BN parliamentarians are lauding the blocking of access to whistleblower website Sarawak Report as the right move, the BN Backbencher’s Club (BNBBC) website reported today.

Among them are BNBBC deputy chief Bung Moktar Radin, BNBBC secretary Abdul Latiff Ahmad, Bagan Serai MP Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali as well as a frontbencher Nancy Shukri, who is the de facto law minister.

“This is to fully grasp and investigate all documents that have been tampered with and it is about time the government controls any false information from being spread throughout the world,” she was quoted as saying today.

Nancy ( photo ) was making reference to allegations by the former journalist Lester Melanyi, who claimed that Sarawak Report editor-in-chief Clare Rewcastle Brown had forged documents to back her articles that are critical of 1MDB.

Brown had responded by showing purportedly original e-mails between her and Melanyi to show that the latter had tampered with the e-mails that he had used as evidence to substantiate his claim.

Yesterday, the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) temporarily blocked access to London-based Sarawak Report , following what is claimed to be complaints by the public.

In a press release, MCMC said it had received complaints that the website had published information that has not been verified and are pending investigations.

It also claimed that the website is a threat to national stability.

Bung Moktar said the censorship on Sarawak Report should also be extended to other forms of media.

“It should not only be Sarawak Report but also newspapers, magazines and other Internet media that often publish false, inaccurate and slanderous news,” he was quoted as saying.

He also mooted that social media users be registered with the government which as he claimed is being done in Singapore and he suggested to the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia follow suit as well.

Bung Moktar may be referring to Singapore’s Internet Service and Content Provider Class Licence, which is a requirement for groups and individuals who provide 'any programme for the propagation, promotion or discussion of political or religious issues relating to Singapore' on the Internet, among other stipulations.

As for Abdul Latiff ( photo ), he opined that the crackdown on Sarawak Report should have been done earlier and says this would serve as an example for other media that report false news.

Noor Azmi, meanwhile, described the blocking of Sarawak Report it as a ‘smart move’ by the MCMC.

“The people of this country are easily influenced. They still naïve on the use of the Internet and anything that spreads there is easily believed without checking the veracity of the news.

“MCMC with its powers and available laws needs to do its work properly and not just issue warnings. There needs to be actual punishment to help people realise their mistake and set an example for others,” he said.