MCMC has no business eavesdropping on us
YoursayPublished: Aug 17, 2014 11:34 AM | Updated: Aug 17, 2014 11:59 AM
YOURSAY 'We must be vigilant so that we don’t become a police state.'
DAP: MCMC directive allows mass surveillance
Anonymous_3faa: This is a very dangerous sign. There is probably a black operation by Umno under the guise of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). The Edward Snowden fiasco has not taught the government any lesson here.
This may blow up in their faces if Wikileaks gets its hands on such covert activities, as surely they can. Beware of the consequences of such covert surveillance by our government.
Mamadias: What's wrong if MCMC is using surveillance for legal purposes? The Americans do it and their country is supposed to be the best democracy in the world.
Please DAP, just continue to work to ensure the rakyat's well-being is taken care of. The general election is over a year ago but DAP and PKR keep politicking.
MrM: Mamadias, just because America does it means it is okay for our government to do it here? Since the 9/11 terrorist bombings, America is fast becoming a tyrannical country.
Do you even understand how important privacy is? This information allows the government to snoop on everyone and do whatever they want with the information, including selling it to third parties for profit.
David Dass: The government has a responsibility to look after the security of the nation. As such, intelligence services throughout the world conduct surveillance, including wiretaps etc.
The question is what kind of checks there are to ensure that these powers are used properly and not abused. In the US, an order is required from a judge who must be satisfied that there is probable cause that the person to be spied on could be engaged in criminal activities.
There is a balance to be struck between our right to privacy and the state's responsibility to look after the security needs of the country, i.e. to protect the innocent citizens of the country.
We must be cautious however that we do not become a police state. Our people must not fear that their emails are being intercepted and read by intelligence services and their phone calls tapped.
And certainly the power should not be used to help the ruling party deal with members of the opposition.
Anonymous_40f4: MCMC belongs to Umno Baru, and just like all the other government institutions, they work under instructions from Umno.
MP: EC 'lazy' in registering new voters
Anonymous#007: The Election Commission (EC) and its officers are all civil servants because they are paid by the taxpayers. They work on the same terms/hours.
Citing Ramadan and other reasons for not being able to register voters is against the very reason for EC’s existence. They must accept and process registrations at normal office hours and every working days.
This action is gross misconduct and a breach of service and fiduciary duty by the EC officers. They should be sacked.
If the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is genuinely interested to wipe out corruption, then one of the most efficient and quickest ways is to set strict procedures for civil servants to follow.
If voters are frequently making mistakes in the forms, then perhaps the form should be revised.
Although, it does raise suspicions how alleged Indonesian and Bangladesh nationals who do not speak Malay fluently or at all have managed to register for NRIC (identity cards) and allegedly been processed as voters.
Disgusted: They are indifferent as they do not want to register the younger generation of voters, knowing it will not be in the favour of their masters BN who they are covertly working for. It is all part of the strategy.
My son who turned 21 last year and he could not register for the coming Selangor snap election if it happens as he had no opportunity to do so as he has to attend classes in college.
Besides, there was nowhere to do it except at the post office, which is always difficult to find parking and open only during office hours.
Umno-BN only does registration of people whom they believe will support them and put stumbling blocks for those they believe will not be in their favour, especially the younger new voters who are well aware of the issues facing the rakyat because of the Internet.
MinahBulat: DAP state representative Ng Wei Aik, come on. Don’t be too hard on the EC staff who are mostly Malay Muslims. It is the fasting Ramadan season - not only EC but you try and tell me which government department can operate full swing?
Samurai: MinahBulat would be justified in the opinion, if not for the fact that there is a nearly 50 percent non-Muslim population who could work in the civil service to cover the duties of Muslims who are on religious breaks, and vice versa.
Sadly that is not the case with our civil service for reasons we all know.
Anonymous#00: This is a good time to take advantage of multi-racial, multi-religious Malaysia to actively ensure a good ethnic mix in civil service.
The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.
These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.
DAP: MCMC directive allows mass surveillance
Anonymous_3faa: This is a very dangerous sign. There is probably a black operation by Umno under the guise of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). The Edward Snowden fiasco has not taught the government any lesson here.This may blow up in their faces if Wikileaks gets its hands on such covert activities, as surely they can. Beware of the consequences of such covert surveillance by our government.
Mamadias: What's wrong if MCMC is using surveillance for legal purposes? The Americans do it and their country is supposed to be the best democracy in the world.
Please DAP, just continue to work to ensure the rakyat's well-being is taken care of. The general election is over a year ago but DAP and PKR keep politicking.
MrM: Mamadias, just because America does it means it is okay for our government to do it here? Since the 9/11 terrorist bombings, America is fast becoming a tyrannical country.
Do you even understand how important privacy is? This information allows the government to snoop on everyone and do whatever they want with the information, including selling it to third parties for profit.
David Dass: The government has a responsibility to look after the security of the nation. As such, intelligence services throughout the world conduct surveillance, including wiretaps etc.
The question is what kind of checks there are to ensure that these powers are used properly and not abused. In the US, an order is required from a judge who must be satisfied that there is probable cause that the person to be spied on could be engaged in criminal activities.
There is a balance to be struck between our right to privacy and the state's responsibility to look after the security needs of the country, i.e. to protect the innocent citizens of the country.
We must be cautious however that we do not become a police state. Our people must not fear that their emails are being intercepted and read by intelligence services and their phone calls tapped.
And certainly the power should not be used to help the ruling party deal with members of the opposition.
Anonymous_40f4: MCMC belongs to Umno Baru, and just like all the other government institutions, they work under instructions from Umno.
MP: EC 'lazy' in registering new voters
Anonymous#007: The Election Commission (EC) and its officers are all civil servants because they are paid by the taxpayers. They work on the same terms/hours.
Citing Ramadan and other reasons for not being able to register voters is against the very reason for EC’s existence. They must accept and process registrations at normal office hours and every working days.
This action is gross misconduct and a breach of service and fiduciary duty by the EC officers. They should be sacked.
If the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is genuinely interested to wipe out corruption, then one of the most efficient and quickest ways is to set strict procedures for civil servants to follow.
If voters are frequently making mistakes in the forms, then perhaps the form should be revised.
Although, it does raise suspicions how alleged Indonesian and Bangladesh nationals who do not speak Malay fluently or at all have managed to register for NRIC (identity cards) and allegedly been processed as voters.
Disgusted: They are indifferent as they do not want to register the younger generation of voters, knowing it will not be in the favour of their masters BN who they are covertly working for. It is all part of the strategy.
My son who turned 21 last year and he could not register for the coming Selangor snap election if it happens as he had no opportunity to do so as he has to attend classes in college.
Besides, there was nowhere to do it except at the post office, which is always difficult to find parking and open only during office hours.
Umno-BN only does registration of people whom they believe will support them and put stumbling blocks for those they believe will not be in their favour, especially the younger new voters who are well aware of the issues facing the rakyat because of the Internet.
MinahBulat: DAP state representative Ng Wei Aik, come on. Don’t be too hard on the EC staff who are mostly Malay Muslims. It is the fasting Ramadan season - not only EC but you try and tell me which government department can operate full swing?
Samurai: MinahBulat would be justified in the opinion, if not for the fact that there is a nearly 50 percent non-Muslim population who could work in the civil service to cover the duties of Muslims who are on religious breaks, and vice versa.
Sadly that is not the case with our civil service for reasons we all know.
Anonymous#00: This is a good time to take advantage of multi-racial, multi-religious Malaysia to actively ensure a good ethnic mix in civil service.
The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.
These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.
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