Putrajaya Now Considering Blocking Facebook In Malaysia

Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek today denied that Putrajaya was considering banning access to Facebook, saying his ministry was simply polling public sentiment on such action.

themalaymailonline.com

The communication and multimedia minister recently triggered uproar after he was reported as saying that the government would consider blocking access to the popular social network following a raft of complaints about provocative remarks posted by users.

therakyatpost.com

“I have never said I want to ban Facebook and the government never intended to ban Facebook. To close Facebook at this point, it is quite impossible,” he told reporters after the launch of AirAsia’s courrier service, RedBox at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Shabery also noted that banning Facebook was just a suggestion from certain quarters to try and filter the abuse on the Internet. "The Ministry so far had received more than 2,000 reports involving Facebook abuses and when I told them we are looking into the cases, they think that we want to ban the website," he said.

freemalaysiatoday.com

He added that he had conducted a survey and the result indicated that 54% people who took part in it do not support the banning of Facebook, 24% supported the ban while the rest had neither agreed nor disagreed. “Most of them do not understand how to use Facebook. We cannot simply ban or filter certain pages from Facebook unless we lodge a report with Facebook,” he added.

He said his Ministry was conducting studies to gather public views on the matter.

"If the people are of the opinion that Facebook should be closed, we are prepared to look into the matter but it is a radical approach," he told reporters after closing Cheras Wanita Umno Delegates Meeting on Saturday.

themalaysianinsider.com

Nonetheless, Ahmad Shabery, who is also a eUmno Supreme Council member, said it would be quite impossible to close the social website as there are 15 million local accounts compared to only 2,000 reports of abuse received.

therakyatpost.com

"Many business people are also using Facebook, others to forge family ties and have nothing to do with politics...and the complaints received were only around 2,000. Should we completely close it down because of that? We need to relook this," he said.

"the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was working with the police to track down the individual."

therakyatpost.com

The study comes on the heels of a prank on Facebook when a user, who goes by the name Chandra Lawan Tetap Lawan, recently stirred up a storm by putting up a picture of a horrific road accident doctored with the face of the Malaysian king, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah.

straitstimes.com

They labelled the proposal shortsighted, idiotic and silly, among other things. Facebook user Felicia Ernestine Sylvester questioned the rationale behind the suggestion. "Apa salah Facebook? (What did Facebook do wrong?) Block the users who misuse it. Propaganda can be spread using any media," she said.

straitstimes.com

Another user, Chong Li Herng sarcastically commented that the highways should also be closed down as it contributes to accidents and deaths.