Backtracking on his promise to keep government intervention off the web, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that were he to be reappointed PM, he would introduce internet censorship.
The man who steered the country for 22 years as premier regretted having made a promise to not censor the internet while he was PM.
“If I was appointed as the premier again, the first thing I will do is censor the internet,” he said.
“The time has come for us to filter the internet,” Dr Mahathir said when delivering the closing speech at the Senior Police Officer’s College in Cheras today.
His remarks might have been prompted by the proliferation of dissenting voices online against his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and his party UMNO.
The political opposition, led by Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition have deftly leveraged the new avenues provided by an online media landscape that is more open than print or broadcast media, and its use of the internet and social media is considered one of the reasons it has made headway in Malaysian politics, notably denying BN a two-thirds majority in the last two general elections.
Dr Mahathir said the internet had contributed to social problems and the crime index, which had spiked recently.
“Although I gave my word to the Multimedia Super Corridor adviser when I was the PM, but I did not give assurances the internet would not be filtered.”
“At that time, I did not know what could come from the internet,” said Dr Mahathir.
The 88-year-old said Putrajaya had the capability and expertise to censor the internet, saying it was important so that the rakyat was not exposed to negative elements.
“We can filter the internet, even in Germany, they have long had this expertise. We can do it, we have the technology.
“It might be a bit costly but the returns will be worth it because Malaysians will not be exposed to negative elements such as violence in film and television,” said Dr Mahathir, who also writes on social and political issues on his Chedet blog.
Mahathir did not discount the possibility that Malaysia’s censoring of the internet might lead to being criticised by various quarters. Malaysia might be labelled as being undemocratic, but Mahathir insisted this would ensure the preservation of internal security.
“If our country is described as unmodern, undemocratic, so be it.
“This is our country, we have the right to uphold internal security,” he added.
“We are a young country and democracy is still new, the people do not know how to control themselves, how to discipline themselves.”
Story: The Malaysian Insider
