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Who are telling the truth – or who are telling lies – about government’s proposed censorship of online news?

Who are telling the truth – or who are telling lies – about the government’s proposed censorship of online news?

Could one of the country’s top civil servants like the Home Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam be openly and blatantly telling a lie when he was reported by Bernama yesterday as saying that the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 would be amended to expand its scope and include publications posted online and “plug loopholes”?

Mahmood had said that the Home Ministry was looking at the definition of “publication” and whether it should include Internet content, blogs or Facebook to expand the Act due to the changing landscape of the digital era.

Expressing the hope that the amendments will be tabled in Parliament by March this year because “we need to overcome weaknesses, especially those involving multimedia content”, Mahmood said the ministry was working with the Attorney-General’s Chambers to study the proposed amendments.

He revealed that he or his representative chaired a daily meeting at 8 am among his ministry, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Information Ministry to monitor internet content including what was shown through online video site YouTube.

Could the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail be telling a lie when he confirmed that the Home Ministry was working the Attorney-General’s Chambers to study the proposed amendments and that his department has drawn up drafts to amend several laws including the PPPA?

Or are these two top civil servants in the country guilty of figments of the imagination with the denial and statement by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein in the company of two other Cabinet Ministers, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and Information Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim that the government is far from ready to amend the PPPA?

How could two top civil servants who head two of the most important departments in the country make the common mistake that amendments to PPPA are ready for tabling in the March meeting of Parliament when, according to Hishammudin, the proposed changes are still “at the very, very early stages” and it has not even been decided what exactly the amendments will entail?

If Malaysians are asked as to whom they believe to have told the truth – the two top civil servants or the Ministers – there can be no doubt that the benefit of the doubt would be given to the civil servants.

The statement today by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong that he was not aware of any plan to table amendments to the PPPA in the March meeting of Parliament does not throw any light, as he would probably be informed at the very last minute – not very much earlier than MPs and the Malaysian public.

Like the majority of Malaysians, I choose to believe the top civil servants – as they have no reason to mislead the public like the Ministers, who would have a political motive to deny that proposals have been finalized to extend the PPPA to online publications.

Clearly, freedom of expression and online publication are under grave threat. Is this part of the “political transformation” that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been talking about recently, after his Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation Programme?

37 Replies to “Who are telling the truth – or who are telling lies – about government’s proposed censorship of online news?”

  1. Tai Chi masters. Are they? All? You push the issue to me and I push it to the next fella and on and on and on.

    PPPA is a piece of rotten legislation. The only right and proper amendment for a responsible gobermen to make is to abolish it altogether. Here we have umno actually contemplating to extend the scope of that Act. Dont believe the denial. Umno cannot be trusted and must not be trusted.

  2. One thing can be sure whether there are lies or no lies. Life will be difficuit for the Opposition after the amendment is made. This is because the government does not want to repeat the mistake of Tsunami 308 where it was totally unaware that the Internet could lead to its losing of 2/3 majority. I believe the amendment is aimed at reducing Opposition votes in GE13.

  3. The present civil servants and ministers are habitual liars.Their words are so cheap that can spin from yes to no in a split second.Keep on biting the crucial point for them not to derail the real truth.Make each of them answerable even if any of them is not telling the truth.That will show to the public what sort of law maker they are.Attack them relentlessly to accumulate more bullets stemmed from their lies.Shoot all these bullets to chase them out in the next GE with the help of rakyat to hasten their exit.

    1. tak tahan. hey ! Schizophrenics. Great pretenders. Manipulators. Politicats. Politikus. Now it is worse of course. Selangor under PR. Putrajaya under BN. Both are powerhouses and both fighting for energy. Imagine if these two are nuclear plants. What will happen ? Betul betul tak tahan. Too much lah.

  6. Instead of explaining the truth, they tried to hide it as usual under the carpet. Sign of lack of imagination even to hide their lies. Maybe like most Malaysian news, it is a kite flown to test water! Heaven helps the nation, all IT being improved by leaps and bounds, 2 senior Ministers are still kite flying. We shoukld just say “Amen”.

  7. For them,this is called communication broke down.I think they are trying to gauge public’s feed back.We definitely are against the censorship of internet.Wow,DCM George Chan’s beautiful girlfriend,Christina Foo got 40 million contract for supplying hospital in Kuching according to somebody’s overnight leak.

    1. Because who has that kind of money to purchase all the equipments ? In Malaysia you can count how many can afford it. Unless there is a righteous, good, pure hearted business man out there with that kind of money. That is why tenders have to be submitted. The costs. The quality. The ties that bind. MACC is always around.

  10. No one trusts Kerismudin and if was not Rosemajib’s cousin he would have been kicked out of the Cabinet before GE 2008.

    He’s once again acting like a buffoon, egged on by Rais and the AG, and contracdicting his own civil servants. But let him do it because it will certainly be a big nail in UMNo/BN’s coffin at the next GE if this police state amendment is made to the PPPA and Sedition Law.

    dpp
    we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race

  11. ///He revealed that he or his representative chaired a daily meeting at 8 am among his ministry, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Information Ministry to monitor internet content including what was shown through online video site YouTube.///

    The above could well be Mahmood’s intimidation tactics knowing that the government could not simply change the cyber laws due to earlier promise made by Tun Dr. Mahathir (the government would not censor the Internet). In desperation Mahmood came up with the above threat to scare Malaysians who publish things on the Internet.

    Isn’t it exaggerating to have a meeting everyday at 8 am?

    1. ha ha ha…it does happen my dear. If you only know. All the ridiculous, time wasting, no ending, no meaning things that go on and on and on. then back to square 1 and start all over again. Malaysia wasted 57 or 58 years of her life. Should she waste some more ?

  14. Nobody is telling the truth as it’s the pakat pakat chest game.Checkmated them when there is a aright time.We have the advantage as..if you..really..imagine..the upper hand that can do the wonders…

  15. Get PR and PAS to focus and educate the Felda’s residents and DAP to lure the chinese votes.30% Malays,70% chinese and 70% indians if you want to include in your counting;that will be sufficient right?

  17. D botak son of MMK is starting 2 make noise n telling d truth
    “How could PR discredit d country. R they qualified 2 lead d country?”
    He ticked off Lim GE 4 claiming credit 4 d RM12 billion investments in Pg, when d credit shld b due 2 NR (aha, Y not Fat Ladi of Msia, FLOM?)
    He did not like MMK 2 b called mamak bendahara; TRUTH hurts lor

  18. It is nice to see and read signs of civil servants have differences in opinions against UMNO B top guns.
    It is satisfying to read civil servants dare to speak up…against them..with no fear.
    For decades we note civil servants keep toeing the line and treat UMNO B as their boss.
    It looks like dictatorship and double standards Govt. in Malaysia will be finished by 13th GE.
    It is the sign to show the attitudes and mentalities of civil servants out to serve the Govt as good workers but not as their slaves.
    Yes….it is a sign of good news for voters…yearning to be free…and that is bad news for Najib in 13th GE.

  19. those goons can run but they can never hide. i wish the tide of change from tunisia, egypt, yemen will finally romp to this part of the world.

    chase those b@st@rds to the arabian peninsular like the ben ali guy. then we will se who is pendatang.

  22. boh-liao :
    Who cares!? Typical, NO CREDIBILITY; what we need is CHANGE, look at Tunisia, Egypt

    Yes, Tunisia. As Dean Johns wrote in Malaysiakini, Tunisia now, Tun-isia next? (The Tun refers to TDM).

    All the Muslim dictatorships are now quivering. There are now political unrest in the Middle East and N Africa (and all Muslim countries BTW): Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

  23. What SORT of politicians n political party r CSL n MCA?
    Boh hood 2 truthfully n critically comment on REAL issues like corruption, injustice, racists
    Just dare 2 bark lamely on NON-issues like shaking hands with gloves

  24. Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, and Oman—- These, like Tunisia under Ben Ali, are all “democratic” countries supported by the USA. This means that any despot can rule any country, for as long as he likes, and he will receive support from the Americans as long as he supports U.S. foreign policy. If not, they will be classified uner the label “Axis of Evil” —look at Iran and Syria.

  25. They want to shut us down so that the rakyat will not hear the likes of PKFZ, RM889 billion outflow of funds, AG/Tajuddin Ramli scandal, Sarawak heart hospital scandal, Scorpene scandal, etc etc.

    It will merely accelerate the downfall of BN cos the rakyat simply will not take this lying down.

  29. Not 2 worry, many Middle East citizens hv relatives who r ultra rich UmnoB Malays here
    They r coming here n will b transformed 2 UmnoB Malays pronto n then jiak, jiak, jiak
    UmnoB/BN need new bloods quickly as their voters in d next GE, kow tim now

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