In a deplorable attempt at curbing freedom of speech on the internet and silencing dissent against the Government, the Malaysian authorities have blocked access to the popular political website, Malaysia-today.net.
Malaysia-today.net was the first website to publish the leaked medical report made by Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid on Mr Saiful Bukhari Azlan which confirmed that the latter had not been sodomized. This website has played a pivotal role in disseminating timely news on Malaysia’s political scene, including the recent Permatang Pauh by-election in which Anwar Ibrahim won by a convincing majority of 66.6% of the valid votes cast.
The Malaysian Internet Service Provider TM Net has blocked access to Malaysia-today.net, on the basis that “some of the comments on the website were insensitive, bordering on incitement“, according to Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chief operating officer Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, as quoted by Malaysiakini.
TM Net is a wholly owned subsidiary of the government-linked corporation TM Bhd. Established in 1995, this company holds a near monopoly of Internet service in Malaysia, largely because almost all the last mile connections in the country are owned by TM Bhd. Last mile connections refer to the final leg of connectivity delivery from a communications provider to a customer.
The webmaster of Malaysia-today.net, Mr Raja Petra Kamaruddin, is already facing a sedition charge and a defamation suit after linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife to the sensational murder of a Mongolian woman.
Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters: “I think we don’t intend to curtail people’s freedom and right to give information and debate. But when you publish content that is libellous, defamatory and slanderous to other people I think it is only natural we take action.”
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks Malaysia 124 out of 169 on its worldwide press freedom index, and says the main media are “often compelled to ignore or to play down the many events organised by the opposition”.
The government has previously threatened that bloggers could be punished under draconian internal security laws which provide for detention without trial.
As a person who deeply believes in freedom of speech and expression, especially in the political and civic arena, I find the Malaysian authorities’ actions despicable and cowardly.
While Mr Raja Petra Kamaruddin seems to have found a way to get around this problem, an alternative solution might be to use the Firefox browser with Tor. Tor is a software that can get around such problems by using onion routing technology. It can be downloaded here.
Malaysia-today.net was the first website to publish the leaked medical report made by Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid on Mr Saiful Bukhari Azlan which confirmed that the latter had not been sodomized. This website has played a pivotal role in disseminating timely news on Malaysia’s political scene, including the recent Permatang Pauh by-election in which Anwar Ibrahim won by a convincing majority of 66.6% of the valid votes cast.
The Malaysian Internet Service Provider TM Net has blocked access to Malaysia-today.net, on the basis that “some of the comments on the website were insensitive, bordering on incitement“, according to Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chief operating officer Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, as quoted by Malaysiakini.
TM Net is a wholly owned subsidiary of the government-linked corporation TM Bhd. Established in 1995, this company holds a near monopoly of Internet service in Malaysia, largely because almost all the last mile connections in the country are owned by TM Bhd. Last mile connections refer to the final leg of connectivity delivery from a communications provider to a customer.
The webmaster of Malaysia-today.net, Mr Raja Petra Kamaruddin, is already facing a sedition charge and a defamation suit after linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife to the sensational murder of a Mongolian woman.
Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters: “I think we don’t intend to curtail people’s freedom and right to give information and debate. But when you publish content that is libellous, defamatory and slanderous to other people I think it is only natural we take action.”
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks Malaysia 124 out of 169 on its worldwide press freedom index, and says the main media are “often compelled to ignore or to play down the many events organised by the opposition”.
The government has previously threatened that bloggers could be punished under draconian internal security laws which provide for detention without trial.
As a person who deeply believes in freedom of speech and expression, especially in the political and civic arena, I find the Malaysian authorities’ actions despicable and cowardly.
While Mr Raja Petra Kamaruddin seems to have found a way to get around this problem, an alternative solution might be to use the Firefox browser with Tor. Tor is a software that can get around such problems by using onion routing technology. It can be downloaded here.
