Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has given his guarantee that news websites will not be blocked pending investigations by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
He said this when asked about the recent incident involving UtusanTV where its website was blocked by the government.
He also said he was not aware that MCMC had blocked UtusanTV and gave the regulator no instruction to do so.
Asked specifically if he can guarantee this will not recur, he said: "Yes. I believe the media should be free (but) I have not received any reports on this from the MCMC.
“I will ask them (MCMC) what's going on. I didn’t give any instructions… whether it’s media or social media,” he told reporters at an event in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, today.
Earlier, attempts to access UtusanTV resulted in redirection to a generic government notice claiming a violation of law without specifying the nature of the violation.
The MCMC on Aug 8 told The Star that it is investigating the issue and said that the site has now been unblocked.
Blocked sites transparency
UtusanTV is a spinoff of Utusan Malaysia’s lifestyle section.
It was set up by its former staff after its parent company Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad was closed in 2019 due to financial troubles.
The Utusan Malaysia newspaper was relaunched in 2020 under new management and is not affiliated with UtusanTV.
On the same day the site was restricted, journalist group Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) called for the MCMC to have a clear mechanism for blocking online content, especially when news portals are involved.
Urging for transparency, the group said MCMC should inform news website owners or give prior warning before blocking the prior warning or an official explanation for the sites.
When asked about this today, Fahmi stated that Geramm’s suggestion "would be good," but did not elaborate.
Censorship reminiscent
In a statement yesterday, the National Union of Journalists Malaysia demanded that the site be unblocked immediately.
“The NUJM is concerned at the government's decision to block access. Such actions are reminiscent of censorship undertaken by the previous government and now are being carried out again," it said.
The International Federation of Journalists added that the move in the lead-up to elections when information is especially critical to the electorate, went against the Anwar Ibrahim government's commitment to press freedom.
"This practice must stop and news outlets should be free to broadcast news at this critical time," it said.
This is the second news website which has been blocked by the regulator since the new government took over.
In June, the news website Malaysia Now also said it was temporarily blocked, but no explanation was forthcoming from the authorities.
The MCMC also compounded free-to-air television network AwesomeTV RM250,000 for various offences including operating without a license. - Mkini
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