Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak today reminded the public that they should be the ones who control information and communication technology (ICT) applications, not the other way around.

He said when under control, the use of certain ICT applications could be good, beneficial and helpful in the aspect of socioeconomic development, but it could be disastrous if it began to control the lives of the users or the society.

"Our problem is that we sometimes let certain applications to control us. We have to be careful. These applications, we have to control it, not the other way around. Once we let it control us, there will be trouble.

"(Because) There are certain quarters who use these applications to spread lies and make (baseless) allegations, and we tend to believe everything without even bother to check the facts.

At the end of the day, the applications will have control on our thoughts, not us having control of it."

He said this when opening a Smart Community initiative implemented by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in Kota Belud today.

Also present was MCMC chairperson Halim Shafie.

- Bernama