----UPDATE:----
How To Get Around MCMC-Blockage of Malaysia-Today Website
From Colin Charles Agenda Blog: Read here
Excerpts:
From Bernice Low on CNET-ASIA: Read hereTo TMnet Subscribers in Malaysia
TMNet has a known list of DNS servers, the most common being: 202.188.1.5 and 202.188.0.133. Apparently, some also get on 202.188.1.4 and 202.188.0.132.
If you need your Malaysia Today fix, the IP address is still valid - 202.75.62.114.For commenting, try logging at: http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008/. OR http://mt.m2day.org/2008/
I suggest you stop using TMNet’s DNS services.
Switch to OpenDNS (I would suggest switching ISP, but welcome to the monopoly that is Malaysia, right?). You can change it on your computer or router, or just use the nameservers if you know how: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.
Otherwise, there are ways to change it on Windows (XP, Vista, 2000), Mac OS X (Leopard, Tiger) or even Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora).
OpenDNS is a workaround.
Excerpts
Malaysia Today's Administrators have set up a (Click here) Blog on Livejournal to keep Malaysians updated in the event that MToday is hacked or blocked. Its administrator has posted this singular message:---- End of Update -------".... As of 26th August 2008 @ 8.20PM, if you are having trouble accessing Malaysia-Today.net please use:- http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008
0R
This will be a temporary site. TMNet Streamyx is blocking http://malaysia-today.net/ on their service-level.
To overcome this problem,you need to define your primary DNS server as 208.67.222.222 and secondary server 208. 67.220.220 either on your router or yourPC/notebook. This will beat the blockage.Updated:
You can also type the IP address of Malaysia-Today.com directly into your browser URL - 117.120.1.155. "
Mohamed Sharil b. Mohamed Tarmizi
Mohamed Sharil b. Mohamed Tarmizi, currently the Chief Operating Officer of MCMC, was formerly an Executive Director of Binafikir, an advisory and consulting firm covering the areas of policy, strategy, corporate finance advisory and Islamic structured finance services.
Mr. Mohamed Sharil was also a representative of the GOVERNMENT in ICANN as the Chairman of the Government Advisory committee (GAC).
His immediate past position was as the Senior Advisor in the Office of the Chairman at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.The MCMC Commission Members
The powers and functions of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission are as provided under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Malaysia Act, 1998. The members of the Commission are :
Datuk Dr. Halim Shafie (Chairman
Dato' Dr Halim Man
Dato' Dr Gan Khuan Poh
Datuk C. Rajandram
Dato' Abdul Hanan Alang Endut
Datuk Dr. Abdul Samad bin Haji AliasEncik Idris bin Abdullah
Encik Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi
"NOTHING IN this (Communications and Multimedia - 1998") Act shall be construed as permitting the censorship of the Internet. "
- Section 3 (3):ACT 588, COMMUNICATIONS AND MULTIMEDIA ACT 1998
MCMC chief operating officer Sharil Tarmizi said (as reported by Malaysiakini),Note:
For those in Malaysia intending to access articles of the so-called banned Malaysia-Today, click here MT-HARAPAN MALAYSIA
(mirror site of Malaysia-Today)
"We are governed by the Communications and Multimedia Act (1998) which allows us to take preventive measures and advise our license holders (such as ISPs) when a service user may be contravening national laws"Under Section 263 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (1998), a licensee must “use his best endeavour” to prevent his/her facilities from being used to violate any law in the country”.
Commentary
From The Aisehman Blog
Excerpts:
Which specific parts of Malaysia Today has been found to be in violation of the law?
MCMC must state these things clearly and specifically.
But it can’t, because Raja Petra has NOT been found guilty of anything that would allow MCMC to act within the law.
And the law does NOT empower MCMC to block access to Malaysia Today (which is an act of censorship), even if Raja Petra has been found guilty.
You know why?
Because the law — specifically Section 3 of the Communications and Multimedia Act — that MCMC must adhere to states that:
"Nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting the censorship of the Internet. "
That clear enough, MCMC?
You CANNOT invoke Section 263 to legalise censorship because Section 3 says that you cannot construe any provision in the Act as permitting censorship.
In other words, as far as censoring the Internet is concerned, NO provision of the Act is open to such interpretation.
Therefore, MCMC has acted OUTSIDE of the law in instructing ISPs to block access to Malaysia Today.
The instructions themselves are illegal.
YES, if Raja Petra is found guilty of violating the law for publishing certain content on Malaysia Today, MCMC can then instruct him to REMOVE the content in question.
The act of ordering the removal of specific content from Malaysia Today is NOT censorship. The act of blocking access to the website IS.
Looks like Malaysia Today! Reads like Malaysia Today! Is it Malaysia Today?
From "People's Parliament": Read here
Excerpts:
Blocking BlogsI went to a website accessible through http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008/
and, yes, it does resemble the Malaysia Today that I have grown accustomed to.
Go on, have a look yourself and tell me if that does not look and read like Malaysia Today.
From Mahathir's Blog: Read here
Excerpts:
When a Government makes a promise to the country and then reneges on its promise, then not only will the Government lose credibility but also any respect that the public may have for it.
But to break a promise and to openly show that you can meddle with the security of the internet is to expose a degree of oppressive arrogance worthy of a totalitarian state.
.. This blockage of the blog is another evidence that this has become an authoritarian state, elections notwithstanding.
Where are we heading? The censorship of news in the mainstream media is known to the public.
When a Govt Reneges on its Promise ...
From Rocky's Bru: Read here
Excerpts
Malaysia's promise of no Internet censorship was given by Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he was Prime Minister. Did you know, or remember?
In 1998, when cyberspace was used by the Reformasi soldiers, including Raja Petra Kamaruddin, to wage war against his government and his person, Dr M did not censor the Internet.
He did NOT break Malaysia's promise to the world.
MCMC and the slippery slope
From Ong Kian Ming and Oon Yeoh: Read here in Malaysiakini
Excerpts:
By blocking access to his site, the BN has once again shown its propensity to score own goals (We should actually set up a running tally to show the number of times which the BN has put the ball in its own net).
Soon after it was announced that MCMC was blocking his site, RPK set up mirror sites and various e-mail nodes and websites (including Malaysiakini) were alerting his readers of these sites.
Furthermore, the action taken by the MCMC to block his site only added further fuel to the anti-BN sentiment that is prevalent among most bloggers in Malaysia, especially those with the most eyeballs.
If the government thought that blocking RPK would send a strong signal to other bloggers not to go overboard in their anti-BN postings, they thought wrongly.
Not only did the MCMC fail to block access to his site among his Malaysian readers, it also failed to cow the blogosphere, which has been very critical of this move.
Click here to read Other Readers of Malaysiakini's comments
Stifling the Voices of Dissent
From Ancient Mariner Blog: Read here
Excerpts:
The biggest joke must surely be the fact that as of this morning, MT is still up and running via a mirror site, here.
Home Minister Syed Hamid has defended the blocking of access, saying MT had ignored warnings against publishing "libellous, defamatory and slanderous" articles and comments by its readers. Sheeesh.Coming from a trained lawyer, this must surely be the stupidest shit among the drivel originating from this man's mouth.
RPK has a democratic right to operate his website and there are enough laws in this country to charge him if he steps out of line.
Stifling the voices of dissent will surely prove to be this government's downfall.Don't they ever learn?
MCMC, stop being silly!
From New Malaysia: Read here
Excerpts:
The decision to shut down Malaysia Today is totally unnecessary and unconvincing. Sue him, arrest him, charge him or whatever but Raja Petra Kamaruddin has the right to operate his website. He has a large following but there are also many including this writer who do not agree with many things he has written.
He is outspoken, daring and imaginative ...(and he) doesn't give a damm about evidence but that is beside the point - he is entitled to his views. He has the right to write whatever he wants and if he steps out of the boundary, there are enough laws to be used against him.
In a democracy, we don't have to agree with each other but we must defend the right of everyone to speak up - including RPK and other voices of dissent.
It is not the job of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to decide what is seditious or libellious or slanderous.
Let the proper authorities do the job. The MCMC order to internet service providers to block his site is myopic and ridiculous. It goes against the Multimedia Super Corridor Bill of Guarantees which promised no censorship.
If it can happen to RPK, it can also happen to other Malaysian bloggers.
The MCMC should just end this silliness.
In Defence of Those Who Despise Me
From Khairy Jamaludin MP Rembau Blog: Read here
No other website has caused me as much bad rep and deliberately destroyed my character as Raja Petra Kamaruddin's Malaysia Today.
Yet I cannot help disagreeing with the recent move by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to block access to the site.
Such blatant and crude employment of State power is inconsistent with the widening of the democratic space – an approach the current Administration adopted long before the 12th General Election.
Citizens' right to information aside, MCMC's high-handed approach also sends out the wrong message as it is at odds with the Multimedia Super Corridor Bill of Guarantees – a ten-point Bill that prescribes zero Internet censorship.
The government will do well to appear consistent in its application of Internet regulation and steadfast in its commitment to ensure, wherever possible, free access to information as controversial or inaccurate as they may often be in Malaysia Today's case.
I am sure many are aware that Raja Petra is for the time being hosting the site elsewhere. It is quite bemusing that MCMC should have thought the blocking of access to Malaysia Today would actually succeed. Internet censorship may not only be unnecessary, it is quite often impossible, especially when the targeted site is, for better or worse, one of the most popular across the country.
Few would disagree with the view that Malaysia Today deliberately invites controversy upon itself and does its best to elicit reaction from the government and certain individuals that become targets of Raja Petra. In his incessant desire to concoct sensationalism, he often peddles half-truths and occasionally, outright lies.
The inability to judiciously moderate comments also results in racially and religiously offensive remarks being posted without any restriction by the web master.
Nevertheless, none of these should justify an attempt at outright censorship. There are ample alternative channels to pursue action if desired - public rebuttals or civil suits for defamation are a few. And from personal experience, I find it apt sometimes to simply ignore the site and its wild stories even at great cost to my own reputation.
Apart from violating the principle of openness and transparency that this Administration champions and that I have publicly defended, this move also threatens to further alienate young, urban voters from Barisan Nasional.
This act of censorship betrays a lack of faith in Malaysia's youth to intelligently decide the truth for themselves. Tabloids sell far more than broadsheets in many countries, but it would take a bold person to suggest that readers of The Sun or The Mirror in the UK, for example, take all of its content at face value.
I see every indication that bright young Malaysians, too, can apply the same self-filtering process. What they will not stand for is the State imposing its own filter on the Web. The Barisan Nasional government needs to be savvier in responding to issues on the Internet.
Incidentally, YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed has also blogged on this issue and similarly proposed that the government avoid Internet censorship.
And so I find myself on the side of both Raja Petra and Tun Dr Mahathir. It could either mean that I find myself as Alice in an impossible Wonderland or just simply the magic of the Ramadhan spirit is at work.
Related Article
Bloggers slam MCMC over blog ban
Read here in Malaysiakini
Excerpts:
Bloggers questioned the independence of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Pro-tem president for National Alliance of Bloggers, Ahiruddin Attan was upset that the government was backtracking on their previous promise of not censoring cyberspace. Further, he was unsure of MCMC's independence.
"I don't see MCMC as an independent body. Especially when they are acting in the interest of the government. This will just make people speculate that they are under the direct control of the government," said Ahiruddin.
Jeff Ooi, a blogger-turned-politician (DAP MP for Jelutong) echoed the same, saying the MCMC was acting on behalf of the government. He said,"However, if MCMC decided to take this banning trend to another level (banning political blogs), I can claim immunity as a parliamentarian and I will speak up for other bloggers."Michelle Gunaselan, an editor for ProjectMalaysia - an online journal - said the ban was unhealthy."When you block a socio-political site with thousands of visits daily, you are sending out a message you don't encourage discussions. More so when it runs opinions contrary to what appears in mainstream media."She concluded that Malaysia reneging on its no-Internet censorship pledge under the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia 10 Point Bill of Guarantees will have further international impact, in terms of how the country will be seen abroad.
Website block 'is plain stupid'
Read here article by Evangeline Majawat
Excerpts:
Raja Petra Kamaruddin must be laughing with glee.
Just a few hours after the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) ordered access to Malaysia Today blocked, a mirror website was up and running.
The blocking of the controversial Malaysia Today site, or any other website for that matter, is almost impossible as there are many ways to circumvent the ban.
"It's like trying to contain water using a sieve. It's plain stupid," said Juvita Wan, a producer with an advertising agency.
Any IT expert or tech-savvy blogger friend will tell you that the MCMC's move is not its wisest."It's completely pointless to block his website. It's cyberspace. How can you control it?," said an exasperated IT manager, who commented under the cloak of anonymity.
- The easiest way to circumvent the ban is to create a mirror website -- which was what Raja Petra did. It's hassle-free and quick; just a few clicks of the mouse. By 7pm on Wednesay, traffic to Malaysia Today had resumed.
- Another method, which is "hot among the bloggers", is the openDNS system (DNS stands for domain name service). This user-friendly system, which was started only two years ago, allows consumers to use alternative servers to the ones provided by local ISPs.
So even if the local ISPs such as Streamyx and Time.com blocked Raja Petra's website, his supporters and any curious Tom, Dick and Harry could access his materials by doing a search with the highly efficient openDNS system.- The third way is to do a search of Malaysia Today using proxy servers.
MCMC's move, whether politically-motivated or not, is backfiring.
Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor, under whose purview MCMC lies, may hold a press conference today. He was away in Bali when the orders were issued two days ago.
His deputy, Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum, was caught embarrassingly unaware about the debacle. "MCMC did not brief me, but they might have briefed the minister," he told reporters.
Whatever the reasons, the ministry and MCMC should perhaps look into the matter more thoroughly before hastily banning any more websites. It not only leaves a bad image and taste among the people but puts the spotlight on the country for all the wrong reasons.
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