Minister: Malaysia will protect 'accountable internet freedom'

The Communications and Multimedia Minister said this in response to the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last night that the government will not impose Singapore-styled licensing requirements on online news portals.

“Malaysians, especially social media users, should welcome his statement, which is a guarantee from the PM himself that there will be no licensing on news portals as is being done by Singapore.

“I feel this is in accordance to the principle that we defend freedom of expression without censorship and so on,” Shabery told Astro AWANI at the sidelines of the MPI Petronas Press Awards.

“I feel that this move does not make us move one step backwards... like countries such as China or Arab that imposes restrictions on Facebook and twitter. We are not heading in that direction," he added.

However, Shabery stressed that Malaysians should welcome this freedom by being more responsible with what they do, what they write and express online. “What is important to remember is that there is no freedom without accountability,” he said.

As an example, Shabery said that commentors online should not hide behind fake names or use fake accounts.

Shabery also suggested that education is key to promote a healthier online space.

“In the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission(MCMC), we have a campaign called “Klik Dengan Bijak”. Means you click on things appropriately, think before you click, and not click on anything that you can click,” he said.

“Just like on a highway, you are behind the steering wheel, you enjoy the ride, but there are limits and behavior you have to adhere to. Do not drive recklessly, don’t exceed the speed limit, and so on.”

He said that education should begin from schools when children are young as "even 10 year olds have Facebook now"

Clarifying recent reports where he was quoted as saying that the government does not discount the possibility of studying restrictions on social media, Shabery said that he meant that government was in no hurry to follow the examples of other countries that imposed restrictions on the internet, despite pressures from certain groups.

“I said that we were not in a hurry and we needed to study. When we held discussions in the Cabinet, I am very pleased and happy that we are not going down that path. Based on our opinion, and the opinion of people on the ground, and looking at the viability of measures taken by a few countries on this, we think that it is not appropriate for Malaysia to follow suit.”

These pressure groups, he said, are those who are unhappy with the present state of behavior among netizens.

“They say, why not follow China, why not Iran, why not Singapore, why not follow some Arab countries. They say we should ban facebook they blocked certain sites and so on. We are not going down that path,” reiterated Shabery.

“Even when Singapore does it, there are no guarantees... can they also regulate the blogs?”