While it did not elaborate, MCMC said that the content touches on racial issues which create division in the country.

“The time has come for the regulatory framework to be reviewed. This is in light of the current situation that is seen to be out of control with the spread of extremist views and fake news, as well as content that threatens national security and harmony,” it said in a statement.

“The regulatory framework review covers aspects related to licensing, the suitability of existing penalties, as well as the need to introduce new laws.”

It added that neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Singapore and Australia have introduced laws that provide an oversight on social media service providers and hold them accountable when managing harmful content.

It said such measures were taken to prevent the public from “going overboard” and spreading provocative views online.

MCMC urged the public to respect and accept the diverse views of all races and religions, as well as to respect the royal institution.

This comes as MCMC and the police called on TikTok’s management to provide an “immediate explanation” for three videos on the social media platform which warned of a repeat of the May 13, 1969 race riots. It added that the videos were paid content.

In a statement on Wednesday, MCMC said the dissemination of provocative content that could cause disharmony, hatred and prejudice was an offence under the Penal Code.

On Nov 21, Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani warned social media users against uploading content that touched on racial and religious sensitivities and would threaten public safety and order.

He said this was after the police detected social media content with provocative sentiments and insults towards the royal institution following the results of the 15th general election (GE15).