Article from AsiaMedia:

MALAYSIA: Malaysians hounded by vicious blogging too

Police complaints lodged against readers who post seditious responses to blogs

The Straits Times
Tuesday, September 27, 2005

By Carolyn Hong

Blogger Ameer Zulkifli is used to heated debates on his blog, but one comment left by a reader two weeks ago shocked him with the ugliness of the racist diatribe.

Although reluctant, he felt compelled to lodge a police report against the reader for slandering Malays and cursing the government.

‘It could have created a bucketful of trouble for me,’ said Mr Ameer, a management consultant who blogs on current affairs and politics on his well-read site Brand Malaysia.

Under Malaysian law, a blogger may be liable if he condones inflammatory debate on his website.

Mr Ameer, 34, is not alone as another blogger, Mr Peter Tan, also lodged a police report against the same commentator for leaving a racist opinion on his site on Sept 17.

Police are investigating their reports, which could form the basis for the first Internet sedition case.

As online diaries, blogs are hugely popular in Malaysia but they are also becoming forums to air provocative opinions on topics regarded as too sensitive for public discussion.

Bloggers who focus on current issues often find their sites attracting strong opinions from readers with a tendency towards defamatory, seditious and inflammatory views.

‘Political bloggers tend to have this kind of problem. It is the dark side of the Internet,’ said one of Malaysia’s most widely read Web writers, Mr Jeff Ooi, who has had his own share of problems with vicious comments left on his blog.

He now watches his blog Screenshots closely to swiftly delete seditious opinions which often pour in when he discusses race-related topics.

Mr Ooi is ambivalent about lodging police reports against commentators but nevertheless felt that the move had sent out the message that the Internet was not a legal vacuum.

‘What is illegal offline is also illegal online,’ he said.

So far, the authorities have not taken action although they are not unaware of inflammatory Internet postings.

This is partly because they only act on complaints due to the sheer volume of material online, and very few complaints have been lodged.

Of the 131 complaints filed with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in the past year, only one dealt with sedition. That case was about a reader ‘Anwar’ who had posted a comment offensive to Muslims on Mr Ooi’s website. ‘Anwar’, a hospital lab technician, was eventually traced.

MCMC corporate communications head Adelina Iskandar said the matter was still with the prosecution department, but The Straits Times understands that a lack of technical evidence has forced the file to be shelved.

She said the authorities prefer to encourage self-regulation among Internet users.

The bloggers, too, prefer self-policing as responsible behaviour gives their writing greater weight and credibility.

‘If bloggers behave like dogs barking in the night, people will only throw shoes at them,’ said Mr Ameer.

Date Posted: 9/27/2005

After the storms of the previous two weeks that had lashed mercilessly from all sides, three pleasant things happened today. The first was a question that Pak Idrus asked in his blog, In Passing – Malaysian, that had me nodding in agreement. That one sentence provided much food for thought. We have met briefly at the PPS 2nd Anniversary Bash. This is what was written in Blogging With Wisdom:

What is freedom if there are no peace and harmony in this country…

I am not at liberty to divulge the other two pleasant surprises yet. Both were phone calls that brought uplifting news. One has been a two-year dream that is coming to fruition. The other is no less important. Both are directions that will converge into a single path that will lead to what I have planned to do. Life is great. God has been merciful. Friends have been supportive. I have many reasons to be thankful for.

One with the blogger boys.

Many new faces attended the Mid Valley Bloggers Meet II at Oasis Food Court apart from the few veterans like Dustyhawk, Silencers, Sashi, Albert and Redzuan. The turnout was the largest yet so far this year. Another bash has been planned for the end of the year at a place more conducive for chatting. We have ran out of welcome at the two food courts in Mid Valley Megamall. Do keep a lookout for the announcement soon. I am glad I got the opportunity to get to know many more bloggers this time around. Thank you for attending and making this another successful meet. Below is the list of attendees from MageP’s Lab:

One of the two flashers’ behind.

Deandra – Memoirs Of An Employed Naivette
Norzu – What’s In My Head
Adi – A Technology Blog @ Syiok.Com
Sashi – Sashi-isms
Andreas – AlwaysWOW! For a Great Great WoW In Life
MENJ – MENJ’s Critical Thoughts
Fazri – The Silent Room
Hani – Practising Discretion
Tariq/T-boy – WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Frostier – A Weblog Of My Mind, My Memories, My Life
Yvonne Foong – Freelance Writer & Patient Of Neurofibromatosis
Andrew – Ironic Paradox
Serge – .:: Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror ::.
Chea Yee – Tales Of BakChee LengLui
Naoko – Ramblings
Albert – Glaring Notebook Trained
Madeline Yee – MORE TO SHARE ….
Nilesh Babu
Danny Foo – Websites Made Simple
Aniel Yoong – Angelceres
Nicholas – HELPING OF ME
Davina – RetardationNation
Raymond – Cybersist
Tiger Joe – The Tiger’s Den
Dzof – PPS Review
Fat Cat Lim – Away From Keyboard Journal
Redzuan – dJ Phuturecybersonique:
Peter Tan – The Digital Awakening
Wuan -  Point and  Shoot
Eyeris – Eye on Everything
Bkworm – Imagination Is The Key To Freedom
Marita Paige – A Leaf Off The Page of Marita’s Life
MataKecik – Life Through Little Eyes
Emily – The Life I Choose To Live
James – Loopy Meals

Related entries:
Dustyhawk ~ Mid Valley Meetup II Completed
MageP’s Lab ~ Mid Valley Bloggers Gathering II
Norzu ~ I Survived It
Menj ~ An Afterword: Bloggers Meet II
T-boy ~ The Blog Meet
Chea Yee ~ My First Blogger Meet Up. How Was It?
Naoko ~ Bloggers’ Meet Update
Albert ~ Me, Nih Shorts Hair
Danny Foo ~ Mid Valley Bloggers Minutes
Nilesh babu ~ Better Late Than Never: Bloggers Meet Up

* More photos have been uuploaded to the Gallery.