Malaysian bloggers who have faced harassment and invasion of privacy by those responding to postings on weblogs, have recourse to protection under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Contacted today, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), corporate communications head Adelina Iskandar cited Sections 211 and 233 of the Act as the provisions that provide protection to individuals.

These prohibit content that is indecent, obscene, false, menacing or offensive in character, and which is transmitted with the intention to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any person.

She said this when asked what could be done about those who post threatening or insulting comments to bloggers via the chatbox, a section set aside in weblogs for responses from readers.

Adelina said views should be expressed in a responsible manner as the principles of defamation and sedition can also be applied to weblogs. Action can also be taken for content seen to affect national security.

She said the monitoring and enforcement division has powers to monitor content and act on complaints from the public. These are investigated and action taken, where justified.

"Anyone found guilty under Section 211 is liable to be fined a maximum of RM50,000 or to a jail sentence not exceeding one year, or both. For every day the offence is continued, there is a further fine of RM1,000," she said.

Most complaints received by the MCMC to date have been about pornographic websites and web contents which insult religions, she added.

Weblogs, also known as blogs, are Internet journals or diaries written and created by individuals or groups to widen the space for free and diverse expression. Ever since these started in the mid-1990s, they have attracted extensive response.

Most readers use nicknames as this allows them to give opinions, state facts or express emotions without restriction. However, some have abused anonymity by harassing bloggers for various reasons.

Fear factor

All but one of the bloggers contacted for this report would only respond to questions via email, saying they did not want their identities disclosed - this was mainly to preserve their ability to write freely, while interacting in sensitive manner with their readers.

While there are blogs that track particular topics, there are also personal blogs that reveal the thoughts and experiences of bloggers. This creates a 'virtual' persona with which readers interact, sometimes a little too closely for the bloggers' comfort.

A blogger, who only wanted to be identified as Ewok, said it can be frightening that readers feel that they have a right to have a say in the blogger's life.

She said one reason for widespread interest in blogs is that readers feel that bloggers are more worldly and that they lead more interesting lives than themselves. They also find it difficult to separate the accounts on the blog from reality.

However, readers can also prove to be sensitive about what bloggers write and do not hesitate to send in nasty private responses via email.

Ewok said she has been cautioned to be careful about her candid entries on how civil servants deal with members of the public who seek their assistance.

"I've received email from readers, telling me off because of what I wrote. For example, my entry about my experience with the government attracted some nutters warning me to be careful of what I write and telling me that the government is just waiting and watching silently," she said of a recent incident.

"It's probably just to scare me, although I don't know what brought on (that reaction). After all, I didn't reveal any national secrets...I welcome a good debate if someone disagrees with me, but to send me hate mail is unacceptable."

'Mak Andeh', a blogger of almost two years, talks on her site about her experiences as a single mother in bringing up three young children.

"I get comments based on the kind of entries I post. For example, when I wrote about betrayal in marriage, I got responses from young women who were in a similar situation," she said, likening

blogging to an extension of having "conversations" with many people.

However, these 'conversations' could exceed accepted limits. While she said there has been at least one attempt to violate her privacy, she declined to disclose details.

Ignore the threats

'Pak Bear', a blogger from Jurnal.Biz - a Bahasa Malaysia Internet community - said he has not received insults and threats, but that he would not take these seriously in any case.

"The best thing to do would be to ignore such comments. I know that some people initiate arguments with bloggers by hiding behind the nicknames of regular readers, but we know how to differentiate between those who support us and who oppose us."

Jeff Ooi's blog, Screenshots, focuses on governance issues and provides a platform for intellectual civil debate.

While readers are generally mature adults ranging in profession from academicians, accountants and journalists, he has run into problems on one occasion.

Last October, a reader posted a comment that used an allegedly offensive description of Islam Hadhari, which led to an outcry in the print media. Yesterday, Ooi was called in by the police to give a statement on the matter.

While he has received emails containing viruses, he has learnt to "live with it". However, he has taken steps to ensure that readers understand the terms and conditions of taking part in chats on his weblog.