The Barisan Alternatif (BA) website launched today will function as a countermeasure against the current lack of opposition news in the mainstream media, said its media bureau chief Rustam A Sani.

"The website is important due to the current media situation which limits information to the rakyat . This situation has to be rectified," Rustam, who is also PRM's vice-president, told opposition members of parliament ( MPs) and reporters in the Parliament meeting room.

The [#1] website [/#], jointly produced by the BA information technology bureau, with representation from all four opposition parties - PAS, DAP, PRM and Keadilan - is headed by IT bureau chief Abdul Rahman Yusof who is also the Keadilan (MP) for Kemaman.

Abdul Rahman said the Internet is presently the only way to disseminate opposition news freely although there were proposals to draft laws to curb the information superhighway.

"If this comes to pass, it would be bleak times ahead for the country.

"In this era of information revolution, a country's strength depends on the level of information it receives. If we want to compete with bigger nations, we should not restrict information," he added.

With regard to the BA website, Abdul Rahman said for now, it will focus on uploading speeches of MPs and senators made in the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara respectively.

The website will also carry the latest press statements issued by BA leaders and furnish links to other websites offering alternative viewpoints.

Activities of MPs and state assembly representatives will also be reported on the website, which is currently bi-lingual, in Bahasa Malaysia and English, said Abdul Rahman.

He added the next phase of the website will see information in various other languages, including Mandarin and Tamil.

"The people can find updates about their elected MPs and state assembly representatives on this website so they can decide for themselves and evaluate their representatives from time to time," he said.

Full-time staff

Volunteers designed the website with a start-up cost if about RM2,000.There are plans to have a full-time staff to manage the website in order to make it interactive and more current, said Abdul Rahman.

Although constrained by cost and human power, BA proceeded with this latest effort to promote the front as until now, opposition supporters have only able to access information through e-mail and reformasi websites, he added.

Several MPs who were present for the press conference proposed that the website be updated frequently and incorporate parliamentary debates and a web-cam to record the goings-on in the House.