So folks.... be careful with what you write nowadays

Original Article : Malaysia amends law to hold publishers responsible for user comments (Clickable link)

Malaysia amends law to hold publishers responsible for user comments

Added 6 hours ago by Emily Tan , Be the first to comment

Sedition Act now affects publishers like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google, but many don't believe the Malaysian government is intent on targeting international or corporate players.

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UN says laws greatly restrict human right to free speech

In a move The Economist has described as ‘thuggish’ the Malaysian government strong-armed a series of bills through in the past month that greatly impede the right to free speech for the country's citizens. The worst of the lot are arguably the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which allows subjects to be detained indefinitely, and amendments made to the Sedition Act.

For the marketing and communications industry, the changes that bring the biggest chill of apprehension are the those made to the Evidence Act and the Sedition Act.

"The amendments to the Sedition Act are tremendously repressive and draconian," commented Ong Kian Ming, member of parliament for Serdang (a Malaysian town) and a member of the Democratic Action Party.

The United Nations has urged the Malaysian government to withdraw the amendments made to the Sedition Act as the laws "curtail human rights". 

Digital News Asia explains these changes as follows:

As noted by [Malaysian] lawyer and Digital News Asia (DNA) columnist Foong Cheng Leong last week, when read with the Evidence Act amendments – the infamous Section 114A – the Sedition Act amendments become more chilling.

 The Sedition (Amendment) Bill 2015 creates liability to ‘any person’ and "thus may include owner, host, editor and subeditor" of "online forums, online news portals, and even Facebook Page/ Group owners," he wrote.

Sections 3 and 4 of the Bill introduce the words ‘caused to be published.’ Under the newly amended Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, a person who, among others, publishes or caused to be published any seditious publication is guilty of an offence.  

So what does ‘caused to be published’ here mean? It seems to cover a website operator who allows a comment to be published on his website (especially in the case where comments are moderated). This also covers a comment or a posting published on a Facebook page," he added.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and Twitter have been quiet on the subject. Requests for comment made to these organisations in the past few days have either gone unanswered, in the case of Google, or have found communication heads unable to comment.

PRWeek Asia emailed Foong Cheng Leong to pose a few more questions:

What power do these amendments give the Malaysian government against the tech giants?

Foong: Our laws may not reach foreign tech giants. However, with the new amendments to the Sedition Act and even under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, it is possible to block the websites of these foreign tech giants. 

What could it cost them potentially to keep operating in Malaysia?

Foong: Possible problems: being criminally liable, servers and other electronic devices being seized as evidence, and so on, during investigation. 

 What are their options? Self-monitor like Tencent?

A self monitoring practice is possible but it will be costly and time consuming. Unfortunately, we do not have takedown notice provision (other than under our Copyright Act) or laws to protect intermediaries, hence monitoring is required in Malaysia. 

One possible option is to have their operations moved out from Malaysia which is detrimental to our economy. 

Do you think lobbying will change these amendments?

Foong: Lobbying for laws to protect intermediaries would be recommended. Other than affecting the freedom of expression, it also affects our digital economy. Foreign investors will have to think twice before setting up their operation and putting their servers here in Malaysia. 

The impact to marketing and communications in Malaysia

Most agencies with a presence in Malaysia were unwilling to comment on the record. As one source puts it, "That’s just the problem, the government could choose to take issue with anything we say."

David Lian, general manager of Zeno Group Malaysia, however, was willing to speak on the subject. "Right now, we have clients asking about the implications of these acts, but without details on the government’s plans to implement, you just can’t plan. It is at present a statement of intent. We are advising clients to wait and see."

Lian pointed out that the bill had been tabled in the past, usually just prior to Malaysia’s elections when the government wanted greater control over dissenting voices. In 2008, the government arrested prominent political blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin for posting anti-government comments and in February 2015, the government arrested a cartoonist for a Tweet he made about the controversial Anwar trial.

"Wait and see", is the consensus of industry sources. Most are confident that even if the amendments raise a potential risk for clients, the Malaysian government will not use the law to act against corporate entities. Instead, it will be a weapon against political discourse.

"We’re advising our clients to tighten their policies around community moderation and to be upfront about it," said an agency lead.

"I actually don’t believe this legislation will have much of an impact on corporate communications behaviour in Malaysia," said Bob Pickard, chairman Asia-Pacific of Huntsworth. "The market already has a reputation necessitating calculated restraint in public relations and media relations."

The new laws, Pickard added, may however adversely impact the nation’s marketing industry. "Our craft is at its best when freedom of expression trumps even well-meaning efforts which may have the consequence of stifling creativity or squelching insights and, in so doing, holding back the development of a country’s marketing services industry. My best communications counsel for both clients and  governments is to proactively engage the online public as a source of new ideas to be openly shared."

Lately, there are some interesting vibes and views going on in Malaysia regarding a book, a kids book entitled "Where did I come from?" by Peter Mayle. Apparently according to them that the book is entirely wrong for the children, and that it is only appropriate, if ever, within the country of the author and not for the children and the people in Malaysia. Are you trying to indicate then that Malaysians are weirder? or just "special" that they cannot accept such books? How long more will Malaysia be hiding "under the rock"? Will they really condemn their entire future generation of Malaysia to the mentality and thinking of someone from the stone ages?

I hope, with this article, someone could really knock some senses into the heads of those trying to ban good books from Malaysia. People should be given a choice, irregardless of what others think

Sunday February 26, 2012

Sex, babies and books

By RASHVINJEET S.BEDI
rashvin@thestar.com.my

Many parents dread it when their young ones ask them where they came from. Some parents relied on a children's sex education book aptly titled Where Did I Come From? but the book has since been banned for its graphic content.
MUMMY, where did I come from?” When her daughter asks this question, says a freelance copywriter who wishes to be known only as Suet, she will be prepared with the right answer.
“I will talk about sex with my daughter as soon as she starts asking questions,” says Suet, 29.
“I would rather my child learned about sex from me than from other sources such as the media.”

Too graphic: Khairun believes there is a distinction between children’s sex educational books and pornography and he believes the book Where Did I Come From? is of the latter category. — Bernama

But there is one source that she would not mind learning from, and it is a book that has been recently banned in Malaysia.
Suet says she only heard of the book titled Where Did I Come From? when the controversy surrounding it first emerged.
This naturally piqued her interest and she has managed to get a PDF version of the book from the Internet.
“I can't speak for all parents but I think it has been tastefully done in an educational way,” she says.
She also admits to having ordered the book online and is keeping her fingers crossed that it would arrive soon.
It is a fact that many parents still dread hearing these questions from their young ones, and many would probably fob off the question by saying a baby was a special delivery by a stork or that they were found in the hospital.
It was to help parents explain such things that inspired British writer Peter Mayle to write the book, which is described on its cover as the facts of life without any nonsense and with illustrations.
The book which Mayle dedicated to parents everywhere has been sold in Malaysia for quite a while, and many have used it to educate their children about the “birds and the bees”.
Education or pornography?
But when Umno Youth Community Complaints Bureau chief Datuk Muhd Khairun Aseh received complaints about the book, he felt duty-bound to investigate.
Upon going through it, Khairun says he was shocked that such a book could be available freely in major bookstores in Malaysia.
What was more shocking was that it was placed in the children's section, he adds.
The book, which was first published in 1973, describes the reproductive process in simple and humorous language accompanied with cartoon illustrations and drawings of naked male and female bodies complete with genitalia.
Khairun believes there is a distinction between children's sex educational books and pornography and he believes the book is of the latter category.
“The book might fit the values of where the author comes from, but not Malaysian values,” says Khairun, who submitted a copy of the bureau's complaints to the Home Ministry's Al-Quran Text and Publishing Control section.
After the contents were scrutinised, it was banned on grounds that it contained elements that could be detrimental to society's morals and public interest.
The ban was in accordance with the Printing Presses and Publications Act, which, among others, states that anyone convicted of circulating and distributing the book could be fined no more than RM20,000, or jailed three years or less, or both.
Many have criticised the ban, which they say has made Malaysia a laughing stock on the international stage.
News of the ban was also reported all over the world.
Mother-of-three Daphne Lee feels the ban is unnecessary, saying that the book is written for children and it explains how babies are conceived in a straightforward and gentle way between two people in a loving relationship.
“It's presented as two people in love and happy together having a child,” she says.
She believes that those who oppose the sale of the book might attach a sexual significance to everything they see.
“They might not view breastfeeding as a nourishment to the child but as something sexual. It reflects what's going through their minds,” she says, adding that the book can't be said to be pornographic as it does not stimulate sexual desire.
She believes that many look at the fundamental human activity of sex in a very prurient way.
“But there is nothing dirty about it. We wouldn't be here if our parents didn't have sex. It's a normal and healthy activity,” she says.
Lee says she has read the book to her eldest child and found that it was a good introduction to the subject.
She would rather expose the facts of life to her kids than have them find out from another source such as their friends.
“As a parent, I owe it to them to give them the facts,” she says.
She also believes that as a result of their exposure to sex education, her sons don't have a weird fascination with nudity.
Seeing a girl in a bikini, for instance, they would not connect it with sex, she explains.
Part-time lecturer and mother-of-three Yew Su Fong, 40, recalls her mum giving her the book when she was in primary school.
“I thought it was a useful and educational book. I'm glad that I had it at that age because one would want to know where one came from,” she says, adding that the content was presented very well.
She has passed the book on to her two eldest children, both girls, aged seven and 10.
“I'm surprised it's still around in the first place. I would be very sad if it was banned because many parents find it useful in educating kids about the facts of life,” she says, but adds that she would understand if anyone views it as offensive.
Initiating a talk about sex is difficult and the book might be useful in overcoming this first stage, Yew says.
“Children at a young age will want to know these sort of things. The book might be graphic but in no way is it pornographic.”
Among other things, the book which has been described as a first-aid for parents explains the physical differences between a male and a female, the process of making love, and pregnancy. The characters are slightly elderly and overweight.
The book has an average rating of four stars from 157 reviews on Amazon.com.
Most reviewers found the book, intended for children between four and eight, useful and tasteful although there was a minority who said it was not appropriate and was too graphic.
Khairun points out that in one of the pages, the author wrote that the process of making love involved the man pushing his penis up and down inside the woman's vagina.
He says he was shocked by sentences like this, and the graphic level of nudity.
“It's never too late to rectify things. How it reached the shelf is another question and I urge the authorities to look into it,” he adds.
He accepts that children have to be exposed to sex education but argues that the degree and level have to be done in tandem with Malaysian values and culture.
“I'm not against sex education but it's too adult in this case.”
Too much for kids
Faiz Al-Shabab, a consultant with digital portal E-Sentral, agrees with Khairun, saying that while the book is presumably not offensive in liberal countries such as Norway or Sweden, it might not be suitable for children here.
“It is a subjective thing but I would not show my child the book,” he says. “There are more Asian or subtle ways of describing things like this.”
Faiz, who says he would probably talk about the facts of life with his son when he hits puberty, at about 12 or 13, feels a big deal shouldn't have been made about the book as it would attract more attention.
“They should have just banned the book and moved on. All this uproar is an advertisement for the book,” he says, pointing out that many of his colleagues have tried to look for it.
Faiz believes many would attempt to download the e-book version, and that the PDF version could probably be found on file-sharing websites.
The point he wants to make, and most Malaysian agree, is that if you really want it, you can get it.
When it comes to talking about sex with our young children, we can't maintain a third world mentality and say the stork brought the baby down, Suet stresses.
“If you want to explain what sex is all about, then you will have to know about conception, pregnancy and all the body parts.
“(In the book) it is not drawn in such a way that is obscene. You might giggle but that's all,” she says, pointing out that many unwanted pregnancies were probably caused by lack of sex education.
Engineer Kumar, 27, however, finds the images of naked people even in illustrations disturbing for children.
“I'm not sure how kids would react to it but I figure there are other ways to teach sex education,” he says.
Kumar, who is single, says children would eventually learn about sex. “You grow older and it comes naturally. I'm quite sure I figured it out without having people to tell me,” he says.
But while Kumar feels it is not appropriate, he doesn't support the ban.
“If anybody wants to use the book to teach their children about sex and how babies are made, it should be up to them. People should have a choice,” he says.

Omigosh... there are new censorship coming into town..... already our own censorship is bad enough..... what more now that there is new changes to this censorship thing....

Published: Monday March 8, 2010 MYT 3:50:00 PM

New film censorship rules on March 15

By DHARMENDER SINGH

PUTRAJAYA: The changes being made to the Film Censorship Guidelines -- the first in 14 years -- would come into effect on March 15, said Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam.

He claimed the changes had been thoroughly discussed and agreed to by all concerned parties including directors, producers, script-writers and distributors.

He said some of the items added to the guidelines had actually come from those in the industry while others took into account “current trends and lifestyles that might conflict with the norms in Malaysia.”

“There are some changes that some of the representatives have asked for in the draft guidelines but these are mainly on the terms used and the spelling, so it will not be difficult to iron all of them out by the end of the week,” he said after chairing the Film Censorship Guidelines meeting here Monday.

He said he was also happy that the changes, which will also see the Film Censorship Board being less rigid in certain areas, had been well received by representatives from the industry.

Local producer and director Datuk Yusof Haslam said he was happy that the new guidelines were not as rigid as before because this would allow more films to get the approval for general viewing (U) rather than having them restricted to the 13-year-old and 18-year-old and above age groups (PG-13, 18SG, 18SX, 18PA, 18PL and 18PL).

“When films are categorised for viewing only by those aged above 13 or 18, we end up having a smaller audience and this means less revenue.

“I am also happy that there is a chance now for us to submit our scripts to the Film Censorship Board for screening so that any parts that are considered offensive would be pointed out for changes to made before shooting begins,” he said.

Another local producer and director David Teo said the guidelines were good because they clearly laid out the dos and don’ts, and this allowed producers and directors prepare their scripts accordingly.

“It is a good system that allows us to remove any parts (deemed offensive), rather than having them removed during the censorship stage,” he said.