'Students smear KL on Internet'

'Students smear KL on Internet'

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysian students studying abroad are smearing the country's name on the Internet and the government is considering laws to curb such abuses, Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat said at the weekend.

Mohamed told reporters in the southern city of Johor Baru on Saturday "that some users, including students, have been condemning Malaysia via the Internet", the national news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.

With 50 million subscribers worldwide using the Internet, the trend is worrying, Mohamed said. Malaysian students studying overseas were considered the country's "little ambassadors" yet they were spreading lies and condemning their own country, he said.

Mohamed said if Malaysian students overseas wished to get information about the country, they could read Malaysian newspapers which are reproduced on the Internet, such as The Star and Berita Harian.