Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin today suggested that bloggers be officially categorised as 'professionals' and 'non-professionals' as a 'mechanism of control'.

"By right, there should be a mechanism to control this phenomenon, including classifying web bloggers as professionals and non-professionals," Zainuddin was quoted as saying by Bernama today.

He said certain individuals and groups were misusing blogs for personal agendas, such as questioning constitutional religious matters and causing public uneasiness.

"This classification will facilitate (legal) action to be taken against those found to have violated the country's laws [...] We have to control this. It is feared that these (blogs) will be misused by those who have an agenda to spread slander," he added.

On what he considered 'professional bloggers', Zainuddin said they were more responsible in publishing 'truthful' content and were not rumour-mongers.

'Blogs threaten right to information'

Zainuddin, a journalist-turned-politician, said such classifications would allow readers to determine whether the blog contents were truthful.

"Placing trust in news based on rumours was a practice that existed before the advent of newspapers but the situation is different today when we have newspapers and television stations to disseminate information," he added.

He claimed that during a recent trip to France, Nice-Matin Press Group chief executive Michel Camboul had mentioned to him that the French government needs to classify bloggers.

According to Zainuddin, Camboul also expressed concern over blogs having an impact on newspaper circulation and advertising there.

Zainuddin also asserted that should blog sites be recognised as an 'alternative press', it would force newspapers out of business and that rural people who depended on newspaper be denied their right to information.

His comments comes in the wake of efforts by the National Alliance of Bloggers to draft a constitution and get themselves formally registered with the Registrar of Societies.