Malaysia wants the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to relook its roles and constitution in ensuring the advancement of telecommunication and information, communication and technology (ICT) did not erode the culture, values and tradition of the people.

Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim said ITU, which promotes the use and adoption of technology, ICT and the Internet, should also play an important role in countering the online fraud, child phonography and exploitation of women and children.

NONE "We must act swiftly to preserve the commonality of cultures among us and protect society from threats brought by the abuse of technology and innovation," Rais said in his policy statement delivered on the second day of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) plenipotentiary conference at the Guadalajara Expo Centre, Mexico today.

Rais, who was accompanied by his wife Masnah Rais, was the first speaker at the conference to deliver the country's policy statement.

He is leading a 43-member delegation comprising the government and ministry officials, including Malaysian ambassador to Mexico Nafisah Mohamed and Malaysian telecommunications leaders to the meeting which is being held once in every four years.

He said ITU members must revisit their role, and in today's world it was not enough for ITU to just address the issues on infrastructure development, universal access, resource management, standards and the development of the ICT.

"We must also consider the goodness of society. We need not be a regulator in the extreme, but the concern for mankind must always be there, particularly so because it is the ITU which promotes the use and adoption of technology, ICT and the internet," he added.

Safeguard wellbeing of children

He said whilst the government promoted the latest technology and innovation to transform the lives of its citizen, "we also have to ensure that the very fabric of society is protected from threats brought by its misuse and abuse."

azlan "Internet is no longer a mere tool to gather knowledge and communicate, but is now shaping public opinion and gaining influential ground, to the extent that our cultures, values and traditions are being eroded, we must look back to our constitution to see if it provides the means for us to take collective measures to counter this," he added.

Rais said there was a need for ITU to harness ICT, the internet and the tools of civilistaion to safeguard the wellbeing of children and future generation.

He said the conference must deliberate how to manage the waves of social issues arising from new media, and the challenges of social newtworking applications were setting new boundaries for the rights of an individual and the need for privacy laws.

"It is time for the ITU to be the catalyst to harness measures and reasonably curb the misuse and abuse of the internet against any aggrieved party," he said.

"Sovereign nations and governments should make no apologies for doing this nor should we apologise for taking steps to preseve our culture, values and traditions," he said.

He hoped that by the end of the conference, the outcome would facilitate the work of ITU in helping member countries to manage both the positive and negative sides of the Internet.

- Bernama