Bersih website blocked ahead of rally?

After its warning yesterday, Bersih’s website has reportedly been blocked from internet access starting late last evening.

Users on certain service providers have reported being unable to access www.bersih.org, which has returned an 'Error 404' page indicating the site is inaccessible.

The move follows the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) warning yesterday that all sites “promoting” the rally planned for this weekend to call for Prime Minister Najib Razak to resign, will be blocked claiming the “websites could threaten national stability”.

However the error page encountered by users since last night did not carry any MCMC disclaimer indicating an official block.

The rally is to take place on Saturday at the heart of Kuala Lumpur as well as in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Critics have slammed the government for the overkill and one Umno leader, former deputy minister Saifuddin Abdullah, has also criticised MCMC's move.

"They (authorities) will use whatever means to stop Bersih 4: block the internet, declare it illegal, intimidation. Fight on Bersih," he said.

This is the second time in three months that MCMC has blocked a prominent website after it stopped local access of whistleblower website Sarawak Report claiming its articles on the scandal-ridden 1MDB were unproven.

[More to follow]