Malaysia seeks to censor internet blogs that cause "disharmony"

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The country of Malaysia may soon introduce certain laws in an attempt to control bloggers and prevent them from spreading "disharmony, chaos, seditious material and lies" on the web sites where bloggers publish information.

Deputy Science and Technology Minister Kong Cho Ha said moves such as registering bloggers would be hard, but also accused some writers of posting controversial articles to attract readers. Kong went on to say that "We are talking about creating cyber laws to control those who misuse the Internet."

In addition to Kong's strong statement about bloggers how take advantage of the Internet's openness to attract visitors, he said "We need to have stricter cyber laws to prevent these bloggers from disseminating disharmony, chaos, seditious material and lies."

As an example of how bloggers can "misuse" the Internet, he referenced the posting of a photo on an opposition politician's website last month of a Muslim male and Muslim female lawmaker. The photo reportedly showed the man in a bathrobe with the woman lying on his chest in what appeared to be a hotel room.

After the photo appeared on the Internet, it caused a political scandal. The two were not married, and accusations that the pair had committed the Muslim sin of khalwat -- or close proximity when two unmarried people of the opposite sex are alone in each other's company -- started flying.

Kong reacted to the situation by saying that "We want our bloggers to be responsible, to keep within the rules and not put up seditious articles that can create disharmony and chaos." It is known that Malaysian news websites and blogs provide alternate views to mainstream news coverage, and this latest scandal highlighted why control is now being attempted.

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