Malaysian Government Wants Internet Filtering

adewolf tips news that the government of Malaysia is looking into the development of an internet filtering program. According to a Reuters report, "A vibrant Internet culture has contributed to political challenges facing the government, which tightly controls mainstream media and has used sedition laws and imprisonment without trial to prosecute a blogger." The Malaysian government insists that such a filter would only be used to block pornography, though critics of the plan expect it would be wielded as a political tool, censoring websites that are critical of the current administration. "An industry source says the government could impose the filters late this year or in 2010, coinciding with the rollout of a high-speed broadband network run by Telekom Malaysia. Malaysia aims to increase broadband penetration to half of all homes by 2010 as part of its drive to boost economic efficiency."

Religion and Internet Filtering

[reporter]

Together with Iran and Turkey, Malaysia will soon be filtering its Internet content. The common thread among all 3 countries is that the majority of their citizens are Muslims.

Approaching this matter from another angle, we see that Vietnam, China, and North Korea censor the Internet. The common thread among all 3 countries is that the majority of their citizens subscribes to Confucianism. Confucianism is a quasi-religion. In it, you are told how and what to think.

Is there a causal relation? Do the governments of countries inhabitated by strongly, religious people tend to filter Internet content?

Note that Russia, despite its brutal form of government, does not filter the Internet. You can write whatever you want in an Internet forum. The Kremlin censors mainly television.

Malaysian Government achieves filtering.

[Anonymous Coward]

Answer: Google(R).

So long as I am the filter, they can filter all they want.

Re:How does that work, again?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're kidding right?

I've got this strange feeling you've never been to china, or know people living there and definitely haven't used their internet. Considering how big it is, how central it is and it's growth, the internet there is terrible. Especially if you go to access a site hosted there from outside the country.

Although this is a generalization, I've been to China several times (and I'm a nerd so I'm always online), and I've several friends and family that live there. I know "OK" is a relative relationship, but I would not call their internet, "OK".

Re:How does that work, again?

[raju1kabir]

Well, in the most obvious way in Malaysia, it prevents people from calling attention to all the problems caused by the corrupt relationship between the government and monopolist Telekom Malaysia. TM provides remarkably bad connectivity at remarkably high prices and manages to maintain iron fist control over the wired last mile for 98% of the population due to a weak regulatory agency (SKMM/MCMC) that spends its time sucking TM's dick instead of doing its job. If people can't shine light on this state of affairs due to political censhorship - and mark my words, that is the single and only purpose of the filtering proposal, porn is a red herring - then there's no hope for change.

This has already driven away the much-hoped-for internet economy that Cyberjaya was built, at billions of ringgit in taxpayer expense, to host.

Then there's the simple fact that a filtered internet is a slow and erratic internet. It's true in China and Saudi Arabia and Iran and it will be true here.

Re:Religion and Internet Filtering

[clarkkent09]

Which Muslim countries do not censor the Internet?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_blackholes.svg [wikipedia.org]

Re:Religion and Internet Filtering

[Anonymous Coward]

You gotta love how - say - the USA and pretty much all of Europe are partially censored, while, say, Mexico and most of Africa aren't.

Says a lot really...

Re:Good old Telekom Malaysia

[raju1kabir]

The bars there sucked, but I suppose that comes with the territory, being an Islamic country and all. I mean, I wouldn't expect the bar scene in Cow's Asshole, Alabama to be thriving, either.

FWIW, the bar scene in KL is much better these days.

JAWI (religious police) came into the restaurant, and she had left her ID card in her car. She had to go all the way out and get it, to prove that she was a Hindu, and therefore not subject to jail for eating during daytime (it was Ramadan

There was a funny article in the newspaper a few years back where they interviewed (and showed photos of) a bunch of Chinese people who looked sort of Malay-ish, getting them to share their stories of being harassed during Ramadan. Some said they just gave up and ate indoors, others wore giant crucifixes, others turned around and got pre-emptively aggressive with the lunch police.

not news

[shentino]

Call me out of hibernation once we find a government OPPOSED to internet filtering...