04/10/2025

SATURDAY | OCT 4, 2025

5

Call for clear guidelines on AI in journalism

Police rescue kidnap victim, nab eight suspects in raids KOTA BHARU: Police have rescued a kidnap victim and arrested eight people, including a woman, to assist in investigations into a kidnapping case that was committed in Pasir Puteh last week. Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said all the suspects, aged between 20 and 46, were arrested in several raids at six locations in Kota Bharu, Bachok, Pasir Puteh and Tumpat on Thursday. The victim was a man in his 20s. He said on Sept 26, the man was kidnapped and confined in an unnumbered house in Cherang Ruku, and the suspects demanded a ransom of RM150,000 from his employer. “Based on intelligence, a Kelantan CID team carried out raids between 2am and 11.30am,” he said in a statement yesterday. Mohd Yusoff added that police also seized various items, including 15 mobile phones, three vehicles, an iron chain with five padlocks, face masks, cable ties and clothing worn during the incident. Also seized were a revolver and an imitation pistol. He said the complainant in the case had handed RM29,000 in ransom to the suspects before the arrests were made. “All suspects have been remanded until Oct 5 for further investigations under sections 385, 342 and 365 of the Penal Code, as well as Section 8 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971.” – Bernama Two villagers swept away by flash floods TONGOD (SABAH): Two people were killed after being swept away by strong currents when flash floods struck Kampung Bangkulut Imbak Timbangan Evogold here. Kinabatangan Fire and Rescue station chief Hairi Otuh said the victims were a 79-year-old Indonesian woman and a seven-year-old local boy. He said the Fire and Rescue Department received a call at 9.46pm on Thursday and only arrived at the scene located 169km away at about 3am yesterday. The flooding in the village is believed to have been triggered by a sudden water surge. “The two were swept away while attempting to cross a flooded road to higher ground to escape the surging waters. “The boy was carried away after slipping from his mother’s grip, while the elderly woman lost her balance while crossing.” He said the elderly woman was found about 250m from the spot where she was reported missing, while the boy was discovered 200m from where she was found. – Bernama Cops seek public help to locate missing teen KUALA LUMPUR: Police are seeking public assistance to locate a 16-year-old girl reported missing since Thursday. Kajang district police chief ACP Naazron Abdul Yusof said the teenager, S. Saamini, was last seen at her home in Section 2, Bandar Rinching, before a missing persons report was lodged at 4pm. “The girl is of slight build, about 140cm tall and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and black pants,” he said in a statement yesterday. Individuals with any information on Saamini’s whereabouts are urged to contact the nearest police station or the Kajang district police headquarters at 03-8911 4222, or investigating officer Zul Fahmi Yasin at 017-703 8868. – Bernama

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa said there had been a misunderstanding regarding the provision of tents to traders but it has been resolved by replacing them with larger and sturdier units. “The number remains the same. There will be no additions. The collapsed tents were 8ftx8ft but we requested that they be replaced with 10x10 tents.” She was speaking on Thursday after the official appointment ceremony for the Federal Territory Residents’ Representative Council for the 2025 2028 term. Commenting on allegations that some traders were dissatisfied with the balloting system for bazaar lots, she said it had been implemented transparently. “We implemented it as best as possible to maintain the allocation process that is similar to what we did for the Ramadan and Aidilfitri bazaars. “But there might have been slight modifications to ensure that those who are interested in trading are accommodated.” Recently, traders at the bazaar had criticised the earlier tents, claiming they were too small, of poor quality and needed to be replaced. The matter also drew the attention of MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, who described the tents as not sturdy and unsuitable for a main road known for traffic congestion. – Bernama PETALING JAYA: The RM100,000 fine imposed on Sin Chew Media over the use of an incomplete Jalur Gemilang in its publication has reignited calls for clear, industry-wide guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism. Experts warn that without proper standards, reliance on AI risks costly mistakes and erodes public trust. Universiti Teknologi Mara journalism lecturer Fadzillah Aishah Ismail said guidelines should provide a framework for AI use in newsrooms, ensuring transparency and accountability. “Some local media are moving in the right direction but these remain limited to individual newsrooms. Organisations overseas such as Reuters, BBC and AP have clear AI rules emphasising transparency, human oversight and accountability. “Malaysia needs something similar at an Ű BY QIRANA NABILLA MOHD RASHIDI newsdesk@thesundaily.com o Without proper standards, reliance on artificial intelligence risks costly mistakes and erodes public trust, say experts

decisions are made professionally without racial sentiment.” Fadzillah urged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Media Council to collaborate with newsrooms to set clear AI guidelines, focusing on responsible use rather than punishment. Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data associate fellow Dr Fakhitah Ridzuan said the Jalur Gemilang issue shows the risks of over reliance on AI without human oversight. “AI is just a tool. If the model is not trained with complete and accurate data, it cannot provide reliable responses,” she said, warning that Large Language Models (LLM), often called “black-box systems”, can produce polished but misleading content. “LLM are known for making mistakes. Taken blindly, they can do more harm than good.” She said while AI can improve efficiency, it lacks ethical judgement. She added that the final decision and accountability for any AI-generated output must ultimately rest with humans. “Any confidential information entered into AI is stored and added to its knowledge database. If false information is repeatedly fed, it can result in unreliable outputs. “Editors must enforce checks and require writers to justify their work. Since AI lacks critical thinking, humans must evaluate content even if it appears accurate.”

industry level, perhaps through the Media Council.” Fadzillah, who also teaches Media Law, said while AI is increasingly used for transcription, summarisation and content support, legal responsibility under the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Communications and Multimedia Act and Defamation Act remains with editors and publishers. “Malaysia has no laws specifically regulating AI in newsrooms. If AI produces an error that harms someone’s reputation, it is still the media owner or editor who is liable.” She welcomed the National Guidelines on AI Governance and Ethics, introduced by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry in Sept 2024, which remain voluntary rather than binding. “From a journalism ethics standpoint, AI should be an assistive tool, not a replacement for human judgement. “Newsrooms must check facts, provide context and ensure accuracy. Public trust depends on human accountability. At the end of the day, AI should serve journalism, not the other way around.” She said the Jalur Gemilang incident highlights how serious mistakes can be made, even if unintentional. “Authorities conduct thorough investigations to determine whether mistakes are unintentional before deciding on penalties. What matters most is that these

Damaged tents at Deepavali bazaar to be replaced KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 118 new tents are being installed to replace those that collapsed due to heavy rain and strong winds at the Deepavali bazaar site in Brickfields.

The collapsed tents being removed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall workers. – PIC COURTESY OF KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL FACEBOOK PAGE