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WE wave the Jalur Gemilang with pride every August and September, honouring the sacrifices that secured our nation’s land, borders and sovereignty.
Yet, as Malaysia celebrates Merdeka and Malaysia Day, sovereignty now extends beyond physical borders into the digital realm.
Children are increasingly immersed in digital ecosystems governed by algorithms headquartered abroad, raising a crucial question: Are our children truly safe online?
Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia Professor Datuk Dr Mohamed Ridza Wahiddin said Merdeka once meant freedom from physical borders and foreign rule.
He said true digital independence means ensuring youth can benefit from the internet without becoming dependent on foreign-controlled systems.
"Today, Malaysia’s sovereignty must extend into the digital realm, where our children’s minds and data are increasingly shaped by algorithms headquartered abroad.
“A sovereignty framework should prioritise data residency, local compute and culturally aligned content to counterbalance foreign algorithmic influence,” he said.
He said locally deployed Small Language Models, could help detect grooming and cyberbullying in Malaysian languages while keeping sensitive data within local devices or data centres.
Small Language Models are compact Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems designed for specific tasks and unlike their larger counterparts they can run on everyday devices such as smartphones.
Ridza also advised parents to stay engaged with their children's online lives, saying the greatest risks often come from who they interact with rather than where they are physically.
"Just because your child is using their phone at home does not mean they are safe. The greatest risks often come from who they interact with, not where they are physically," he said.
Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Centre for Cyber Security analyst Dr Umi Asma' Mokhtar said modern independence requires national ownership of knowledge, data and technology.
“In a borderless digital world, true independence means our knowledge, data and technology are ours as surely as our territory once was—built by us, governed by us and answerable to Malaysian values,” she told Sinar Daily.
She said Malaysia has strengthened its cyber defence through the National Cyber Security Agency, Cyber Security Act 2024 and Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy 2025–2030.
She also highlighted the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA), which holds large platforms accountable to Malaysian regulators.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) introduced regulatory measures under ONSA, effective Jan 1, alongside the Child Protection Code and Risk Mitigation Code on June 1.
Under ONSA, MCMC can impose civil penalties of up to RM10 million on licensed service providers that fail their safety duties, while criminal failures carry fines of up to RM1 million.
The Act also extends liability to corporate directors and compliance officers unless they can prove they took reasonable steps to prevent an offence.
"Without these measures, we would rely entirely on the goodwill of foreign corporations whose business models reward engagement, not safety, leaving children exposed to grooming, scams and harmful content with no accountability," Umi said.
She said the Child Protection Code's child safety-by-design approach was important, as it requires platforms to protect children by default.
“Setting minors' accounts to the highest privacy level and blocking messages from unknown adults directly closes the easiest doors a predator uses to make first contact," she added.
However, technology cannot eliminate every threat.
Automated filters and AI can remove flagged content, but harmful posts can still slip through, while algorithms may struggle with local slang, grooming tactics and private messaging.
Umi said technical safeguards must therefore be combined with psychological and community support.
She said online safety is a shared responsibility involving parents, schools, civil society and community leaders.
“Parents build trust at home by staying curious about their child's digital life rather than only policing it. Schools embed digital literacy into everyday learning, civil society reaches underserved families and community leaders normalise these conversations so seeking help carries no shame.
"Physical safety and online safety are not the same thing. A child alone in the next room with a phone is not in a safe room; they are in a public space that reaches the entire world and the world can reach back in. A locked front door means nothing if the threat arrives through the screen," she said.