A top Malaysian minister has proposed a controversial plan to classify bloggers in a bid to contain the information they send on the Internet, a report said Sunday.
Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said bloggers would be labelled professional or non-professional to prevent the misuse of blog sites, since professional bloggers would ensure their web content was based on truth.
Zainuddin did not elaborate how his plan would be implemented.
The proposal follows an unprecedented defamation suit launched against two bloggers who were critical of the government.
Prominent bloggers Jeff Ooi and Ahirudin Attan are being sued by the New Straits Times Press newspaper group for posts criticising the daily and the government.
Zainuddin, who has previously accused bloggers of using lies to overthrow the government, said "the classification will also facilitate any action to be taken against those found to have violated the country's laws."
"It is feared that these (blog sites) will be misused by those who have an agenda to spread slander," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Star newspaper.
"By right, there should be a mechanism to control the phenomenon, including classifying bloggers as professionals and non-professionals," he added.
Opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang, with the Democratic Action Party, said it would be impossible to implement such a plan, which he described as "definitely an attempt to obstruct and impede free blogging."
"How are we going certify who is professional and non-professional? It is a ridiculous idea," he told AFP.
Lim, a blogger himself, said the government should instead fund bloggers to generate responsible blogging.
Another popular blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin, who runs the blog site "Malaysia Today," said Zainuddin made many statements without "thinking them through properly."
"How do you evaluate what is truth? It is impossible to register bloggers. What if I refuse to register? How are you going to find out where the blogger is residing?" he said.
Rights groups have condemned government attempts to crackdown on bloggers, arguing that they offer a crucial alternative to the tightly-controlled mainstream media.
Agence France-Presse
Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said bloggers would be labelled professional or non-professional to prevent the misuse of blog sites, since professional bloggers would ensure their web content was based on truth.
Zainuddin did not elaborate how his plan would be implemented.
The proposal follows an unprecedented defamation suit launched against two bloggers who were critical of the government.
Prominent bloggers Jeff Ooi and Ahirudin Attan are being sued by the New Straits Times Press newspaper group for posts criticising the daily and the government.
Zainuddin, who has previously accused bloggers of using lies to overthrow the government, said "the classification will also facilitate any action to be taken against those found to have violated the country's laws."
"It is feared that these (blog sites) will be misused by those who have an agenda to spread slander," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Star newspaper.
"By right, there should be a mechanism to control the phenomenon, including classifying bloggers as professionals and non-professionals," he added.
Opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang, with the Democratic Action Party, said it would be impossible to implement such a plan, which he described as "definitely an attempt to obstruct and impede free blogging."
"How are we going certify who is professional and non-professional? It is a ridiculous idea," he told AFP.
Lim, a blogger himself, said the government should instead fund bloggers to generate responsible blogging.
Another popular blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin, who runs the blog site "Malaysia Today," said Zainuddin made many statements without "thinking them through properly."
"How do you evaluate what is truth? It is impossible to register bloggers. What if I refuse to register? How are you going to find out where the blogger is residing?" he said.
Rights groups have condemned government attempts to crackdown on bloggers, arguing that they offer a crucial alternative to the tightly-controlled mainstream media.
Agence France-Presse
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