Published August 14, 2009

M'sian activists hail Internet filter climbdown

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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysian rights activists yesterday welcomed the government's decision not to implement a controversial plan to create an Internet filter blocking 'undesirable' websites.

The proposal had been described as a 'horror of horrors' by the opposition which said it would destroy the relative freedom of the Internet in Malaysia, where the mainstream press is tightly controlled.

A senior official with the National Security Council (NSC) last week confirmed AFP reports that the ruling coalition was considering the controls, effectively scrapping a 1996 guarantee that it would not censor the Internet.

However Information Minister Rais Yatim said on Wednesday that the government did not intend to introduce online censoring, telling state media it would instead directly target cases of sedition, fraud and child pornography on the Internet.

'The government has taken a positive step not to implement it. I don't think censoring will make any sense in this globalised world,' said N Siva Subramaniam, a commissioner from the government- backed Human Rights Commission.

'Even if you block certain websites, readers still can get the news from other sources,' he told AFP.

Activists, however, remained cautious about Mr Rais's comments, saying that while the government appeared to have backed away from the plan for a formal filter, it could still be intent on curtailing freedom of expression.

'We are happy if they are dropping the idea, but we would also like to see what is their approach on what should be available on the Internet,' said V Gayathry from the Centre for Independent Journalism. 'The government seems to be determined to monitor and control online content. It creates fear among the people - it is an implied threat and that itself will make people practise self-censorship.'

Malaysia's lively blogosphere has been a thorn in the side of the Barisan Nasional government, which was been in power for more than half a century but was dealt its worst ever results in elections a year ago.

Internet news portals and blogs, which escape tight controls on the mainstream media, were credited as a key element in the swing towards the opposition which has been adept at using new media to communicate its ideas. -- AFP