Is the blogger-bashing fever going to be over soon in Kuala Lumpur?
If what I read in the Associated Press is anything to go by, bloggers in Malaysia have every reason to believe so. Or at least there is a very dimmed light at the end of tunnel for blogging in Malaysia. I say dimmed light becasue you can never be sure of what can happen next. After all this Malaysia Boleh-land we are talking about where anything is possible.
Malaysia’s leader has shot down a proposal to order local bloggers to register with the government, saying existing laws are enough to deter Internet users from posting malicious content.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned bloggers late Monday not to publish rumors or offensive remarks, adding that laws to penalize them “will be invoked when the need arises,” the national news agency Bernama reported.
Abdullah’s statement follows suggestions reportedly made last week by Energy, Water and Communications Deputy Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor and Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin that bloggers whose sites are hosted on local servers should be forced to register with the government.
“Existing laws are sufficient to deal with (the bloggers),” Abdullah was quoted as saying by Bernama. “Even if they are ordered to register, some of them may not comply and resort to using other channels through foreign servers.”
May Allah save Malaysian bloggers!
| Related posts: |
Kuala Lumpur/Sub, MALAYSIA