Broadband is snailband

Rais: No plan to register bloggers
By Husna Yusop and Giam Say Khoon | The Sun

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18, 2009) : The government has no plans to list or register bloggers and they are still free to post information on the internet, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said today.

“There are various processes of disseminating information these days. Whatever the authorities do, the websites are still free to post any information on the Internet.

“At the moment, we do not list or register bloggers operating on the Net. And, there is no plan to do that. However, to maintain harmony in society, they (bloggers) must follow the laws,” he told Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur).

Lim in his supplementary question said the plan to register bloggers, made by some quarters recently, was a backward move.

Last month, Rais was reported saying the proposal was good but required indepth study.

Lim also complained about the broadband service which he said can also be called “narrowband” or “snailband”.

To this, Rais said the government has put aside RM2.4 billion to improve the service in the long term so that it could meet the original objectives.

He said at present, the rate of IT penetration in households is at 23% and the government is confident it can reach 50% by end of next year.

“At the moment, this service is widely enjoyed by the people in the Klang Valley. However, we will do more to improve it to reach the remote areas and all schools,” he added.

To the original question from Datuk Ismail Abdul Muttalib (BN-Maran), Rais said from 2005 until now, action has been taken against 24 cases involving compounds worth more than RM380,000 under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

“These private broadcaster were compounded for various offences, including breaching the conditions set under the broadcasting licence,” he added.

As for offences regarding abuse of websites, six cases involving eight individuals have been brought to court for insulting the Sultan of Perak whereby one of them had pleaded guilty and fined RM10,000.