opinion

Perhaps there was some truth in Dr Mahathir Mohamad's words when he said that there is an increasing militant trend in Malaysia. Perhaps the once demure and soft-spoken locals are getting more violent nowadays. But however wrathful it may be, the trend is perhaps not confined to the anti-government groups per se.

Last week, after being introduced to grenade launchers and molotov cocktail over the past couple of months, Malaysians were warned about oncoming missiles in the near future. This time around, the missiles would come from one of our respected ministers - Dr Rais Yatim.

The minister in the Prime Minister's Department, at a conference on cyber laws a few days ago, told delegates that the government will soon target Internet publications that do not toe the line.

The minister later clarified that the 'secret missile' was just a figure of speech; nonetheless this figure of speech has drawn a clear picture of how determined the powerful few are to curb the growing influence of the so-called irresponsible websites.

Despite the government's claims that the new cyber legislation is to cleanse the Net of inappropriate contents such as child pornography, is some nude celebrities all that it is after?

To begin with, the Internet was brought into Malaysian lexicography of modern life back in the mid-1990s, and there were already tonnes of pictures which were said to be capable of poisoning our youth's minds 10 times over then.

In fact, recent checks done by several regional leading search engines showed that 'sex' and 'nude' were among the most popular words keyed in by users over the past few years (on a separate note, many academicians or simply wannabes have concluded that this has to do with the sexual repression in the East, which is altogether a different story for next time).

So, why has the urge to ban such websites only come about in recent years? Is it more to do with necessity than morality?

Heeding the PM's call

Anyone who has been surfing in the virtual space since 1998 would surely notice the proliferation of websites dedicated to reformasi, which itself has become a household name since the sacking and subsequent jailing of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Objective or otherwise, these websites have definitely garnered an ardent group of readers of a substantial size. Not only that, even from just a purely technical perspective, these people had in fact heeded the prime minister's call to buck up in the wake of the digital age and upgrade themselves to be some IT-savvy.

The crisp-clear, sophisticated layout and various interactive features such as video recordings which are becoming more prevalent, have pretty much spoken for their command of technologies.

So why is it that after much effort and time spent, these people are not getting any recognition, if not simple appreciation, for their willingness to take part in the dissemination of information in the digital realm?

A close look at the contents will then shed light on the search for an answer. For in Malaysia, the land of a million records and best known for its hyper-sensitivity, the government has always known what is good and bad, what is suitable for the audience and what is not.

Apparently, on occasions when the Malaysian people demand an explanation from the government on certain issues, it is the Opposition's instigators at work behind the scene.

When civil groups voice their opinions and criticisms of the government, they are categorised in the same family as the Opposition according to some over-simplified political taxonomy - even if the civil groups would want to disassociate themselves from any political associations.

However, the Gospel truth once provided by the government in interpreting our politics seems to be losing its appeal with the widespread use of modems and phone lines, particularly among a sizable segment of youth and white-collar urbanites.

The government's views are being challenged on a daily basis. Net users exchange information and circulate news on the Net through everything that comes with it - news groups, e-mails, message posts and the like. In short: the storyteller is troubled by the listeners who are increasingly turning their back on him.

Is it a good move then to pour oil on the seemingly fiery disenchantment of the people with the government by banning those websites? And more importantly, is this the perfect solution to the problem considering that Net citizens have already tasted a liberal dose of uncensored contents for so long? One has every good reason to cast doubt on that.

Market rules

Besides, the government has overlooked the aspects of economic survival and readership in running these websites.

The demise of many websites - including some of the big brands - since last year has clearly demonstrated that there is hardly any call for political interference. AgendaMalaysia.com, an English web weekly, was closed down temporarily late last year after it ran out of capital.

The moral of the story: if you fail to raise money, you will be brushed off the scene.

Some of the now (in)famous laman reformasi have also stopped uploading their contents for some time, due to their decreasing popularity.

Certain market rules definitely still apply to the Net and the new economy and the government should not underestimate them. If you are good, you are here to stay - robust and vibrant. If you are not, too bad - it's time to fold up and say goodbye.

So, as you can see, any missile, literally or not, is only a big fuss that will make the situation worse.

And, with all due respect, launching missiles is the prerogative of the defence ministry and has nothing to do with laws, does it?