Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin said according to a 2024 Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) survey, more than half of Malaysian children were using the internet.
“Some 55.7% of children use the internet for one to four hours a day, and of those with access, 60.7% have their own device,” Yeo told the Dewan Rakyat.
Yeo, who chairs the parliamentary special select committee on women, children and community development, said this when tabling a report on digital safety and children’s mental health in Malaysia.
She said the excessive hours spent online had led to worrying trends, particularly internet gaming disorder (IGD), social anxiety disorder and other mental health issues.
Yeo said that some 315,000 children in Malaysia were living with IGD or video game addiction, leading to social withdrawal, loss of interest and a short attention span.
The report also highlighted the scale of sexual offences involving minors, with children involved in almost half of sexual crime cases, she said.
She also said that early exposure to pornography and explicit digital content was a major factor.
“Nearly 90% of teenagers who repeatedly engage in sexual activity do so after early exposure to pornography, social media and other digital sexual content,” she said.
Challenges and recommendations
The committee identified three main challenges in tackling online dangers, namely inadequate digital safety enforcement, non-compliance by global platforms, and MCMC’s limited capacity and funds to monitor the internet.
“The management of children’s mental health in schools also remains inconsistent and incomplete, while digital literacy and parental supervision over children’s device use are still weak,” Yeo said.
The committee recommended elevating the National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health (NCEMH) under the health ministry as the national focal point for children’s mental health, with the education ministry and women, family and community development ministry as strategic partners.
“We recommend strengthening NCEMH by increasing posts for medical specialists and psychologists and boosting its budget to handle child mental health cases,” she said.
The committee also recommended that MCMC set aside more funds to boost its web monitoring team, including by adopting the latest technologies.
With 68.1% of statutory rape cases involving “consensual” sex between minors under 16, the committee also called for legal reforms, with amendments to the relevant laws so that both parties can be held responsible fairly under the law.