KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): PKR today took a swipe at the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), after access to The Malaysian Insider (TMI) site was blocked on several service providers.

The party’s communications director and Youth vice-chief Fahmi Fadzil told Putrajaya to review the decision and lift the block.

He said the incident was disappointing and must be condemned.

“This iron fist action is clearly in violation of the promise by the government that the Internet will not be censored.

“This block may have to do with the reports by TMI regarding the RM2.6 billion ‘donation’ involving the main leader of the country.

“This proves that Putrajaya fears a free press namely the online media that is not easy to silence on national issues,” he said in a statement.

Fahmi said Putrajaya should not prevent the media — the fourth estate in a democracy — from carrying out its duties.

He said it would only reinforce the perception that there were efforts to prevent the people from getting news and information.

“Of course, this will bring negative impact on Malaysia’s ranking in media freedom.”

TMI turns eight today but was blocked by several Internet providers following a ban by the Internet regulators on grounds of “national security”.

MCMC in a statement said the site was blocked for breaching Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which deals with the abuse of communications networks.

The action, it added, was also because of complaints and information received from the public.

The Internet regulator also warned other news portals not to publish articles which have not been verified as they could cause confusion and create an unwarranted situation.

Section 233 is for improper use of network facilities or network service.