Malaysia quite liberal about Internet

Malaysia is quite a liberal country, as far as the Internet is concerned. The government's policy from the start has been not to intervene in the use of the Internet by people, including bloggers, who are free to do "proper things", said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

However, the ruling party Umno vice-president said if irresponsible bloggers go overboard in their Internet postings, the government would be forced to step in.

He said if they go overboard and insult, slander and break the laws, they will not get away scot-free, as no one is above the law. He said the opposition parties were also free to set up their own websites and blogs, but the same rules applied to them.

This is a democratic country, he stressed, but it does not mean anyone can do whatever they want, including breaking the laws. For postings that insult religion and the King, there are laws that can be used against the culprits, the minister pointed out.

Well, that seems reasonable enough, doesn't it?