Malaysiakini 's founders took the 18th spot in Asiaweek 's this year's ranking of the region's 50 most powerful people because by taking advantage of the communications revolution it is the country's "only credible, independent voice" and therefore a "thorn in the side of the establishment".

One wonders how long could malaysiakini continue to play this role in the light of the impending "regulation" by our government of the Internet by introducing a Code of Content? To be sure, the information on this code is sketchy and it is hard to say, at this moment the extent of regulation and its impact on the online daily.

According to a Bernama report on May 31, the government, in its efforts to prevent the abuse of the Internet, might soon come out with a code of content to make website operators accountable for what they wrote or produced.

According to parliamentary secretary to the Energy, Communications and Multimedia Ministry, Chia Kwang Chye, the code would include general guidelines on the need to take into account the sensitivities and multiracial and multireligious character of the Malaysian society.

Chia said that the content must be relevant to our values and moral system. He said the move to introduce the code was also based on national security concerns that the Internet might be abused to the extent of being used as a launching pad for cyber war that would lead to insurgency.

According to Chia, "once the code is ready, the application service provider has to apply for the class licence (registration licence) from the Communication and Multimedia Commission and pay a licence fee of RM2,500 upon registration," he said.

(In this respect, malaysiakini is a content provider rather than an application service provider).

Chia however said the proposed Malaysian code of content might be similar to the one introduced by Singapore which amended the Singapore Broadcasting Authority Act in 1996 to require all Internet service and content providers to have the Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA) class licence.

This seems to be in variance with his other statement that "with the code of content, everybody in the industry will have to follow, but on a voluntary basis."

It is hard to imagine why the authorities would formulate and provide various justifications (including national security) for such a code, and yet make its adherence voluntary. We know that if censorship and regulation of content were direct and obvious, it would be contrary to Section 3 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

It remains to be seen how regulation may be indirectly or obliquely sought through the code and how it would affect malaysiakini .