MUBARAK wants govt to review Malaysia's cyber law

The Malaysian Council of Former Elected Representatives (Mubarak) on Friday urged that the country's existing cyber law be reviewed and tightened for better control of the social websites.

Referring to the issue of the Red Bean Army (RBA), said to be a group of pro-opposition cyber troopers, Mubarak president Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Rahman said a new and tighter cyber law should be drawn up and enforced to stem the dissemination of seditious statements.

"The RBA must be watched closely and dealt with through the new, stringent law. If can, impose a heavier penalty like imprisonment on anyone playing up sensitive issues like religion, race and the country's honour," he told reporters after attending a Mubarak supreme council meeting, here, on Friday.

Also present at the press conference was Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chairman Datuk Abdul Rahman Sulaiman, who is also Mubarak information chief.

Abdul Aziz said total freedom of expression could jeopardise peace and order in the country.

He said Mubarak was saddened by the MH370 tragedy after the Malaysia Airlines plane went missing on March 8 and it regretted that information on the government's search-and-rescue (SAR) efforts had been twisted by some of the local media, especially the cyber media.

"The cyber media have deliberately been twisting information on the tragedy to garner public sympathy, especially from among the young, and tarnishing the country's image, which could threaten the good relations and diplomatic ties between Malaysia and China."

He said factual information had been twisted to belittle the government's SAR efforts despite these efforts being recognised and praised by the 26 countries involved in the operation to look for the missing aircraft.

"China, the United States and Australia are involved in the operation but why are they (cyber media) still saying we are not acting like a responsible government? It's not possible for Malaysia to receive so much help from these big nations if its government is irresponsible," he added.

Disappointed with wild claims that the government was hiding information on the missing aircraft, Abdul Aziz said Malaysians, particularly the young, should not be easily influenced by such baseless accusations against the government being disseminated in cyber space, but to be wise in discerning the information received.