MCMC — Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission

Every phone call, Internet connection, television broadcast and messaging app in Malaysia operates under a single common licensing regime — and the commission that structures that regime is MCMC.

At a glance

Full name	Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia / Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
Abbreviation	SKMM (BM) / MCMC (EN)
Type	Statutory body
Enabling statute	Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act 1998 (Act 589)
Began operating	1 November 1998, through P.U.(B) 451/98
Industry statute	Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588)
Reports to	The Minister responsible for communications and multimedia
Website	mcmc.gov.my

How did MCMC come to exist?

MCMC was born of two acts passed together in 1998. The first, Act 589, establishes the Commission itself and gives it the power to supervise and regulate communications and multimedia activities in Malaysia, and to enforce the country’s communications and multimedia laws. Act 589 received royal assent on 23 September 1998, and the Commission began operating on 1 November 1998 through P.U.(B) 451/98.

The second, Act 588 — the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 — creates the framework for regulating the converged communications and multimedia industry. It came into force on 1 April 1999, with certain specific sections implemented in stages after that date.

The big idea behind Act 588 is convergence. Previously, telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology were three separate industries with three sets of laws. When digital technology blurred the boundaries between them — phones carrying video, the Internet carrying broadcasts — a single act replaced all three with one single definition of the industry.

The national policy objectives set out in Section 3 of Act 588 include making Malaysia a global hub for information and content services, regulating for the long-term benefit of end users, and ensuring information security and network reliability.

What does it regulate?

MCMC’s scope spans mobile and fixed telecommunications, broadband, satellite communications, broadcasting, postal and courier services, and digital signatures. All of these are consolidated into four categories of activity that require a licence under Act 588:

Category	Meaning	Common examples
Network facilities provider (NFP)	Owning or providing network facilities	Towers, fibre-optic cables, sites and poles, satellites
Network services provider (NSP)	Providing carrier network services	Connectivity and traffic transport services
Applications services provider (ASP)	Providing applications services to users	Voice telephony, Internet access, messaging services
Content applications services provider (CASP)	Applications services that provide content	Television and radio broadcasting, video on demand

This separation matters: a single telecommunications company may hold several licences at once because it owns towers (NFP), operates a network (NSP) and sells data plans to customers (ASP). A licence under one category does not exempt the obligation to obtain a licence under another category (Section 132).

How does licensing work?

This is where the most common misunderstanding arises. MCMC is not the party that grants the licence — it assesses and recommends; the Minister decides.

For individual licences, the applicant applies to the Commission, which then makes a written recommendation to the Minister within sixty days (Section 29). It is the Minister who grants or refuses the licence (Section 30). For class licences, it is the Minister who grants the licence (Section 44) — with standard conditions declared by the Minister — and the Commission that registers it.

	Individual licence	Class licence
For whom	A particular person, a particular activity	Anyone carrying on a prescribed activity
How obtained	Application + Commission recommendation + Minister’s approval	Granted by the Minister; holder must register
Main obligation	Comply with standard and special licence conditions	Must register with the Commission before operating (Section 131)
Suited to	Large operators with infrastructure	Low-risk, broad-scale activities

This two-tier system enables proportionate regulation: large network operators go through the full scrutiny of an individual licence, while lighter activities are covered by a class licence that requires only registration.

Who needs a licence?

Section 126 provides that, subject to exemptions determined by the Minister, no person may own or provide a network facility, provide a network service, or provide an applications service except under a valid individual licence or class licence.

The warnings in this Act are not symbolic. Section 126(2) provides that any person who contravenes this provision may, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding RM500,000 or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both, and a further fine of RM1,000 for each day the offence is continued after conviction.

For content, Section 205 sets a separate prohibition: no person may provide a content applications service except under a valid individual licence or class licence under that Part.

Internet content: what can and can’t MCMC do?

This is the part most frequently misunderstood. Act 588 contains a clear guarantee in Section 3(3): nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting the censorship of the Internet. This provision is rooted in the guarantees of the 1990s-era Multimedia Super Corridor.

But that guarantee is not an absolute licence for all content. Section 233 makes the improper use of a network facility or network service an offence — that is, making or transmitting any communication that is obscene, indecent, false, threatening or offensive with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person. The penalty is a fine not exceeding RM50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both, together with a further fine of RM1,000 a day.

In other words, this Act prohibits blanket censorship of the Internet but still imposes criminal liability for certain content carried over the network. The enforcement of Section 233 against online speech is the subject of ongoing public discussion in Malaysia; readers who need specific legal interpretation should refer to professional legal advice (see verificationNeeded).

The most common misconceptions

MCMC is not the ultimate licensor. The Commission recommends; the Minister grants or refuses individual licences and grants class licences. Casually referring to an “MCMC licence” can obscure who actually makes the decision.

A class licence still requires registration. Many assume a class licence means “nothing needs to be done”. On the contrary, Section 131 requires registration with the Commission before a person may operate under a class licence.

The name of the parent ministry changes from time to time. The portfolio that oversees MCMC has been reorganised several times. Verify the current responsible minister and ministry at mcmc.gov.my before relying on it in official documents.

What’s next

For actual matters, start by identifying your category of activity — network facilities, network services, applications services, or content — because that category is what determines the type of licence and the sections that apply. Verify the current list of licences, class-licence registration requirements and the fee schedule at the official MCMC portal at mcmc.gov.my, as the subsidiary details are updated from time to time outside the text of the Act.