KUALA LUMPUR: The Communications and Multimedia Ministry has blocked access to The Malaysian Insider’s portal on its eighth birthday today via several Internet providers.
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) enforcement chief Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin confirmed the ban in a text message.
“We will issue a statement,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
Meanwhile The Malaysian Insider editor and chief executive Jahabar Sadiq claimed that no notice was sent to the company of it flouting any laws.
This is an unpleasant surprise. I’ve tried to contact MCMC but the officers are in a meeting,” he said in a statement today.
FMT’s checks found the URLwww.themalaysianinsider.com, via Celcom and U Mobile, as well as the UniFi service, were blocked with the following message: “The website is not available in Malaysia as it violate(s) the National law(s).”
Previously, Sarawak Report’s website was blocked in July 2015 following alleged statements that were deemed “detrimental to national security”.
Last month, Amnesty International condemned the Malaysian government’s unprecedented crackdown on protesters and online critics.
Its Southeast Asia Deputy Campaigns Director Josef Benedict also claimed that “speaking out in Malaysia has become increasingly dangerous”.
Before this, Malaysian authorities had blocked other sites such as Malaysia Chronicle, regional news website Asia Sentinel as well as several blogs on various content, ranging from pornography to criticising the government.