Cyberlaws in Malaysia
Coming into this class, I didn’t really have a clear grasp on the complexity and issues faced when dealing with “cyber” laws and policy. As a student from Malaysia, I think the USA has done a lot to try to make sure that the internet is not a free for all, do as you please venue. The class has also made me think about cyber laws back home in Malaysia and how they differ.
The main part of Malaysian cyber laws seem to be centered around the Communications and Multimedia Act of 1998 (http://www.msc.com.my/cyberlaws/act_communications.asp).
So what’s different? It seems that the Malaysian laws are much more draconian. There is no difference between “offensive” and “false” material, and if you post content online that is true but “offensive” because it defames that person, then you’re in trouble.Surprisingly, this law has only been invoked a few times since its conception. The first time was in March of 2009 when 6 bloggers were charged with insulting the king of a state in Malaysia (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=nation&file=/2009/3/12/nation/20090312194041#). Free speech isn’t held as highly in Malaysia as it is here in the USA.
More recently, a student was charged under this law for posting hateful comments about a certain race on his Facebook account (http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=4936).
Before these cases, myself (and most probably many other Malaysians) had no idea that the country even had such laws. The internet is such a different arena for the people, with content generally uncensored by the government.
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