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STATEMENT BY

MR. SOFIAN AKMAL ABD. KARIM

DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS

 

AT THE HIGH-LEVEL EVENT TO COMMEMORATE THE

THIRD INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR COUNTERING HATE SPEECH

 

Mr. Chair,

 

We thank the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco and the UN Office on Genocide Prevention for organising this High-Level Event.

 

Today, we stand united in our commitment to fostering a society built on respect, understanding, and inclusivity. Malaysia, a multi-ethnic and multicultural country, finds it important to maintain peace and harmony. We see it as essential to prevent hate speech from dividing society. Therefore, Malaysia recognises the need to combat hate speech urgently and fully supports the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech. In Malaysia, the Government set up a special task force in December 2022 to focus on fake news and hate speech. Following the set up of the special task force, a total of 7441 pieces of social media content containing hate speech and fake news were successfully removed for the past three years. Any dissemination of false, offensive, and threatening content is an offence under Section 233 of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Act 1998.

Mr. Chair,

 

Currently, Malaysia is actively pursuing proactive steps to combat hate speech and promote tolerance through education and youth empowerment. Education serves as the cornerstone of our engagement strategy, intended to equip our youth with the required and essential knowledge and critical thinking skills. This is to enable youth to have a clear understanding between constructive dialogue and harmful rhetoric.  Our schools are not only centres of academic excellence but also crucial in instilling good values and self-regulation, ensuring our youth can express their opinions respectfully.  

 

Empowering youth voices is pivotal in shaping a future where mutual understanding prevails over prejudice. Initiatives such as youth forums, leadership programmes, and digital literacy campaigns empower young Malaysians to become ambassadors for peace and advocates against hate speech in both physical and digital spaces. We foster close collaborations with civil society organisations, religious leaders, and the media to organise events that promote unity and cultural diversity among our multiracial community.

 

As we continue this journey, let us stand together in rejecting hate speech in all its forms. We believe that inter-cultural and interfaith dialogue plays a vital role in fostering peace, moderation, and religious tolerance. Dialogue can bridge differences and resolve disputes as it calls for mutual respect and understanding, tolerance, harmony, and social cohesion.

 

I thank you.