Rais to bloggers: Self-regulate or else...
S Pathmawathy & Samantha BellPublished: May 14, 2009 7:39 PM | Updated: May 14, 2009 7:49 PM
Information Minister Rais Yatim reminded the blogging community that self-regulation was necessary to avoid being exposed to law suits and government actions.
Information Minister Rais Yatim reminded the blogging community that self-regulation was necessary to avoid being exposed to law suits and government actions.
"The bloggers have to face their own responsible corners... I specifically meant blogging with responsibility," said Rais when asked to comment on an interview which he gave to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) yesterday.
In that interview, the minister had said there was need for better and more consistent enforcement of laws rather than need more laws to add on to the current media laws.
"You (the blogger) cannot defame people, you cannot outline matters which will irk certain communities and if you defame (them) then you are faced with the possibility of being prosecuted by the authorities," he reminded the blogger today.
He added that bloggers cannot assume that just because they have the freedom to say anything they want without censorship, they can defame people.
"If I do that, then I will be subjected to the natural legal system of the country and that we have to answerable (to the authorities)," he said.
He also reiterated that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has enough regulatory conditions.
Asked whether the government will review the 10-point Bills of Guarantees in which the government has promised to ensure no Internet censorship, Rais said: "(The 10 points) are not laws, (those are) just principles... so if you violate the laws you are answerable individually".
MIC launches new web-portal
Rais was talking to reporters after launching MIC's new web portal which will act as the party's news organ and on-line membership engine which will work as an interactive platform for the community to communicate with its leaders.
"The Indian community must be re-looked at from a different angle... we have learnt some bitter lessons recently and we must be aware of it, but the struggle towards One Malaysia must continue," said Rais.
He also welcomed comments and feedback from community leaders on the improvements of the state-owned broadcast network Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).
Meanwhile MIC president S Samy Vellu stressed that the content of the website must be made most attractive to the younger generation.
"The most important and challenging aspect of the MIC portal is the content. It must be constantly updated with real-time news so that the portal will capture the minds of the people, especially the youths.
"The MIC portal will now be the centre of information for the Indian community to attain the latest and accurate information on MIC," he said.
Samy Vellu, who has come under attacks by many after the party suffered a devastating loss in the general election last year, lashed back at his critics that the website will regain MIC's glory.
"The community can now interact and communicate with MIC officers any time and anywhere in real time. We want to hear from the community, we want them to tell us what they want and how we could assist them.
"When we do mistakes, we want the community to let us know, to advise us and make recommendations," he said.
"This is the kind of relationship we want to have with the community... even before this, the MIC was able to read the pulse of the Indian community but perhaps there existed a gap, and this led to many Indians, especially the younger generation keeping away from the Barisan Nasional.
However he said tha this gap could be bridged with the launch of the portal.
"The bloggers have to face their own responsible corners... I specifically meant blogging with responsibility," said Rais when asked to comment on an interview which he gave to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) yesterday.
In that interview, the minister had said there was need for better and more consistent enforcement of laws rather than need more laws to add on to the current media laws. "You (the blogger) cannot defame people, you cannot outline matters which will irk certain communities and if you defame (them) then you are faced with the possibility of being prosecuted by the authorities," he reminded the blogger today.
He added that bloggers cannot assume that just because they have the freedom to say anything they want without censorship, they can defame people.
"If I do that, then I will be subjected to the natural legal system of the country and that we have to answerable (to the authorities)," he said.
He also reiterated that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has enough regulatory conditions.
Asked whether the government will review the 10-point Bills of Guarantees in which the government has promised to ensure no Internet censorship, Rais said: "(The 10 points) are not laws, (those are) just principles... so if you violate the laws you are answerable individually".
MIC launches new web-portal
Rais was talking to reporters after launching MIC's new web portal which will act as the party's news organ and on-line membership engine which will work as an interactive platform for the community to communicate with its leaders.
"The Indian community must be re-looked at from a different angle... we have learnt some bitter lessons recently and we must be aware of it, but the struggle towards One Malaysia must continue," said Rais.
He also welcomed comments and feedback from community leaders on the improvements of the state-owned broadcast network Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).
Meanwhile MIC president S Samy Vellu stressed that the content of the website must be made most attractive to the younger generation."The most important and challenging aspect of the MIC portal is the content. It must be constantly updated with real-time news so that the portal will capture the minds of the people, especially the youths.
"The MIC portal will now be the centre of information for the Indian community to attain the latest and accurate information on MIC," he said.
Samy Vellu, who has come under attacks by many after the party suffered a devastating loss in the general election last year, lashed back at his critics that the website will regain MIC's glory.
"The community can now interact and communicate with MIC officers any time and anywhere in real time. We want to hear from the community, we want them to tell us what they want and how we could assist them.
"When we do mistakes, we want the community to let us know, to advise us and make recommendations," he said.
"This is the kind of relationship we want to have with the community... even before this, the MIC was able to read the pulse of the Indian community but perhaps there existed a gap, and this led to many Indians, especially the younger generation keeping away from the Barisan Nasional.
However he said tha this gap could be bridged with the launch of the portal.
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