosting Fahmi in Singapore in the near future.
Teo happened to meet Fahmi, who had just arrived in Bali, while she was waiting for her flight back to Singapore after attending Bali Tech Week 2026.
Fahmi is in Bali at the invitation of the organisers to deliver a keynote address at Bali Tech Week.
He was accompanied by MCMC Deputy Managing Director (Regulatory) Datuk Dr Mohamed Sulaiman Sultan Suhaibudden and First Secretary (Economics) at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, Fakhrul Arifin Mohammad Zulkifly. - BERNAMA
