Dr M's Thoughts On Blocking Porn And Asking Someone To Resign
"People are abusing the Internet and doing things that are not healthy for human society."
By Mei Mei Chu — 23 Apr 2015, 04:03 PM
Speaking at the Malaysia Social Media Week (MSMW) 2015, former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed admitted that he has changed his mind about Internet censorship and now wants it to be censored
"When I was Prime Minister and they told me in office that I cannot censor the Internet, I agreed. At that time I thought the Internet would be used to make beautiful things, but now people are abusing the Internet and doing things that are not healthy for human society,” Dr M said at the Malaysian Social Media Week Summit in Berjaya Times Square today, 23 April 2015.
He reiterated that the censorship of alternative media is needed "not to block out Chedet.com, but to block out all this filth (like porn)," adding "now I have to swallow back my words about not censoring the Internet."
Dr M says social media has given people power that was once only with the government and its instrument of police and army
"Now we have absolute power in terms of communication, but we have to ask will it corrupt us? Social media promises a better future, but we must not misuse it."
He calls for this power to be exercised responsibly and likened social media to a knife
"A knife is a very important instrument, it can be used to carve beautiful things; it can also be used to murder people. Just like a knife, alternative media can be used to do good for society, but it can also make society hard to live in."
Tun M also took a jab at Prime Minister Najib during the speech
"Sometimes we will say things that will irritate people. But if it is for the good of society sometimes we have to forget the irritation, like when you want someone to resign. What's wrong with resigning? I resigned."