This morning, Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim confirmed that the government plans to implement an internet filter to weed out 'undesirable' content.

Later, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said the government will not censor the internet as such a move will be ineffective in a borderless world and lead to dissatisfaction among the people.

Malaysiakini talked to some politicians, experts and multimedia industry players to get their reaction on the possibility of such censorship taking place.

Lim Kit Siang, DAP veteran leader

There is a 'secretive and subterranean' agenda to this. Once they have got a secret system, it would be easy for them to infiltrate all other sites.

Haris Ibrahim, lawyer and avid blogger

Government cannot take the rakyat to be such idiots. There has been pornography in the Internet for so long. Don't tell me the government did not know that. It is only a matter of time as and when they would blackout access to other sites.

Elizabeth Wong, PKR state rep and S'gor exco

The MSC Malaysia 10 Point Bill of Guarantees spells out in no uncertain terms that there will be no censorship of the Internet. This plan clearly renders the bill meaningless. The government needs to stop looking at banning as a catch-all solution.

There are already adequate laws of the land such as the Multimedia Commission Act, the Penal Code and Defamation Act, while self-control and regulation must also be emphasised. To use China's flawed and postponed Green Dam as a model is highly frightening to Malaysians who cherish what little freedom we have to express ourselves.

Abu Bakar Munir, dean of University Malaya law faculty

How do we classify what is 'porn'? This is a problem (in enforcing the internet filter). Naked pictures for example, is it all porn? What about drawings of naked people for artistic purposes? Is it art or porn?

While it is the internationally accepted standard that access to porn for children should be prohibited, the question is whether it is an offence for adults to access porn? What about the use of images online for adults who want to learn about sexual education.

Any act of censorship by the government will go against provisions of the Communications and Multimedia Act. More so the [multimedia] industry and international players will say that the government is going back on their word.

Denison Jayasooria, Suhakam commissioner

This goes against the basic human right of freedom to knowledge and information. Access to alternative views has always been curtailed in the mass media. The internet therefore provides a space for such views. Any further censorship of the internet may stunt the development of our society.

Instead of censorship, the government can take other actions against individuals who abuse the right to freedom of expression on the internet in open court.

Azrul Rahim, CEO of a local MSC-status web development company

If this goes ahead I am getting out of here. I foresee that businesses and companies will protest such a move.

It is technically possible to block internet content, but it is also possible to bypass such restrictions. It is a question of who is more determined and has more resources.