18/01/2026

NATIONAL 2 theSun on Sunday JAN 18, 2026

Meeting between MCMC and X scheduled for Jan 21

‘Education not just about grades but building character’ KUALA LUMPUR: Good education is not merely about producing academic excellence but also nurturing individuals who are ethical, civil and socially responsible, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He said this principle formed the basis for founding Yayasan Anda Akademik (YAA) by him and a group of graduates and youth activists in 1971, aimed at giving school dropouts a second chance through education. “The philosophy behind YAA is the belief that education should not be exclusive or dismissive but empowering and humane,” he said at the launch of the book Bangkit Semula: Memoir Warga Yayasan Anda Akademik on Friday. The text of his speech was read out by Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari. Anwar said YAA was established shortly after he graduated from Universiti Malaya, driven by deep concern over student dropouts, particularly among youths from low-income families in both urban and rural areas. He said YAA emerged from moral awareness and the spirit of the times, built not on privilege or power but on idealism, volunteerism, hard work and faith in human potential, making it not only an educational institution but also a “school of life”. “YAA was conceived as a modest initiative with a big soul to offer second chances to the less fortunate so that they could continue their studies, rebuild confidence and rediscover the meaning of knowledge in their lives.” He said since its founding, YAA had provided a structured and disciplined learning environment, enabling students to resume secondary and pre-university education while building self-belief, intellectual foundations and a clearer life direction. He added that YAA’s educational philosophy, later articulated as Insan Akademis yang Bertakwa , remains relevant in building a Malaysia Madani rooted in justice, compassion, humanity and balance between material progress and spiritual development. Anwar said the book is more than a publication or nostalgic record documenting the struggles, sacrifices and resilience of those who believed in education as a path to liberation and renewal. “The book presents the voices of educators, administrators and alumni, real human stories of falling and rising, failure and perseverance, doubt and renewed conviction, exclusion and second chances.” – Bernama

Talks to include concerns about potential misuse of Grok, particularly in generating pornographic and explicit content that violates national laws

social media to individuals aged 16 and above, Bernama reported. He said the discussions were currently focused on technical issues and the mechanism to implement the ban, which is still under review. “We expect its implementation to take place in the coming months but the exact date will be determined before I make any announcement.” He added that several other platforms, which were initially not included in the targeted group, have stated their readiness to be involved voluntarily. “I feel that it’s not the right time to name these platforms but I view this as a good effort by (the operators).”

temporary ban on access to Grok for users in Malaysia, which took effect the same day. MCMC said the action was taken following repeated misuse of Grok to generate pornographic and explicit content as well as the presence of obscene material and non-consensual manipulated images involving women and children despite regulatory notices issued to X Corp and xAI LLC. On Jan 14, MCMC was quoted as saying it was considering taking legal action against X Corp and xAI LLC following their failure to ensure the safety of Grok users in Malaysia. Fahmi said all social media platforms had also begun discussions with MCMC on proposals to limit the use of

Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections has seen candidates attend between one and five events a day. The three candidates for the parliamentary seat and two for the state seat opted for face-to face, door-to-door campaigns and small group ceramah rather than large-scale events to woo voters. The campaigning since Jan 10 was calmer and less lively than those experienced during the Sabah polls held on Nov 29, particularly in terms of flag and poster displays, except in a few areas where small-scale “flag wars” were observed. Among the main challenges faced by all five candidates were the wide geographical spread of the parliamentary and state constituencies, limited road access and reliance on water transport at several locations. Campaign fervour is expected to pick up pace as it enters the second phase, with all candidates trying to reach as many voters as possible before the campaign period ends at 11.59pm on Jan 23. Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Kinabatangan, said his priority is to visit all 27 polling district centres to better understand the pulse of the people, adding that he had visited 19 centres. “Every concern and request from residents will be carefully assessed before being made the basis for action. Only by seeing the actual situation can development planning be drawn up accurately and comprehensively.” BN’s Lamag candidate Mohd Ismail Ayob, better known as CYBERJAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and social media platform X will hold a meeting on Jan 21 to discuss online safety issues, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil. He said discussions would include concerns about the potential misuse of the Grok artificial intelligence app, particularly in generating pornographic and explicit content that violates

national laws. “For Grok, we have identified several ways that it can still be misused. However, we hope X can make several improvements to restrict the misuse to create explicit content which violates the country’s laws. “So far, we have seen that X has given good cooperation and is open to holding discussions,” Fahmi said after speaking to Information Department staff on Friday. On Jan 11, MCMC ordered a

Campaign pitch heating up for Kinabatangan, Lamag by-elections KINABATANGAN: The first phase of campaigning for the

Barisan Nasional’s Lamag candidate Mohd Ismail visiting the National Information Dissemination Centre in Kinabatangan yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

spouses as early voters, while Lamag has 13,899. The official vote-tallying centre for both by-elections will be Dewan Sri Lamag. A total of 36 ordinary polling centres with 117 voting streams and one early voting centre at the Kinabatangan district police headquarters, with one stream, will be used. The Election Commission said all polling centres will open from 8am to 5pm, except for 20 polling centres in three state constituencies (Lamag, Kuamut and Sukau), which will close between noon and 4pm. – Bernama

The Kinabatangan by-election sees a three-way battle involving Mohd Kurniawan Naim, Saddi and Goldam while the Lamag seat will feature a straight fight between Mohd Ismail and Mazliwati. Both by-elections were called following the death of incumbent Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, 66, on Dec 5 last year. Polling is on Jan 24, and early voting is set for Jan 20 for both seats. Kinabatangan has 48,722 registered voters, comprising 48,526 ordinary voters and 196 police personnel and their

Miha, said he had reached 80% of the constituency in the first week of campaigning. Parti Warisan (Warisan) candidate for the Kinabatangan seat Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman said his campaign had achieved about 50% coverage in the first week. The Warisan candidate for Lamag Mazliwati Abdul Malek said her campaign had covered the entire constituency. Goldam Hamid, the independent candidate for Kinabatangan, said his campaign had covered about 70% of the areas in the Sukau and Lamag state constituencies.