According to news report, Communication and Multimedia Minister has terminated MCMC Chairman En. Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi’s contract on December 31st, 2014. Digital News Asia reported that one of the prevailing reasons Tarmizi got terminated was because “Sharil did not do enough to curb dissenting voices against the Government in the digital sphere”. Mr Sharil has in the past made known that “the freedom of internet from censorship is one of the bedrock principles on which Malaysia is building its digital economy”.
Malaysian are very alarmed by this sudden change and urged the Minister to come out in open to explain Mr. Sharil’s termination. Why was he terminated? Was it because of the pressure to censor internet? More importantly the Government must explain whether it will continue to safeguard online freedom. His abrupt termination has shattered the confidence of online community whether the Government will start to crackdown on internet and social media. The Government must act fast to restore the confidence of International and domestic investors that have invested billions into digital economy and online websites.
In fact, recent developments have shown worrying signs. Government has cracked down online and off-line freedom of speech by using sedition act. More than 20 opposition leaders and academicians were prosecuted using sedition act. Prime Minister Najib has succumbed to UMNO and Right Wing NGOs and announced a U-turn to maintain current sedition act. In recent Parliament sittings, we observed more and more UMNO leaders have called upon the government to censure internet and social media freedom. In fact, Communication and Multimedia Minister once said the government will study the necessity of shutting down Facebook. That statement caused huge controversy.
In spite of that, the most alarming thing is the proposed successor to helm MCMC is speculated to be an UMNO politician Mazlan Ismail, who contested as UMNO Permatang Pauh candidate in GE13. We view this as politicization of internet regulatory body and strengthening UMNO’s control over the internet. This could lead to eventual crackdown on dissenting voices on internet, such as independent online news websites, social media and independent blog sites. With these latest developments, were are worried that the last firewall that safeguard internet freedom will soon be breached and conquered.
Malaysian takes internet freedom seriously and will step up to fight any attack on internet freedom. PKR will start cyber campaign against the attempt to emasculate internet by appointing an UMNO man. We believe that regulatory body must remain neutral, professional and independent from political influence. We urge the Communication and Multimedia Ministry to bring new candidate proposal to parliament for vetting and scrutiny. This is to ensure MCMC will continue to function independently and Malaysian digital economy will continue to thrive in the global digital marketplace.
Sim Tze Tzin MP Bayan Baru
