YOURSAY 'To really avoid practicing double standards, the government should just remove all regulations on printed media, instead of trying to control digital media.'

Najib repeats plans to regulate online media

your sayHolden: PM Najib Razak, when Malaysia first embarked on developing MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) and Internet capabilities, didn't your previous boss, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, give an undertaking that there would not be censorship of the media?

What is the value of such promises made by party stalwarts, if you can turn around a few years down the line and contradict yourself? More importantly, what does that action say about the credibility of your party?

ACR: There are two things Najib said in the last one week that clearly indicate we are not a world-class democracy and he is obviously far from being a world-class PM.

First, he said that the election date is part of his trade secret. He joked about it but his statement is an utter disgrace.

Second, this news item about regulating online media on the pretext of leveling the playing field with the MSM (mainstream media).

In no world-class democracy, publications require a permit from the Home Ministry, much less having the ruling government owning the MSM.

Eric Koay: How do you regulate online media? Simply move the server out of Malaysia and it is out of Malaysia's jurisdiction. Especially with the cloud technology, the server can be anywhere.

Enforce ‘great firewall' like in China? Even that, people in China still managed to get information worldwide.

Don't you know anything, Mr PM? The people are no longer ‘katak under the tempurung'.

Anonymous: Obviously, this is another Najib plan to shut up those who criticise the government. He wants to control the media so that they will all be friendly to the BN.

Yet propaganda newspapers like Utusan Malaysia are free to run wild with their gutter reporting and blatant lies to stir up racial and religious sentiments and threaten peace in the country. This is another battle for the rakyat to fight.

Anonymous_rb345: First of all, the PM should try to regulate Utusan instead of letting it print seditious news, lies and fabricated articles and stories. So far, the PM has failed to even stop Utusan.

Thus, to really avoid practicing double standards, the government should just remove all regulations on printed media instead of trying to control digital media.

Quigonbond: That's right, Najib. If you don't want to practise double standards, it is time to abolish PPPA (Printing Presses and Publications Act) and have a bill of rights for all forms of media, subject only to strategic state secrets, tort of defamation and a self-regulating media council.

Kgen: What code of ethics for self-regulation are we talking about? The amount of news unfavourable to BN that the mainstream newspapers omit is shocking.

What is the point of removing the annual licence when the Home Ministry still hold the power to shut down a newspaper?

This is a typical Umno ploy - pretend to give something but actually gives nothing.

Anonymous: Two wrongs don't make a right. His play on words in an effort to justify his need to control the media shows how he will resort to anything to try to censor dissenting voices.

VChange: Tell us premier, which government in history could cling on to power for long when they were so high-handed, dictatorial, manipulative, cunning, power-crazy, corrupted and corruptible?

Has the PM not learned anything applicable from what have had happened in the Middle East countries. The Arab Spring could not be stopped there, it is still happening in Syria.

Our country is rich in natural and human resources, and all we need is good transparent government to spearhead economic, social and IT progress, rather than suppress the fastest and most modern media with the so-called self-regulated BN's code of ethics.

Jiminy Qrikert: BN has robbed the rakyat and put our money into their own pockets. They have drugged the minds of simple rakyat folk with their ‘ketuanan Melayu' and Najib's 'nambikei' and 'I help you, you help me' divisive policies.

They have struck fear into the hearts of Malaysians playing one race against the other, one religion against the other.

And now, Najib wants to deprive the rakyat of our only channel to the truth. Najib is nailing his own coffin and the rakyat will bury him in GE13.

Anonymous: "The government cannot be viewed as practising double standards..." said Najib.

Umno is already well known for being the practitioner of double standards for as long as anyone can remember. So what else is new?

Clearwater: The practice of double standards is the cornerstone policy of the Umno-BN government.

That's how it manages to cling on to power but alienate so many of citizens. No more. We are kicking you out of Putrajaya next GE.

 

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