MALAYSIA- ACT 588
COMMUNICATIONS AND MULTIMEDIA ACT 1998 [REPRINT 2002]
Long Title & Preamble
An Act to provide for and to regulate the converging communications and multimedia industries, and for incidental matters.
[1st April 1999 : except for sections 157, 159, 160, 161, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 176, 178, 197 and 198 [P.U. (B) 128/99]; 1st April 2000 : sections 157, 159, 160, 161, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 176 and 178 [P.U. (B) 106/2000]; 1st March 2002 : sections 197 and 198 [P.U. (B) 66/2002]]
BE IT ENACTED by the Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Along with the advice and consent of the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the
Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Section 2. Commencement.
This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette, and the Minister may appoint different dates for different provisions of this Act.
Section 3. Objects.
(1) The objects of this Act are�
(a) to promote national policy objectives for the communications and multimedia industry;
(b) to establish a licensing and regulatory framework in support of national policy objectives for the communications and multimedia industry;
(c) to establish the powers and functions for the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission; and
Section 4. Territorial and extra-territorial application.
(1) This Act and its subsidiary legislation apply both within and outside Malaysia.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), this Act and its subsidiary legislation shall apply to any person beyond the geographical limits of Malaysia and her territorial waters if such person�
(a) is a licensee under this Act; or
(b) provides relevant facilities or services under this Act in a place within Malaysia.
Section 5. Power of the Minister to exclude certain persons, geographical areas, etc.
Notwithstanding section 4, the Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, exclude or exempt any person or place, premises or geographical area of any description from the provisions of this Act.
Section 6. Interpretation.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires�
“access” means access to a network facility or network service listed under Chapter 3 of Part VI;
“access code” means a voluntary industry code prepared under section 153;
“access device” means any card, plate, code, account number, electronic serial number, mobile identification number, personal identification number, or other network service, applications service or content applications service, equipment, or facility identifier, or other means of access that can be used, alone or in conjunction with another access device, for the purposes of any communications;
“access forum” means a forum designated under section 152;
“access list” means the list of facilities or services established under Chapter 3 of Part VI;
“agreement” means an agreement, whether formal or informal, oral or written, express or implied;
“apparatus assignment” means an assignment issued under section 164;
“Appeal Tribunal” means the Appeal Tribunal established under Part III;
“applications service” means a service provided by means of, but not solely by means of, one or more network services;
“applications service provider” means a person who provides an applications service;
“appointed date” means the date on which this Act comes into operation;
“arrangement” means an arrangement, whether formal or informal, oral or written, express or implied;
“assignment” means the assignment by the Commission of rights to use the spectrum, numbers or electronic addresses and may include conditions to which the exercise of those rights shall be subject;
“authorized interception” means interception by the licensee of any network facilities, network service or applications service permitted under section 265;
“authorized officer” means any public officer or officer appointed by the Commission and authorized in writing by the Minister for the purposes of this Act;
“certifying agency” means a certifying agency registered under section 186;
“class assignment” means an assignment issued under section 169;
“class license” means a license for any or all persons to conduct a specified activity and may include conditions to which the conduct of that activity shall be subject;
“communications” means any communication, whether between persons and persons, things and things, or persons and things, in the form of sound, data, text, visual images, signals or any other form or any combination of those forms;
“communications market” means an economic market for a network service, or an applications service, or for goods or services used in conjunction with a network service or an applications service, or for access to facilities used in conjunction with either a network service or an applications service;
“Commission” means the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission established under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act 1998 [Act 589];
“conduit” means�
(a) any conduit which, whether or not it is itself an electric line, is maintained by an electricity company for the purpose of enclosing, surrounding or supporting such line, including, where such conduit is connected to any box, chamber or other structure (including a building) maintained by an electricity supply company for purposes connected with the conveyance, transmission or distribution of electricity, that box, chamber or structure;
(b) a water main or any other conduit maintained by a water authority for the purpose of conveying water from one place to another;
(c) a public sewer;
(d) a culvert or water course; or
(e) any other underground facility for carrying, enclosing, surrounding or supporting any network facilities;
“consumer code” means a voluntary industry code prepared under Chapter 1 of Part VIII;
“consumer forum” means a forum designated under section 189;
“content” means any sound, text, still picture, moving picture or other audio-visual representation, tactile representation or any combination of the preceding which is capable of being created, manipulated, stored, retrieved or communicated electronically;
“content applications service” means an applications service which provides content;
“content code” means a voluntary industry code prepared under Chapter 2 of Part IX;
“content forum” means a forum designated under section 212;
“court” means a court of law of competent jurisdiction;
“customer equipment” means any equipment, whether hardware or software, or device, used on the customer side of the network boundary;
“data processing device” means any article or device from which information is capable of being reproduced, with or without the aid of any other article or device;
“declaration” means a declaration made by the Minister under section 13;
“determination” means a determination made by the Minister under section 10, or by the Commission under section 55;
“direction” means a direction issued by the Minister under section 7, or by the Commission under section 51;
“director” has the meaning given to it in the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125];
“disaster plan” means a disaster plan which may be developed in accordance with section 267;
“frequency band” means a continuous frequency range of spectrum;
“incidental content” means a content which is incidental to the supply of an applications service because of�
(a) it being related solely to the interface between an applications service and an end user; or
(b) the reasons set out in a Ministerial determination made under section 10;
“individual license” means a license for a specified person to conduct a specified activity and may include conditions to which the conduct of that activity shall be subject;
“industry forum” means a forum designated under section 94;
“instrument” includes a direction, determination or declaration;
“intercept” means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any communications through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other equipment, device or apparatus;
“interception capability” means the capability of any network facilities or network service or applications service to intercept communications under section 265;
“licensee” means a person who either holds an individual license, or undertakes activities which are subject to a class license, granted under this Act;
“limited content applications service” means a content applications service the appeal of which is limited because of�
(a) it being targeted to a special interest group;
(b) it being available in a restricted geographical area;
(c) it being available for a short time;
(d) it being based on content of limited appeal; or
(e) the reasons set out in a Ministerial determination made under section 10;
“mail” includes the postal service;
“mandatory standard” means a mandatory standard established under Chapter 10 of Part V;
“Minister” means the Minister for the time being charged with the responsibility for communications and multimedia;
“multimedia information and content” means digitized content;
“network boundary” means the network boundary provided under section 128;
“network facilities” means any element or combination of elements of physical infrastructure used principally for, or in connection
with, the provision of network services, but does not include customer equipment;
“network facilities provider” means a person who owns or provides any network facilities;
“network service” means a service for carrying communications by means of guided and/or unguided electromagnetic radiation;
“network service provider” means a person who provides network services;
“nominated facilities provider” means a person, other than the owner of the network facilities, declared by the Minister to be a nominated facilities provider;
“number” means a number, letter or symbol;
“numbering and electronic addressing plan” means the numbering and electronic addressing plan developed under section 180;
“owner” means the legal or beneficial owner;
“post” means a post, pole, tower, standard, stay, strut or other above-ground facility for carrying, suspending or supporting any network facilities;
“public utility” means a body that provides to the public�
(a) reticulated products or services, such as electricity, gas, water, sewerage or drainage;
(b) telecommunications services;
(c) transport services; or
(d) a product or service of a kind that is similar to a product or service covered by paragraph (a), (b) or (c);
“register” means any one of the registers established or maintained by the Commission for the purposes of this Act;
“register of opinions” means the register of opinions maintained under section 97 or 210, or any
other relevant section;
“required applications service” means an applications service which is in a list determined by the
Minister under section 192;
“spectrum” means the continuous range of electromagnetic wave frequencies up to and including a frequency of 420 terahertz;
“spectrum assignment” means the assignment issued under section 159;
“spectrum plan” means the spectrum plan developed under section 172;
“technical code” means a voluntary industry code prepared under Chapter 3 of Part VII;
“technical standards forum” means a forum designated under section 184;
“transmit” or “transmission” means to cause any emission of unguided electromagnetic energy in any part of the spectrum;
“voluntary industry code” means a voluntary industry code prepared under Chapter 9 of Part V.
