SANDAKAN: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) recorded 714 online content complaints in Sandakan, including 408 involving social media, from 2025 through August 2026.
“When we talk about digital development, we should not only look at internet reach or increasingly sophisticated technology,” said Sandakan Member of Parliament Vivian Wong Shir Yee, here.
“We also need to ensure society has the knowledge and skills to identify risks, make sound judgments and protect themselves and their families while online,” she added.
Wong said the figures showed that online risk could affect anyone, regardless of age, background or location.
She was speaking at the launch of the MCMC-organised Sandakan District Safe Internet Campaign 2026 Community Carnival at the Taman Harmoni PPR Multipurpose Hall on Saturday.
Her speech was delivered by Elopura Mukim Development Officer Jason Pang.
Wong said the internet today was no longer merely a convenience but had become part of everyday life, with children using it for learning, families for communication, entrepreneurs for growing businesses, and the wider community for information and services.
She said the wider the digital space people explored, the greater the responsibility to use it safely and wisely. Alongside its benefits, technology also brought risks such as online scams, cyberbullying, misuse of social media, inappropriate content and threats to children’s safety, she said.
These challenges were not confined to major towns, she added, which was why safe internet campaigns needed to be extended to the community level.
For Sandakan, which encompasses urban, semi-urban and rural populations, digital safety education needed to reach everyone so that no one was left out of enjoying the benefits of digital development safely and responsibly.
These efforts were being reinforced through the involvement of local Wira Internet Selamat (Wis), or Safe Internet Heroes, as volunteers and advocacy icons in the community.
She said this approach mattered because local communities understood the realities and challenges facing them, allowing internet safety messages to be delivered in ways that were more relatable, easier to understand and relevant to daily life.
“What we want to build is not just a digitally literate society, but a digitally resilient one,” she said.
“This means we not only know how to use technology, but are able to identify scams, verify before trusting or sharing something, protect personal information and know how to seek help when facing online threats,” she said.
She noted that protection efforts were also being strengthened through the Online Safety Act 2025 (Onsa), which reinforced measures to create a safer online environment by placing clearer responsibilities on platform service providers.
However, laws and technology alone were not enough, she said, adding that the closest line of defence began with families and communities.
Parents needed to guide their children, teachers needed to educate the younger generation, communities needed to look out for one another, and every user needed to take responsibility for their own actions in the digital space.
