Posts Tagged ‘Malaysia’
March 16th, 2011
Irwan Abdul Raman, a blogger and editor better known as “Hassan Skodeng”, who was facing a one year prison sentence and a hefty fine for writing a satirical blog, has had the charges against him
dropped. He had been
accused of publishing online content deemed “obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with malicious intent”. He had published a satirical article on his blog claiming that the main electricity firm, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, would allegedly sue the environmental group World Wildlife Fund for urging people to switch off their lights for the annual Earth Hour initiative.
October 19th, 2010
Microsoft is
extending its program of giving free software licences to non-profit organisations. The initiative was first applied to Russia, after it was discovered that authorities were using software piracy inquiries as a method of suppressing independent media outlets and advocacy groups. The program will now include 500,000 NGOs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Prior to the announcement NGOs could only obtain a free licence if they were aware of the program and followed the necessary procedure. According to
Microsoft’s official blog announcement, the unilateral licence will last until 2012.
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Tags: Tags: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, censorship, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Microsoft, ngo, Russia, software, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam,
September 28th, 2010
A cartoonist is under investigation on suspicion of
sedition. Zulkifli Awar Ulhaque, more commonly known as Zunar, was arrested on 26 September just hours before the launch of his new book — a collection of satirical political cartoons. Zunar was released on bail, but has
gone into hiding for fear of being detained under the Internal Security Act. Most of the drawings in Zunar’s book
Cartoon-O-Phobia have already been published on popular news site Malaysiakini, to which the cartoonist is a regular contributor.
September 6th, 2010
Irwan Abdul Rahman, a Malaysian editor and blogger known as “Hassan Skodeng” was
charged on 2 September 2010 with publishing false information on his satirical blog. He was accused of publishing online content deemed
“obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with malicious intent.” He pleaded not guilty and was later released after posting bail of RM4,000 (approx. US$1,285).
Rahman’s blog article, “TNB to sue WWF over earth hour” posted in March this year claimed that the head of Malaysia’s main electricity firm, Tenaga Nasional, would allegedly sue the environmental group World Wildlife Fund “for urging people to switch off their lights for the annual Earth Hour initiative”. It was taken down two days after it was published.
August 9th, 2010
Police
arrested 38 people in Selangor, Penang and Kelantan who were part of a nationwide candlelight vigil which was held to denounce the 50
th year of the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 1 August.
The ISA targets any person who “has acted, is about to act, or is likely to act in any way manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia.” According to the act, the police can detain anyone for up to 60 days without trial without access to a lawyer.
July 28th, 2010
On 27 July, a
Selangor court imprisoned a man for a week and fined 11 others after they protested against the construction of a Hindu temple with a severed cow’s head. All 12 pleaded guilty to the charge of “illegal assembly” and were fined 1000 ringgit (£202) whilst two men were also
convicted of sedition and fined a further 3,000 ringgit (£606) for stamping and spitting on the cow’s skull. The rally took place in August 2009, in response to a proposal to build a Hindu temple in a Muslim neighbourhood. An alternative site was eventually chosen for the place of worship.
July 26th, 2010
On 21 July 2010, clerics
announced that Malaysian Muslims should not wear
Manchester United football shirts because the devil emblazoned on the badge is un-Islamic. Condemnation also extended to the strips of Brazil, Norway, Serbia, Portugal and Barcelona, because their crests contain crosses. Prominent Islamic cleric Nooh Gadot described the jerseys as “very dangerous” adding that Muslims “should not worship the symbols of other religions or the devil”.
Fans
reacted angrily on social networking sites, accusing the clerics of supporting United’s arch rivals Liverpool. However, despite their disapproval, Islamic authorities have stated that there are
no plans to issue an edict making the shirts illegal.
July 16th, 2010
A
fourth newspaper has been forced to close in Kuala Lumpur following the government’s crackdown on publishing licenses. The suspension of Hakhah’s printing office follows the closure of the newspapers Suara Keadilan, Kabar Era Pakatan and Rocket on 30 June. Suara Keadilan, a leading critical voice in Malaysia, is reported to have been shut down for
“publishing false news that could incite public unrest”. Local activists claim that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government is attempting to silence critical publications ahead of national elections. Media regulators state they are applying broadcasting law uniformly.
