ONI Country Profi le
331
requirement of carrying one ’ s identifi cation card at all times renders it diffi cult to
maintain anonymity in Malaysia without considerable effort.
ONI Testing Results
The OpenNet Initiative conducted testing over the course of September and October
2010 on two ISPs: TMNet, the main Malaysian ISP, and Macrolynx, a smaller specialist
provider to Klang Valley, which has the highest density of Internet users and bloggers
in Malaysia.
89 The tests revealed no evidence of fi ltering for any of the categories tested,
which is unsurprising given the public climbdown of the Malaysian government from
its 2009 fi ltering plans.
Conclusion
Malaysia has extended its practice of controlling all media of communication to the
Internet. It joins a growing trend of state reliance on second- and third-generation
control mechanisms through a complex combination of formal and informal methods,
from applying existing laws to online content, to directly competing within cyberinformational space for voter attention. Signifi cantly, the number of proceedings
against individual bloggers has been increasing exponentially since the fi rst cases in
2007 and is unlikely to abate. This trend is possibly the result of two factors. First,
China has emerged as a model for controlling Internet content without sacrifi cing
foreign investment interest. Second, the 2008 Malaysian elections unequivocally materialized BN ’ s concerns over the destabilizing effect of cyber dissentients. Notably, the
relatively tepid public response to 2010 offi cial announcements of a governmental
task force to scour the Internet may indicate a growing resignation to pervasive state
monitoring and surveillance of the Internet in Malaysia.
Notes
1. Section 3(3), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act, 1998.
2. Point 7, Multimedia Super Corridor Bill of Guarantees, 1999.
3. This is self-defi ned by SoPoSentral, a directory of “ sociopolitical ” blogs in Malaysia, categorized
as blogs on social, political, and fi nancial issues pertaining to Malaysia.
4. Barisan Nasional translates to “ National Front. ” BN is used here for readers who are accustomed to the regional abbreviation.
5. Malaysia has a federal government and 13 state governments. In this report, “ Malaysian government ” refers to the federal government unless indicated otherwise. Barisan Nasional is still
in control of the federal government, though not of all 13 state governments.
331
requirement of carrying one ’ s identifi cation card at all times renders it diffi cult to
maintain anonymity in Malaysia without considerable effort.
ONI Testing Results
The OpenNet Initiative conducted testing over the course of September and October
2010 on two ISPs: TMNet, the main Malaysian ISP, and Macrolynx, a smaller specialist
provider to Klang Valley, which has the highest density of Internet users and bloggers
in Malaysia.
89 The tests revealed no evidence of fi ltering for any of the categories tested,
which is unsurprising given the public climbdown of the Malaysian government from
its 2009 fi ltering plans.
Conclusion
Malaysia has extended its practice of controlling all media of communication to the
Internet. It joins a growing trend of state reliance on second- and third-generation
control mechanisms through a complex combination of formal and informal methods,
from applying existing laws to online content, to directly competing within cyberinformational space for voter attention. Signifi cantly, the number of proceedings
against individual bloggers has been increasing exponentially since the fi rst cases in
2007 and is unlikely to abate. This trend is possibly the result of two factors. First,
China has emerged as a model for controlling Internet content without sacrifi cing
foreign investment interest. Second, the 2008 Malaysian elections unequivocally materialized BN ’ s concerns over the destabilizing effect of cyber dissentients. Notably, the
relatively tepid public response to 2010 offi cial announcements of a governmental
task force to scour the Internet may indicate a growing resignation to pervasive state
monitoring and surveillance of the Internet in Malaysia.
Notes
1. Section 3(3), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act, 1998.
2. Point 7, Multimedia Super Corridor Bill of Guarantees, 1999.
3. This is self-defi ned by SoPoSentral, a directory of “ sociopolitical ” blogs in Malaysia, categorized
as blogs on social, political, and fi nancial issues pertaining to Malaysia.
4. Barisan Nasional translates to “ National Front. ” BN is used here for readers who are accustomed to the regional abbreviation.
5. Malaysia has a federal government and 13 state governments. In this report, “ Malaysian government ” refers to the federal government unless indicated otherwise. Barisan Nasional is still
in control of the federal government, though not of all 13 state governments.