KUALA LUMPUR, 4 MARCH 2009: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is constantly monitoring text messages sent by individuals and content providers.
Deputy Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said those spreading obscene, fraudulent or threatening text messages can have action taken against them under the law.
Replying to Raime Unggi (BN-Tenom) during question time in Dewan Rakyat today, he said, those found guilty under Section 233 of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 can be fined up to RM50,000 or a maximum of a year in jail, or both.
Raime wanted to know how far the government was able to contain what he described as “SMS pirates”, including those involved in sending chain text messages.
Salang said apart from messages sent by individuals, there were two sources of text messages, one from telecommunication companies using the 2XXXX code, and the other from content poviders using the 3XXXX or 6XXXX code.
“Text messages sent from the 3XXXX or 6XXXX numbers are free of charge and can only be sent to subscribers.
“Those who receive messages from these numbers can opt out by replying ‘KELUAR’ or ‘OUT’,” he said, adding that consumers can also contact the content providers directly to request that they be excluded from the loop.
He also advised consumer to read the terms and conditions before opting to subscribe a service. — Bernama
