Bersih slams MCMC ban on rally information

Bersih 2.0 says the public have the right to information regarding this weekend’s rally. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, August 27, 2015.

Bersih 2.0 officials have criticised plans by Malaysia's Internet regulator to block websites with information on this weekend’s Bersih 4 rally, calling it an act of "colonisation".

The Bersih 2.0 steering committee at a press conference at the Crystal Crown Hotel, Selangor today. The electoral reform group says Malaysians have a right to information. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, August 27, 2015.The electoral reform group is also urging the public to register their protest against the move by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) which it said was akin to censorship.

Steering committee member New Sin Yew said that MCMC had no right to block sites and that Bersih would not hesitate to take legal action against the commission if it did not reverse its decision.

"As Malaysians we have the right to information, so please drop them an email or write a letter and tell them they do not have the right to block access," New said at a press conference today.

"How will information on Bersih 4 threaten public order, they will have to prove it if we take them to court," New said, urging people to forward their complaints on MCMC to the rally organiser as well.

MCMC today announced plans to block websites that promoted and shared information on the August 29 to 30 rally that will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

It said the decision was made to block websites that "promote, spread information and encourage people to join the Bersih 4 demonstration", on grounds that this would "threaten national stability".

Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah says the electoral reform group will protest the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s decision to block websites with information on this week’s rally. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, August 27, 2015.Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah also criticised MCMC, saying it was supposed to be promoting free flow of information.

"We will strongly protest against the ban," she said at a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

Bersih 2.0 resource coordinator Dr Wong Chin Huat added that MCMC's move was "like a colonising body to a colonised people" and sent the wrong signal to the Malaysian economy.

"The free flow of information is a prerequisite for a modern economy to operate. Malaysia is not China, which is so large it can afford to suppress its own media.

"What will you ban next, this is setting a bad precedent," Wong said, adding that people should be allowed access to information and to make their own informed decisions.

- TMI