UPDATED Six charged for insulting Sultan as Najib takes the fight to cyberspace

(Suara KeADILan) – As the power transition approaches, incoming prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his supporters are going all out to secure their turf and near the top of their list is a clampdown on cyberspace, where their unpopularity is so extensive it has become a major security priority.

or the first time in Malaysian history, Section 233 of the Multimedia and Communications Act 1998 was invoked against bloggers who did not toe the line. In a nation-wide crackdown, six men were charged today. One pleaded gulity, while the rest claimed trial.

Lab assistant Azrin Mohd Zain was found guilty and fined RM10,000 today for “unwise use of network or network services for making comments, demands, suggestions or communication which are vulgar, false, threatening or disturbing”.

Another e-surfer in Kuala Lumpur, Muslim Ahmad, claimed trial and was released on a RM3,000 bail. His case will be heard on Apr 8, and if found guilty, he can be fined up to RM50,000 and/or jailed for up to one year.

In Petaling Jaya, land surveyor Nor Hisham Osman also pleaded not guilty and was released on RM4,000 bail. His case will be heard on Apr 14.

It was the same for handphone dealer Rutinin Suhaiman in Kota Kinabalu and Chan Hon Keong and Khoo Hui Shuang, both from Butterworth. All three pleaded not guilty.

Thwart not my ambitions or thou shall suffer

What exactly did these six men do to irk Najib?

Apparently, all of them posted insulting comments against the Sultan of Perak, Azlah Shah, in blogs after the Ruler had controversially agreed to transfer the state government to Najib’s Umno party on Feb 5.

But so did thousands of other Malaysians – to the extent that the Perak Ruler’s official website had to be temporarily shut down.

True also, there must be better governance than there currently is in cyberspace and net-citizens themselves welcome deterrents. But sleaze and unbridled slander are problems that have existed for as long as the Internet has and will need continual education and self-governance to eradicate.

So what is leaving a bad smell in this case?

According to bloggers whom Suara KeADILan spoke to, it is the unshakeable feeling that these six are being made scapegoats – to divert attention from the real issue at stake. The question is unavoidable – are they being sacrificed on the altar of Najib’s grand ambitions?

This is what makes the whole episode stink so much. Much, much more than any vulgar words or abusive comments that can be posted on the web for all to see.