Hisham cleared my name!

Monday August 17, 2009
Hisham: We’ll act against those who incite hatred on the Net


PETALING JAYA: Those who use the cyberspace to incite hatred or insult any race or religion or the monarchy, will soon find it increasingly difficult to hide behind the ‘mouse’.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said: “If we allow it to go unchecked, the attack on these pillars may jeopardise the safety of all Malaysians. It will then be too late if we act after a clash.

“We are not clamping or censoring the Internet. But when it comes to issues involving race, religion and our royalty, the Internet cannot be allowed to go on to de-stabilise the country and do whatever they like,” he said.

He added that three ministries, including his, plus the relevant agencies, including the police, the Attorney-General and Multimedia Commission personnel would meet and discuss this on Wednesday.

“What we are trying to do is to ensure that there are enough provisions for the authorities to take action, and not just the police,” he said yesterday after opening the Lembah Pantai Umno division meeting.

Hishammudin said a template would be created to protect the innocent and warned those who used the cyberspace to hide behind accusations that incite anger that action would be taken against them.

“We do not want the innocent to be prosecuted. For example, we did not take action against DAP’s Loke (DAP Socialist Youth head Anthony Loke Siew Fook) as he reported that the blog (which insulted Islam and Perak royalty) is not his,” he added.
On another note, Hishammuddin said they had yet to decide whether Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s contract would be renewed, adding that it was more important to ensure that the public accepted the police force.

“Whether it is extended for one year or not, to me it is not as important as getting the police force to be accepted in the minds of the public. And that is not just dependent on the position of one man,” he added.