JOHOR BARU: A bus driver who uploaded videos of female students under the TikTok account “Abang Bas” has been arrested. Comments by his followers are also being looked at by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Johor police chief Comm M. Kumar said the 24-year-old man was held by Kluang police in Simpang Renggam at 2.57am yesterday after a report was lodged.
“We have seized his mobile phone, believed to have been used to upload the videos. We call upon parents or guardians of the students featured in the TikTok video to come forward to assist with the investigation,” Comm Kumar added.
It was reported that a user on X shared several screencaps of TikTok posts belonging to the school bus driver who referred to the students he was ferrying as his “crush” and “kesayangan” (beloved).
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said via her X account on Thursday that she had asked an officer from the Child Development Department to lodge a report over the videos.
“This behaviour is unacceptable. Sharing pictures or videos of a child without the parent’s permission is a violation of the child’s rights and privacy (under the Child Act),” she said.
The case is being investigated under Section 15(a)(iii) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and Section 15(2) of the Child Act 2001.
In Kuala Lumpur, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the authorities are analysing the comments of the followers of the 24-year-old bus driver.
He also warned teachers against uploading content involving children as doing so is a crime under the Child Act 2001.
“I am concerned over the comments of the followers of the bus driver’s account, which is akin to purveyors who may also lead to other crimes,” he said after attending the International Legal Conference on Online Harms 2024 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday.
Earlier, in his speech, Fahmi told social media platforms that they must understand the sensitivities of the nation.
“Through the licensing (of social media platforms) legislation, which we will bring to Parliament in the next October meeting and be put in place effective January 2025, we want to send a message to social media platforms.
“Wherever they come from – no matter the country or bloc – you can come to Malaysia as we Malaysians consume 30 to 50 gigabytes of data every month but you must put in place the safeguards for Malaysians.
“Over the last two years, we have met with social media platforms 21 times to tell them to change their ways, particularly dealing with scams and access by minors to their platforms, and issues on cyberbullying.
“Social media platforms operating in the proverbial wild, wild west where they can do anything they like – should come to an end,” said Fahmi.
Meanwhile, Wanita MCA secretary-general Chan Quin Er said the party wing has always been steadfast in pushing for the strict enforcement of the Child Act 2001.
“Every citizen in Malaysia deserves their privacy, and not to be harassed online or offline.
“For children, we have a Child Act 2001, which provides an added layer of protection so children won’t be exposed or neglected.
“Certain guidelines need to be followed on social media to prevent the exposure of underage children’s content, which is open to abuse and puts our children at risk,” she said during a press conference at Wisma MCA yesterday.
