Kuala lumpur: Social media activity during the campaign for the Negeri Sembilan state election has remained largely under control, with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) receiving only 16 complaints since campaigning began. Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil reported that 14 of the complaints were related to telecommunications network issues, while the remaining two involved fake social media accounts. All the complaints are being handled by MCMC.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Fahmi urged the public to report content believed to violate election regulations or social media platform guidelines to the respective platform operators, and to lodge a complaint with MCMC if no action is taken. He noted that today marks the sixth day of campaigning, with about seven or eight days remaining. While the situation on social media appears to be under control, he cautioned that the final 72 to 96 hours usually see a surge in online activity from various parties, and emphasized the hope to avoid a flood of false information during those critical final days.

Fahmi, speaking after the Ziarah Kasih MADANI programme at Felda Palong 1, which was also attended by Pakatan Harapan's Jeram Padang candidate G. Manivannan, addressed internet connectivity issues. He noted that coverage problems were mainly along the main access roads leading to the settlement rather than within the residential area itself. MCMC has been instructed to address the problem urgently to prevent communication disruptions and ensure safety during emergencies.

Fahmi pointed out that despite telecommunications companies signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on network sharing last year, implementation had yet to progress quickly enough to resolve coverage issues in populated areas. Solutions identified include the construction of new telecommunications towers, optimisation of existing infrastructure, and the use of satellite services such as Starlink as an interim measure. Additionally, he mentioned that telecommunications companies had been asked to improve their customer feedback systems, including by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enable users to check the status of their complaints.

Polling is scheduled to take place on August 1, with early voting on July 28.