In my interjection during the debate on the DNA Bill in Parliament this morning, I had raised the blocking of popular website Malaysia Today on the directive of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the violation of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees as “a gift to the world” of no censorship of the Internet by the Malaysian authorities.
I quoted it as the latest example of the rampant abuses of power by the government which explains why there is so little public confidence in the independence, professionalism and impartiality of the various enforcement agencies with the vast powers as proposed in the proposed DNA bill.
Almost all key institutions of the state, whether the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, the Anti-Corruption Agency or the judiciary have come under a grave cloud and lost the high respect and public standing they were held by Malaysians in the early years of nationhood.
The MCMC directive to block Malaysia Today and the violation of the MSC Bill of Guarantees must be roundly and unanimously condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians, and the reasons cannot be more eloquently summarised by Jeffrey in another thread:
The government has a plethora of laws against Internet abuse and it has already brought sedition and criminal intimidation charges against website owner RPK so why the censorship?
Under point 7 of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia 10 Point Bill of Guarantees to the international community, the government promises to ensure no internet censorship.
Here government does the censorship ‘indirectly’ by invoking Section 263 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (1998) by pressuring license holders (such as ISPs) to take action against service user like Malaysia Today alleged to be contravening national laws. (Under of the Act, a licensee must “use his best endeavour” to prevent his/her facilities from being used to violate any law in the country”).
If they can block Malaysia Today they can block other blogs like this one too.
As mainstream media is controlled and used as a propaganda machine, the Internet is the last bastion of free speech and source of truths (as well as untruths) though it is up to readers to sift and separate wheat from chaff.
Please remind them on implications of breaching an international guarantee like MSC Bill of Guarantee and its effects on MSC, investments and gfenerally government’s credibility in the international arena.
#1 by lchk on Sunday, 31 August 2008 - 2:43 am
zak_hammaad posted:
“Ichk and Undergrad2, you both have shown your inability to discuss or justify your view-points here. You seem to get self-gratification from cheap name-calling. Provide something substantial and I may entertain you in the future.”
If you had the brains to comprehend what I wrote, the justification is that the government has broken its own national commitment in ensuring no censorship in cyberspace and MCMC has acted inconsistently with this commitment – moreso since Shaziman Abu Mansor has stated that MCMC “runs on its own”.
MCMC is NOT a political watchdog nor is it the judge and jury of what is right and wrong.
Malaysia Today was blocked for one reason – it is by far the most popular anti-UMNO blog and the most widely read. That ruffles quite a few feathers amongst the UMNO bigwigs and UMNOputra wannabes or mamak worshippers like yourself.
Name-calling is nothing compared to raising THREATS of calling for the ISA on contributors here who point out flaws in your arguments. That is intolerable, more so from a self-proclaimed foreigner.
In short, piss off if you don’t have the brains and data to form an objective argument.
#2 by lchk on Sunday, 31 August 2008 - 2:47 am
undergrad posted:
“zak_hammaad Says:
Yesterday at 23: 57.04
The MSC Bill of Guarantees is void and not applicable when someone violates national stability and provokes endless libellous, slanderous and defamatory material and comments.”
Only a nuthead would make statements like this!”
You seem undergrad, only a dimwit would state something which is totally untrue, moreso when there are no “national stability” issues has ever been proven in a court of law as a result of RPK’s postings in his personal blog.
#3 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 2 September 2008 - 8:06 am
taiking, thanks for sharing with forum here your comprehensive analysis of troublesome provisions of CMA in relation to guarantee of Internet freedom.
Having regard to the overarching provisions of section 3(3), the CMA is dedicated to protect the sanctity of Internet Freedom leaving it to (1) domestic laws (Penal Code or ordinary civil law) to punish its abuse by sedition and libel (2) MCMC acting on provisions of CMA to punish and prevent cyber crimes like hacking etc. This implies neither CMA nor MCMC should by themselves operate to undermine Internet Freedom per se by blocking a predominantly political site like MalaysiaToday.
Regrading this point about privity of contractual relations that subsist only between hosting company and the government raised by you, it would be MSC Companies’ interest to ensure that the regulatory and political climate is free as far as Internet freedom goes in relation to its users and hence the government as promisor and guarantor of that freedom to MSC’sa companies should abide by its commitment or else the government loses credibility whether one is talking of MSC or the various Corridors under 9MP!
#4 by taiking on Tuesday, 2 September 2008 - 8:36 am
Yes Jeffrey, yes.
Legal niceties aside, what we would really face is a composite trouble of political correctness and business expediency. Which way to lean? That would be a difficult one for msc companies to work out.