On Merdeka eve, free speech online gets a ‘blackeye’
KUALA LUMPUR — The latest buzz in the Malaysian blogosphere is about the apology of a commenter for a remark he (or she) posted on a blog seemingly suggesting that a journalist be shot for an article that disparaged the country’s former prime minister, Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad.
The incident highlights yet again the delicate balancing act that Malaysian bloggers have to do with respect to their exercise of free speech and free expression online, and takes significance especially coming as it does on the eve of festivities to commemorate 49 years of Merdeka, Malaysian independence from British colonial rule.
The individual, who used the alias IImran, issued an apology after posting “Somebody, please shoot this Gunasegaram for good” on Malaysia’s most prolific blogger Jeff Ooi’s site, Screenshots. The reference was to P. Gunasegaram, the executive editor of theSun and NexNews Group who wrote “The Myth of Mahathir’s Invincibility” which was published in theSun last week. The said article was republished on Ooi’s blog and sparked responses from bloggers, including IImran, who apparently did not approve of Gunasegaram’s attacks against Mahathir.
Yesterday, Gunasegaram lodged a complaint with the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) against Ooi’s blog for carrying the said comment. The CMCF was set up under the Communications and Multimedia Act of 1988 and is tasked with monitoring online content and handling complaints.
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Links
- Southeast Asian Press Alliance
- Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
- Malaysiakini
- Mizzima
- Article 19
- Reporters Without Borders
- Jeff Ooi | Screenshots
- Nepali Times
- Pakistan Press Foundation
- United We Blog!
- Don’t Block the Blog
- Global Voices Online
- Committee to Protect Journalists
- Citizen Lab
- Berkman Center for Internet and Society
- Ethan Zuckerman | My Heart’s in Accra
- Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
- Southeast Asian Center for E-Media
- Rebecca MacKinnon | RConversation
- James Gomez | JGNews
- Open Net Initiative
- Dr. Awab Alvi | Teeth Maestro
- Manuel Quezon III
- Journalism and Media Studies Center, University of Hong Kong
- Max Limpag | Leon Kilat: The Cybercafe Experiments
- Ellen Tordesillas
- Mindanews
- Carol Arguillas | Mindanao Alerts
- CMFR’s Freedom Watch
- Sun Star Blog Chronicles
- Erwin Oliva | cyberbaguioboy
- John Nery | Newsstand
- Dean Jorge Bocobo | Philippine Commentary
- Inq7
- Philippine Network Foundation
- Foundation for Media Alternatives
- Newsbreak
- Open Society Institute
- Witness
- Prachatai Daily
- Kom Chad Luek
- Institute of Policy Studies (Singapore)
- Vernon Totanes | Filipino Librarian
- Andrew Lih
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