MULTIMEDIA COMMISSION DENIES ABUSE OF POWER

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Information Communication
and Culture on Thursday denied allegations that the Malaysian Communications and
Multimedia Commission had abused its power in controlling the new media.

The ministry said in a statement issued here Thursday that such allegations
clearly showed that certain groups were attempting to tarnish the image and
ridicule the commission as an independent body that regulated the internet
facilities and their contents .

"The ministry takes a serious view of the incorrect and baseless
accusations. The commission acts based on the powers provided under the
Communications and Multimedia Act 1998," the statement said.

It said the regulatory measures taken by the commission had always been
transparent, fair and balanced.

"In fact, the commission is an agency that upholds and protects government
policies. This has been proven because to date, Malaysia is among the countries
that does not impose any restriction on the internet except for websites that
contain pornography, threats to the national security and fraud," it said.

The Information Communication and Culture Ministry said that certain
websites had been closed down through the legal process in line with the
provisions under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

As such, the allegations by the owners of such websites that the commission
had purportedly closed down their websites and acted like 'gestapo' were
slanderous, it said.

"What had occurred on the day in question was a technical disruption which
resulted in the websites concerned to be inaccessible to the public," the
ministry said.

As such, the ministry advised the groups concerned to stop writing articles
which did not have the facts and were slanderous and called on the public not to
be influenced by such unfounded accusations.
-- BERNAMA