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Internet Filtering Updates

As of August 2009, the Malaysian government has begun a plan to start filtering pornographic content in Malaysia. Despite Malaysia's earlier commitment outlined in the Bill of Guarantees under the national ICT intiative MSC Malaysia to not censor the internet, Malaysian Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim has stated that "We cannot compromise on the protection of Malaysian children from pornography," Rais said when questioned about the Internet filter as reported byThe Malaysian Insider.

While the ban will focus on pornographic content, many fear that the filter may lead to a more stringent policy such as that of China. Minister Rais confirms, however, that "Bloggers will face the normal laws of the land (if they breach the laws)," said Rais, who has been at the forefront to curb bloggers, most of whom were seen as a catalyst for the ruling Barisan Nasional's dismal performance in Election 2008."
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While the filter is currently in its early stages, the Minister should make a decision on which company will be implementing the ban by December 2009.

Also, in the same year, the government announced that it was considering to introduce a set of filtering schemes (believed by critics to be similar to the Green Dam Internet Filtering in China) believed to be efforts to reduce opposition presence online. However, due to discouragements from the public and experts (who deemed it to be a potential failure), the plan did not materialise in the end.

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