Halim Shafie Appointed As MCMC Chairman

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Dr Halim Shafie, who was once the chairman of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), is back in the position at the commission for a two-year term, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek announced Sunday.

Halim, 65, is currently the chairman of Telekom Malaysia, a non-executive position he has held for close to six years after his stint with MCMC ended. He had served as MCMC chairman from April 2006 until May 2009.

Before joining MCMC, Halim was secretary-general of the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications where he served for six years.

"I am happy to announce that Datuk Seri Dr Halim Shafie has agreed to come on board again," Ahmad Shabery told Bernama.

"His tenure will be for two years and I have assigned specific tasks for him to achieve. These include looking at good governance, which is in line with the government's efforts for all ministries and agencies."

"Among others, Halim will be working on decoupling the role of the chief executive officer (CEO) from the role of chairman of MCMC. I feel this is important for MCMC in ensuring continuity and the balance of power within the organisation," he added.

According to the minister, Halim was also expected to review the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 towards a healthy cyber space.

"What happened during the East Coast floods last year should be prevented from happening again. Although the law is not likely to prevent it fully, we hope that people will think carefully before they share information which is unverified," said Ahmad Shabery.

In a crisis situation, this sort of irresponsible behaviour might cause chaos and make relief work more difficult, he added.

Halim, who is also the chairman of the Multimedia University, is well placed to assist Ahmad Shabery in advancing the minister's digital agenda for the nation.

The minister said: "This year, the focus will be on all aspects of digitisation for the country. I am keen to pursue a digital initiative which will cover both hard and soft infrastructure.

"We need this if Malaysia is to remain competitive as a nation. In addition to focusing on content development, we also need to constantly address issues like quality, speed and affordability."

Ahmad Shabery also said that he would be expecting MCMC to play the lead role in implementing this and Halim's wide experience in these areas would be an asset to the organisation, and in helping him progress this digital initiative.

"I had to persuade Halim to come out of his semi-retirement to help me with all these tasks. His first comment to me was that age was not on his side," Ahmad Shabery said.

But the minister is confident that having served the nation for so long, Halim's public service background, sense of commitment and dedication as well as his corporate experience gained in the last few years would augur well for MCMC and the industry.

"More importantly, once the MCMC Act 1998 is amended and the role of the chairman is decoupled from the role of the CEO, Halim will be helping me in the transition of the CEO post into the newly decoupled position," he said.

On the former MCMC chairman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, the minister wished him well for the future, thanked him for his efforts during his tenure and said, "we all appreciate his commitment to the job."

Halim obtained a Bachelor of Economics (Hons.) degree from the University of Malaya, Master's in Economic Development, Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburg and PhD in Information Transfer from Syracuse University.

He started his career in the Education Ministry in 1972 which was followed by various appointments, including at the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) and Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU).

His contributions to the public service include the setting up of INTAN's National Computer Centre and Management Technology Centre.

Specific to this industry, Halim is credited for initiating programmes related to bridging the digital divide in Malaysia, formulating a framework for Ubiquitous Libraries and fostering the relationship between MCMC, the industry and academia through initiatives such as the MCMC Academy and the Consultative Committee on Spectrum Research.

His commitment and professionalism has accorded him accolades and awards from various state governments as well as the federal government.

His varied experience has also seen him on the boards of numerous agencies and companies in various capacities.

Kit Siang happy to see MCMC chairman gone

Sharil Tarmizi was not firm enough with Utusan Malaysia, Umno hardliners and cybertroopers who abused social media with racist, religious rants.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Opposition is not shedding tears over the departure of Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi whose contract expired December 31 last year and was not renewed.

“I was not happy with Sharil as MCMC chairman as he had not been firm enough with Utusan Malaysia, Umno hardliners and cybertroopers when they abused the social media with their racist and religious venom and hatred,” said DAP elder statesman Lim Kit Siang in a statement.

“Sharil should have acted firmly against those who had exploited the cyberspace and misused and abused the social media with lies and falsehoods to incite racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension.”

Topping the list of those guilty of transgressions on the Internet in the past few years, when Sharil was MCMC chairman, would be the Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia and the army of Umno cybertroopers who had no qualms or compunctions in disseminating lies and falsehoods on the Internet to incite racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension, reiterated Lim who is also DAP Parliamentary Leader and Gelang Patah MP.

The unhappiness with Sharil spans both sides of the political divide.

Lim noted with a chuckle that Utusan Malaysia editor Zulkifli Jalil said in a commentary that Sharil’s contract was not renewed because MCMC, under his watch, had given free rein to those who had incited racial hatred, thereby failing in its role as a regulator.

Utusan Malaysia, Umno hardliners and cybertroopers would have squealed the loudest if Sharil had acted professionally and impartially against Utusan Malaysia and the Umno cybertroopers, added Lim. “They were the chief culprits in the misuse and abuse of social media to incite racial and religious hatred in keeping with their larger ulterior objective to conjure imaginary fears, threats, bogeys and enemies that the Malays and Islam are under siege and only Umno could save them.”

What Utusan Malaysia, Umno hardliners and cybertroopers want, charged Lim, was for MCMC to harass and victimise pro-Pakatan Rakyat websites while leaving the pro-Umno websites alone, although it were the latter who were most guilty of the inflammatory and incendiary lies and falsehoods on the Internet to polarise the racial and religious situation in the country.

“Does Umno/BN want Malaysia to slide down the slippery slope to be a failed state by appointing an Umno stooge to be MCMC chairman?” asked Lim. “The position of MCMC chairman is much coveted due to its influence in the lucrative awards for communications tower contracts that are to be built in rural areas.”

“Will the appointment of an Umno stooge as MCMC chairman open the floodgates for the parceling out of RM2.2 billion cash-rich opportunities among Umno cronies?”

In the second quarter of this year, pointed out Lim, MCMC will award the contract for 600 towers to be built in rural areas. The contract for the first 400 towers came up to around RM900 million (US$252 million). The next phase will cost more than RM1.3 billion (US$360 million).

MCMC Seeks Facebook, Youtube’s Help

(The Sun Daily) - MCMC, through a special team, will assist police track down suspects attempting to create tension in the country by touching on racial and religious issues.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is ready to discuss with social website owners in the US to close accounts suspected of inciting violence and those touching on racial and religious sensitivities.

MCMC chairman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi told Bernama, the commission would be applying to Facebook and YouTube of Google Inc to close accounts or videos which have been investigated by the Malaysian police for having elements of stoking Malaysians to join militant activities.

He said MCMC, through a special team, will assist police track down suspects attempting to create tension in the country by touching on racial and religious issues.

“However, we can only apply to the site owners and it depends on their decision. The fact is we cannot restrict the entry of social media and the internet,” he said.

He was commenting on allegations by certain parties that MCMC was slow in acting to close accounts and videos which could threaten public order.

Today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, in tabling a White Paper on combating threats posed by the militant group, Islamic State (IS), in the Dewan Rakyat, appealed for people’s support in the effort to curb the ideology of IS and proposed new laws to eradicate the involvement of Malaysians in militant and violent activities.

Mohamed Sharil said MCMC could not close specific individual accounts or control the entry of videos as the country may have to block the entry of Facebook and YouTube completely.

He said the action would not be in line with the national policy for internet freedom and right to freedom of expression.

As such, he said the best move would be to educate the people in the country on smart internet usage.

He was speaking at a “Click Wisely” campaign at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Ministry kiosk held in conjunction with the Umno general assembly on level three of Putra World Trade Centre here from Nov 22 to 29.

Special unit to handle insults to Islam

(Bernama) – The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will work with the state Islamic religious departments (Jain) and the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to form a special unit to monitor insults to Islam.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom said the unit would focus on the new media.

“Jakim and Jain would convey any information concerning insults to Islam to the MCMC to stop it from being spread further.

“In 2013, a total of 38 websites which insulted Islam were blocked by MCMC,” he said in reply to an oral question from Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (BN-Sabak Bernam) in the Dewan Rakyat, Thursday.

Fasiah wanted to know what steps had been taken by the government to block seditious actions, and insults to Islam and Prophet Muhammad among non-Muslims, leading to tensions in society.

MCMC wants Facebook to remove sex blogger's page

 

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) wants Facebook to remove fugitive sex blogger Alvin Tan’s page for its “distasteful” content.

MCMC chairperson Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi, in a statement on the commission’s Facebook page, said Tan’s posts were “irresponsible”.

“We have made a complaint to Facebook and have requested Facebook to immediately remove the page as we believe it is also against their terms and conditions of service.

“We remind the public to refrain from sharing sensitive content which may offend others,” read the statement.

Tan recently caught further controversy when he depicted doctored photographs of leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor with pig snouts.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar was also depicted in the photographs.

This prompted the top cop to vow that the police would leave no stone unturned in locating Tan.

Tan, along with former girlfriend Vivian Lee, had been charged under the Sedition Act last year following a blog posting 'Selamat Berbuka Puasa with bak kut teh... fragrant, delicious and appetising'.

Tan is purportedly seeking political asylum in the United States. Lee, however, has refused to follow in his footsteps.

"I don't see the point of living a life on the run. We still have a full life ahead of us and the life of a fugitive wouldn't suit me.

"I was brought up by my parents to deal with any issue in front of me and running away whenever there's trouble isn't a wise approach," she said in a Facebook post recently.

MCMC quizzes photographer on Bersih shot

Stifling online press: ‘A useless move’

KUALA LUMPUR: Several Umno leaders today joined forces with their rivals Pakatan Rakyat in criticising a proposal to regulate online media content, describing the move as “useless”.

Pulai MP Nur Jazlan Mohamed said that it was better to counter the “negative elements” in the Internet as well as voters via a strong online government campaign.

“It’s a silly thing to do,” said Nur Jazlan. “Unless we have jurisdiction to control the content outside of the country, the law would be redundant.”

Nur Jazlan, the Pulai MP, is the son of the late Mohamed Rahmat, an Umno veteran and former information minister.

The news that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA) will be amended soon to expand its scope to include online media content was reported by Bernama yesterday.

Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam said his ministry was looking to redefine the word “publication” to include Internet content, blogs and social network services.

The proposed amendments, he added, would be tabled in Parliament by March this year.

The Facebook and Twitter “revolutions” have given politicians from both sides ample space to disseminate information and campaign without having to rely on traditional media.

“So does this mean they are going to clamp down on them as well?” asked Nur Jazlan.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin was dead set against the move. “It’s ridiculous. We should be moving towards greater freedom,” said the Rembau MP.

Discourse in media freedom shifting

The idea of regulating online content in Malaysia is not new. It has been ongoing since the mushrooming of blogs and online news portals critical of the BN government.

Attempts to curtail its influential growth started with then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who made a similar proposal to the Home Ministry today.

Recently, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim floated the idea of the “Green Dam”, following China’s footsteps in controlling dissidence in the online realm.

The move was purportedly to curb alleged “spreading of lies” and “libellous contents”, but the general public perception was that it was aimed at crushing dissent.

Public and international pressure forced the government to abandon the idea.

Like his Umno peers, former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said it was not necessary to regulate online media content but stressed the need to strengthen existing law, chiefly the Sedition Act, to crack down on “rumour mongers”.

“It is also impossible to regulate. The future of media is in the likes of Facebook and Twitter. You can’t regulate these things,” he said.

The discourse on media freedom in Malaysia has seen a drastic shift in recent years.

In the past leaders in the ruling coalition would have agreed to such a move in a whiff, but now they agree that free competition of ideologies would help restore Malaysia’s democratic image in the
international arena.

However, Pakatan leaders like PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang and the DAP’s Seputeh MP Teresa Kok remain convinced that nothing has changed with BN.

They said that the move to amend the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 was “another measure to further stiffle the voice of the people and tighten government control”.

Malaysia Ignites an Internet Firestorm

It was all a joke, Hussein says.

(Asia Sentinel) An apparent trial balloon about censoring the country's bloggers and news sites goes flat

Malaysia's government Wednesday appeared to be backing rapidly away – for now at least – from a statement by Home Ministry Secretary General Mahmood Adam that that the country's Printing Presses and Publications Act, which requires all publications to be licensed by the government, will be amended to include online publications.

Mahmood's statement, which appeared in the government news service Bernama, was met with an uproar from the country's opposition politicians and online press. Lim Kit Siang, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party told local media that instead of widening the net of the already controversial act, which requires all news publications to be licensed by the government, the government needed to loosen restrictions. Even some members of the United Malays National Organization, the leading ethnic political party, condemned the move. Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin called it "ridiculous. We should be moving towards greater freedom," he said.

The National Union of Journalists condemned the proposal as well.

Then, on Wednesday afternoon, two senior government ministers told reporters the government at this time is far from ready to amend the act, saying nobody has decided what, if any, changes will be made.

"Nothing has been finalized," Home Affairs Minister Hishamuddin Hussein told reporters after the first meeting of the Committee on Strengthening Government Communications at Parliament House. "With the committee in place, whatever views will first be brought before the committee." The proposed amendments, he said, weren't discussed at the meeting.

Mohamad Nazri Aziz, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, also held a press conference to tell reporters that the government has no plans to implement introduce any new controls on online media content, saying existing sedition and libel laws already govern the Internet, as does the Printing Presses and Publications Act. The government, he said, was merely only preparing special guidelines to help the public better understand the press laws on the books.

The government, he said, has a policy not to censor the Internet unless it involves national security. Nazri, however, also said the Printing Presses and Publications Act already applies to the Internet. It is unclear whether the government might use the act to force online publications to obtain government licenses.

All of Malaysia's mainstream media are owned by the country's political parties. While the opposition parties have their own publications, they cannot be circulated generally. The Internet has thus fostered an explosion of online publications and blogs critical of the government, led by Malaysia Today, edited by Raja Petra Kamarudin, who fled the country last year in advance of sedition and criminal libel charges. He now edits the publication from London.

Two other Internet sites, Malaysiakini and Malaysian Insider, have gained wide readership and considerable respect as independent and reliable news organizations. The blogs and online news portals are considered to have played an important role in a major pickup for opposition political parties in 2008 national elections.

"Many had expected Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to be more stringent in enforcing controls a la Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the media," wrote Steven Gan, Malaysiakini's editor-in-chief. "Few expected that he would be worse than Mahathir."

Mahathir, when he ordered the creation in 1996 of the so-called Multimedia Super Corridor in an effort to emulate California's Silicon Valley, created a 10-point "Bill of Guarantees" ensuring that the Internet would stay uncensored, and in fact after his retirement created his own blog, Che Det, which has become immensely popular and which he has regularly used to beat the government around the ears when he feels it is going in the wrong direction. He is considered to have played a major role in driving his anointed successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, from the premiership following the disastrous 2008 elections.

Gan, in a telephone interview Wednesday night, said it isn't certain whether the government has given in so easily. Although the Hishamuddin and Nazri said the printing act governs the internet, the word "internet" is never uttered in the document, which states that "No person shall keep for use or use a printing press unless he has been granted a licence…For the purpose of this section "printing press" means the machine, equipment or article for printing, copying or reproducing any document… The Minister may in his absolute discretion grant to any person a licence to keep for use or use a printing press for such period as may be specified in the licence and he may in his absolute discretion refuse any application for such licence or may at any time revoke or suspend such licence for any period he considers desirable."

Gan said he is fearful that the government may follow Singapore's Internet restrictions, proposed two weeks ago, which would force a political website, the Online Citizen, to declare itself a political organization, which would bar its team of volunteers from writing, reporting, analyzing or commenting on elections, which are expected to be called in March.

(The government) wants to table this bill in March," Gan said. "That means they are pretty well along already."

The announcement by the Home Ministry follows a statement on Jan. 13 by Hishamuddin that the federal government would write guidelines to define "online sedition," a move which critics described as an overt attempt at cyberspace censorship.

"On a whole, officers from the home ministry, PM's department and the information ministry have agreed on the contents of the guidelines," Hishammuddin said in a prepared statement, adding that seditious items are expected to include "malicious news," pornography, false information and other cyber crimes.

National Union of Journalists President Hata Wahari, who was suspended from his job last week as a senior reporter for the Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia for making public statements that the newspaper was biased in favour of the ruling national coalition, described the alleged attempts to muzzle the Internet as "a step backward" that would turn Malaysia into an "outdated" country in terms of free flow of information.

"The NUJ has (long demanded) that the Home Ministry should amend the Act to provide print publications the space to operate with more freedom, and to eliminate the need to renew the printing and publishing permits every year," he said in a statement.

Guidelines For Three Laws Including Sedition Act To Be Drawn Up

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- The government will draw up guidelines for three Acts related to information dissemination and Internet use to make it easier for the public to understand these laws.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said the guidelines were for the Sedition Act 1948, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Act 1998 and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

He said the proposal was agreed upon at the Strengthening Government Communication Strategy Committee meeting Wednesday and would be submitted to the Cabinet for approval.

"We have to be fast, hopefully (everything can be settled) before the end of February," he told a news conference after chairing the meeting at Parliament building, here Wednesday.

Also at the meeting were Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

Nazri said the committee, with the cooperation of the Attorney-General's Chambers, would hold roadshows and public meetings in each state to explain the three laws, including on the gathering of evidence and cases that could face action.

He said the public including journalists and bloggers would be invited to the meetings. "It's important for them to know what they can and cannot do. They should be careful or they could be violating the law and have to face action."

Nazri denied that the move was to stifle freedom of expression in the country, but that the government was stern on issues that could threaten national security.

He said the guidelines were also relevant in view of the increasing popularity of the cyberworld.

"People have been talking about freedom of expression, freedom of the press. They think freedom of expression is everything, including the freedom to lie, to slander, to do anything, even to the extent of jeopardising the country's security.

"Security of the nation is paramount. No compromise on that," he said.

Nazri said so far, 217 cases had been reported to the MCMC on misuse of Internet content, 13 of which had been taken to court, six required further investigation, 23 imposed with fines for violating the conditions of the licence and 175 categorised under "no further action" (NFA).

According to the police commercial crime records, investigation papers were opened for 38 cases with 29 still under investigation, five charged in court and four categorised as NFA.

Nazri also disclosed that a meeting would be held on Feb 14 to decide whether plea bargaining would be implemented, while the guideline on this was being prepared by the A-G's Chambers with the cooperation of the courts and Malaysian Bar Council.

Plea bargaining is the negotiation between the defence and prosecution for the accused to choose to plead guilty for a reduced sentence or amended charge and not have to go through a court trial. It is aimed at reducing court case backlogs.

MCMC interrogates Wong Choon Mei

1151: The MCMC is now interrogating Wong Choon Mei of the Malaysian Chronicle news portal. Two officers have been questioning her at the MCMC office in Cyberjaya since 11.00am.
Her lawyer, Latheefa Koya, says she was refused permission to sit with Wong as her lawyer. She is now watching from outside.
“At first, the MCMC was okay for me to sit in and started with their questioning. But suddenly they brought a higher official to tell me that if I sit in, they would have to record my statement!” she added.
“I refused to record any statement as a witness and warned them this is a form of intimidation!”
“The interrogation is believed to be related to reports the Chronicle carried about Najib’s speech at the Umno assembly about defending Putrajaya, but I think they also want to know more about the Chronicle,” said Latheefa.