Nab illegal online gambling crooks too, not just detect operation, enforcers told

August 13, 2015

SIBU: Vital steps need to be taken to nab the culprits behind an online gambling syndicate, of which existence has been detected by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah made this call yesterday following the disclosure made by the commission’s Monitoring and Enforcement Division chief Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin, who said investigations had found that such illegal service was offered through short messaging service (SMS), run by a local using special equipment.

Zulkarnain was further quoted to have said that although certain ‘off-the-air’ equipment had been used without the aid of existing telecommunication network, the MCMC managed to identify the party that was providing the platform.

On this, Abdul Karim remarked: “I’m glad to hear that MCMC has identified a new mode of gambling services via online and SMS (platforms). (However) I hope it would not stop there.

“We want to see the culprits be charged in court and then penalised.

“We also want those in the civil service and agencies who are in cahoots with them (syndicate) to be reprimanded too.”

In his view, Abdul Karim said there had been an overkill of news highlighting successful raids and confiscation of gambling items by MCMC and other enforcement agencies.

Commission to give out more netbooks

By SHARON LING
sharonling@thestar.com.my
Tuesday August 31, 2010

MORE netbooks will be distributed in Sarawak before the end of the year by the Malaysian Communi­ca­tions and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) under the National Broadband Initiative (NBI).

State regional director Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin said some 14,500 netbooks had already been given out in 29 areas in the first phase of distribution.

“In the first phase, we focused on areas where we have set up community broadband centres, with 500 netbooks for each area,” he told reporters after a netbook presentation ceremony at SMK Asajaya, about 70km from Kuching, yesterday.

He said a second phase of distribu­tion would be implemented as part of efforts to increase the broadband penetration rate in the country.

Valuable tool: Abdul Karim (left) presenting netbooks to students of SMK Asajaya in

Kuching while MCMC state regional director Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin (right) looks

on.

Under the NBI announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in March, a total of one million netbooks will be distributed to underprivileged students nationwide to enable them to access the Internet.

Chief political secretary to the Chief Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who presented the netbooks to 250 students of SMK Asajaya, said the scheme was a good way to reduce the communication gap between the students and the wider world.

“The netbooks will provide a new way for students to obtain information. They will be able to learn not only in school and the library but also access the Internet for information,” he said.