By Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 2 2008 (IPS)

Abandoning a decade-old promise to maintain Internet freedom, the government has closed down the popular and controversial ‘Malaysia Today’ web portal, known for consistently exposing the misdeeds of officialdom and the failings of individual leaders.

''I will not be cowed down,'' says Raja Kamaruddin, seen here (at left) with Malaysian economist Din Merican. Credit: Din Merican

While the two events – defeat and the silencing of vociferous critics – seem unconnected, civil society activists fear that the shut down signals a new era of intolerance for democratic dissent, as a politically weakened government fights to stay afloat against an Anwar-led opposition onslaught.

“I am surprised and shocked at this onslaught against freedom,” said Malaysia Today owner Raja Petra Kamaruddin. “They had long wanted to do something and now they have shut down the site.”

“I am not cowed in the least, I will press on,” Kamaruddin told IPS. “None of this is going to stop me.”

The Malaysia Today website, which at times takes more than 10 million hits a day, according to Kamaruddin, is still accessible through mirror sites and new Internet technology that beat government censorship, but experts said the shut down does affects easy access.

The government-backed Internet watchdog Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) ordered all the country’s 21 internet service providers to deny access to Malaysia Today on Aug. 25.

But, after initial hiccups Malaysia Today is back online through mirrors sites.

With the closure, political insiders said criticism of the government and its authoritarian tendencies would be severely curtailed if the closure action expands to include other websites that are popular and critical of the government.

The man who made the freedom promise 1998, while opening the country to Internet technology, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, rarely brooked dissent while in power until his resignation in 2003.

But Mahathi has now come out strongly against the shut down. “When a government makes a promise to the country and then reneges on its promise, then not only will the government lose credibility but also any respect that the public may have for it,” Mahathir wrote in his blog www.chedet.com on Aug. 27. “I do not often agree with Malaysia Today and with Raja Petra Kamaruddin. He had been sometimes quite irresponsible,” Mahathir wrote.

“But court action had already been taken against him. He is not above the law and if he is found guilty there are already adequate punishments that can be passed against (him),” Mahathir wrote in reference to numerous libel and defamation suits that have been filed against Kamaruddin.

Despite the criticism the government has defended the move against Malaysia Today as necessary and essential to protect public order and decency.

Cabinet minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia Today was banned because it published “libelous, defamatory and slanderous” content.

Nevertheless, several serving ministers opposed the move fearing that the breach of promise to promote internet freedom was a setback to the country’s image and investment climate.

Even mainstream media have written strong editorials condemning the move, seeing it as a harbinger of more tough measures ahead as the power struggle between rival the political elites for control of the government intensifies.

The authorities have also raided the home of Kamaruddin several times this year and seized computers, storage files and documents.

“The shut down is the latest onslaught on civil liberties,” said Tian Chua, information chief of the opposition Peoples Justice Party.

“It is a desperate act by the authorities reeling from repeated political defeats to curb freedom,” he told IPS. “They should use normal, acceptable legal means to seek redress if aggrieved. Not inappropriately shut down the website.”

“No court has yet found the website to contain seditious contents,” he added. “They should let the courts decide.”

The Internet is a powerful tool for propaganda and outreach that the opposition has exploited to full advantage ever since Anwar Ibrahim was released from prison in 2004 and began his long comeback to national politics.

Blogging, websites and web-based TV along with SMS text messages are powerful new tools the opposition has successfully used to mobilize support. It’s a phenomenon the government is not able to match despite trying hard.

“A crackdown seems to be their answer to a phenomenon that they could not compete with,” Chua said.

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) strongly condemned the shut down saying it reflected how “narrow political interests” are dictating public policies.

“They should not go on a witch hunt in cyberspace which holds the only meaningful free space for critical expression in Malaysia,” said CIJ executive director Gayathry Venkiteswaran.

“The core issue here is that mainstream media is not reporting information adequately, truthfully and fairly…this situation should be corrected,” she said.

The National Alliance of Bloggers also strongly condemned the breach of promise not to censure the Internet. “The breach would rattle the confidence of investors,” said interim president Ahirudin Attan. “We bloggers are upset with the backtracking by the authorities.”

Jeff Ooi, a blogger-turned-politician and opposition lawmaker said the MCMC should be an independent body and act in the interest of the people. “It should not be a tool of the authorities,” he said. “This is the start of a dangerous trend hostile to democracy.”

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