Internet arrests cast public web of fear<\/p>\n
By Ranjan Roy<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The first arrests in Malaysia for spreading
\nrumors over the Internet have people debating freedom of speech
\nand the right to privacy as they sprint down the information
\nsuperhighway.<\/p>\n
The largest Internet service provider Friday assured worried
\nsubscribers that it wouldn't snoop into their e-mails, a key tool
\nin a nation that sees information technology as the cutting edge
\nof its development policy.<\/p>\n
The debate follows an investigation into last weekend's rumors
\nof violence which sparked off panic buying of food and forced
\nmany to rush home from work and bolt their doors.<\/p>\n
Cyber sleuths at Mimos Co., which brings the Internet to the
\nbulk of Malaysia's 200,000 subscribers, tracked down an unsigned
\ne-mail that warned of the widespread purchase of machetes by
\nmigrant Indonesian workers.<\/p>\n
"Are they going to start anything funny?" the widely
\ndistributed e-mail read. "We don't know. Please make sure that
\nyour house, family and others are well protected."<\/p>\n
Two people were arrested last Monday and another Wednesday
\nunder the country's harsh Internal Security Act, which allows for
\ndetainment without trial.<\/p>\n
On Friday, police revealed a new arrest, a university student
\nin the northern state of Penang, for allegedly distributing
\nmalicious letters by e-mail. He was not involved in the recent
\nrumor mongering, but his letters could provoke racial tension,
\npolice said.<\/p>\n
For some, the action has exploded the illusion of electronic
\nprivacy.<\/p>\n
"The current action by the government may lead to the short-
\ncircuiting of lively Internet discussions and shut off perhaps
\nthe only remaining independent avenue for Malaysians to discuss
\nand debate issues," said Elizabeth Wong of the human rights
\ngroup, The Voice of the People.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian Bar Council said the use of the ISA was
\nexcessive. Those arrested should undergo a public trial for
\nspreading rumors, a crime that has specific laws under which they
\nshould be charged, a Council statement said.<\/p>\n
Harsh punishment could hurt the image of a country that wants
\nto portray itself as Asia's Silicon Valley, a movement personally
\nbacked by Bill Gates.<\/p>\n
Malaysia soon hopes to launch its Multimedia Super Corridor, a
\nvast area bound by a fiber-optics network, providing links
\nbetween high-tech companies, government offices, homes, hotels
\nand even shopping malls.<\/p>\n
Rumors "breed best in a society which is deprived of factual
\ninformation," said Wong, adding the tightly-controlled local
\nmedia had lost credibility.<\/p>\n
"What is read in the newspapers is reduced to the status of
\npropaganda, whereas what is heard on the grapevine is elevated to
\nfact," she said.<\/p>\n
Others see the whole affair as an opportunity to advocate
\nself-restraint on the Internet, warning that more electronic
\ndrivel could lead to more government controls.<\/p>\n
"It is regrettable that they had to crack down like this,"
\nsaid Farish A. Noor of The International Movement for a Just
\nWorld, another human-rights and research group.<\/p>\n
Farish said Internet users must create their own ethical
\nguidelines to prevent abuse if they want to protect their freedom
\nof expression.<\/p>\n
"For us the issue is freedom. Channels must remain open to
\nsensible discussion. What we do not accept is that freedom comes
\nwithout responsibility," he said.<\/p>\n
Messages on Internet should carry the name and address of the
\nauthor, a routine requirement by newspapers of their letters to
\nthe editor, he said.<\/p>\n
Mimos, which runs Jaring, Malaysia's biggest Internet gateway,
\nissued a statement Friday saying: "Mimos does not monitor e-
\nmail."<\/p>\n
"Based on a complaint from users or official request from law
\nenforcement agencies, Mimos can trace the source of any specific
\ne-mail, provided adequate information is available," said Vice
\nPresident Mohamed Awang Lah.<\/p>\n
Abusive and malicious mail is common in Malaysia, said another
\nJaring official. Recently the company introduced a new website to
\nreceive complaints about electronic junk.<\/p>\n
"Regular surfers will agree that there are all sorts of things
\ncirculated via Internet," wrote S. Vijayaratnam in Friday's New
\nStraits Times. "It is imprudent to believe as gospel, everything
\nthat appears on the Web."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/internet-arrests-cast-public-web-of-fear-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}