Following repeated threats by ministers and members of Parliament
over the past three years to control online content, the Malaysian
government is setting up a task force to look into applying
existing legislation on the new media without contravening the
country's Bill of Guarantee against Internet censorship.

On 13 June 2007, the Cabinet decided that a task force of senior
officers from ministries, a government agency, the
Attorney-General's Chambers and the police will scan existing
legislation that can be used to check "pornographic and seditious"
online content.

Local newspaper "New Straits Times" quoted an unnamed source as
saying that websites and blogs on race, religion, politics and
those critical of the government would be targetted.

More ominously, the task force will look at how the overbroad 1948
Sedition Act can be expanded to cover online material.

SEAPA shares the concerns of its local partner, the Centre for
Independent Journalism (CIJ), that this marks the start of official
censorship of the Internet and is likely to further curb speech in
a country whose media already suffer from a severe case of
self-censorship.

"Although the government expressly states that it will continue to
honour the Bill of Guarantee, drafted to attract foreign
technocrats and investors, the decision to set up the taskforce
shows that the government's intention to control the Internet
remains strong," CIJ said in a 15 June 2007 statement (
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?T0TPcXPc91b2FaggHNWtvw ).

"We urge the government to balance alleged online rumours with an
open and free press by repealing the 1984 Printing Presses and
Publications Act (PPPA), thus increasing the credibility of the
press as a source of independent information," CIJ said.

The PPPA is the main legislation limiting press freedom in
Malaysia. The law mandates all publishers to obtain a government
permit, renewable annually, thus creating a climate of
self-censorship among journalists, editors and publishers.

SEAPA joins CIJ in calling for a parliamentary select committee on
communication rights, which will include diverse groups to study
issues of freedom of speech on the Internet and the mass media.