The increasing influence of weblogs seems to have attracted the authorities - at least the police department is keen to learn about it from a local blogger.

A four-member team - two police officers and two unidentified government officials - visited Mack Zulkifli, the blogger for brandmalaysia , to "understand the latest development of weblogs".

Launched in December last year, brandmalaysia receives about 2,000 to 3,000 hits a day.

The team came to Mack's home in Subang Jaya on Monday and spent three hours there posing questions on the weblog and how to control its contents.

Mack said the 'interview' was held cordially and the team insisted that it was not an investigation.

"They told me this is something unofficial and I have a choice not to talk to them," he said when contacted yesterday, adding that he agreed to talk as "I have nothing to hide".

"I have not done anything wrong. So why not talk with them? My blog does not focus on politics or religion. It's all about logic," he explained.

However, he conceded that he was not comfortable as to why he was chosen for the interview.

"I don't feel threatened," he said, adding that under any circumstances, the bloggers should not be victimised.

Mack who is a management consultant said the team also kept on asking him why he continued blogging if there was no income from it.

"I said there was an income from the Google ads which amounted to about US$30-40 (RM114-152) a month, which was a negligible sum for me as I am earning about RM20,000 a month from my present job. Blogging is an interest," he said.

Harassment

Meanwhile, another blogger Jeff Ooi said the police interview with Mack is a form of harassment to bloggers.

"I think this is a very worrying trend when more bloggers are being interviewed," he said when contacted.

"The influence of weblogs is sizable although we can't quantify it. That is why I think they want to learn more about it. It also sends us a signal that we are under watchful eyes," he added.

Ooi was under fire when an allegedly offensive comment was posted on his weblog Screenshots in October last year.

On Feb 28, Ooi was called up by the police to give a statement under Section 298A of the Penal Code - which prohibits actions or conduct that could cause disharmony in society. The case - with investigations based on a police report lodged by the police itself - is still pending.

Disturbing development

Meanwhile Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang labeled the police action as disturbing development that raised the prospects of a more intrusive police presence in the cyberspace.

"The police and all other government authorities should respect both the spirit and letter of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees of no Internet censorship and stay off the Malaysian blogosphere unless there are incontrovertible cases of defamation or incitement," said the DAP veteran in statement today.

He also said that it was outrageous for police and government personnel to ask Mack on why he continued blogging if there was no income from it.

This sort of questioning, Lim added, not only constituted unwarranted intrusion and intimidation, but showed that the police and government agencies are totally alien to the Internet culture and blog mindset.

Lim also questioned as to why the police had filed a report against Ooi on Feb 24 when the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had completed its probe on the case and submitted a report to the Attorney-General's Chambers.