MALAYSIA: Government plans to force bloggers to register

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about a 4 April
2007 statement by Deputy Minister of Energy, Water and Communications Datuk
Shaziman Abu Mansor, that in order to prevent the spread of “negative or
malicious content,” bloggers will soon have to register with the
government. While claiming it does not intend to censor bloggers, the
government has warned that bloggers are not above the law when they
“disturb peace and harmony” in Malaysia.
“This measure could jeopardise online free expression,” Reporters Without
Borders said. “It could push many bloggers to opt for anonymity or censor
themselves out of fear of reprisals. The deputy minister’s statement once
again demonstrates the government’s desire to exercise improper control
over the online flow of information inside Malaysia. The obligatory
registering of blogs is a measure that so far has only been adopted by
countries such as China that violate Internet users’ rights.”
The political parties and the government control most of the media in
Malaysia. The most popular blogs serve as a counter-weight, offering
political comment that is often critical of the government. Science and
Technology Minister Kong Cho Ha said on 4 December 2006 that he wanted to
“create strict laws to control abuses on the Internet” and to dissuade
“bloggers from advocating disorder and chaos in society.”
On 19 January 2007, Reporters Without Borders took up the cause of two
Malaysian bloggers who are the target of libel suits by members of the
staff of the “New Straits Times”, a Malaysian newspaper. Jeff Ooi, who
writes one of the country’s most popular blogs, Screenshots (
http://www.jeffooi.com ), has been sued for refusing to take down 13 posts
which the newspaper’s staffers consider to be defamatory (see IFEX alerts
of 1 February and 19 January 2007).
Ahiruddin Attan, who produces a blog called Rockybru (
http://www.rockybru.blogspot.com ), says he is being sued over a post in
which he accused some of the newspaper’s journalists of being agents of the
Singaporean government (see alerts of 1 February and 19 January 2007).
For further information, contact Julien Pain, RSF Internet Desk, 5, rue
Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 71, fax: +33 1 45
23 11 51, e-mail: internet@rsf.org, Internet: http://www.internet.rsf.org