YOURSAY ‘Najib is like a hunted animal, cornered and with nowhere to run...’

MCMC blocks access to Sarawak Report

Kim Quek: Blocking access to Sarawak Report is the final nail to the coffin of the Umno government’s protestation of its innocence in the sordid 1MDB affairs, when not an iota of evidence has been produced to show that Sarawak Report’s presentation of facts is inaccurate, or that the allegations are untruthful.

On what moral ground can Najib’s government justify its continuing rule of the country?

Needless to say, such a measure will not succeed in stopping Malaysians from accessing information on the scandalous conduct of the government. On the contrary, it will hasten the government’s fall.

Jesse: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) acts like a sycophant of the government. You investigate first and if evidence is compelling, then you block. Here, it puts the cart before the horse. Block first and then investigate.

Their action speaks for itself. Now everyone knows there is something to hide.

Headhunter: Is this MACC’s new mantra, "If you can't beat them, you can always block them"?

Truth hurts and PM Najib Razak is now like a hunted animal, cornered with nowhere to run and hitting back wildly and desperately. Whether he survives or not, thanks to him, Umno is now damaged for good.

Rupert16: MCMC, will blocking the website maintain national stability?

I believe most right-minded rakyat have the opinion that the real aim is to prevent people from hearing the real truth about high-level corruption and massive plundering of public funds by those whom some of us have unwisely voted into power.

Basically: “Unverified reports”? Then why don’t MACC go and verify it? There are plenty of leads already, yet Integrity Minister Paul Low is sitting around waiting for evidence to fall from the skies.

Why not try the ‘Teoh Beng Hock method'? Or is he saying RM2,000 warrants tougher action than RM2 billion?

I remember a judge in the Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry apparently saying that DAP paying in advance for the RM2,000 job was 'problematic'. Well, how much more 'problematic' are 1MDB's dealings, Low?
                      
Paradise: The act of covering-up is in progress. It used to be the AG (attorney-general), MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission), IGP (inspector-general of police) and Bank Negara. Now, the MCMC has joined the fray.

It is an absurdity of the highest order that the findings of the task force will be presented to the prime suspect of the case. How can it be?

Soo Jin Hou: With the entire governmental machinery working to protect Najib, you can bet that the task force is now working hard to erase every shred of evidence implicating Najib.

Kangkung: We now have what communist China has - the Great Firewall.

If the Umno government is given the freedom to block Sarawak Report, it won't be long before websites like Malaysiakini will also be blocked. If we keep quiet, this will happen, soon enough.

Sam04: Don’t worry, people will find a way round this. The truth will be out and there is nothing this vile and corrupt government can do to stop it.

If only our government and civil servants worked as hard for our benefit - health, education, civil liberties, etc - as they do on blocking websites that tell the truth...

Retired Citizen: It's easy to unblock Sarawak Report. Just go tothis link. Then click the link that appears on the bright green patch.

Justine Gow: It is a silly move trying to block an overseas website. In this case, it does nothing except to prove that there is much to hide in 1MDB.

As long as people have access to the Internet, they will still be able to access the blocked website indirectly, one way or another.

Furthermore, the authority has no control over what the overseas website operator can do to change the details of the website.

If it is a local website, the authority can use brute force to shut it down physically, but once the operator moves the website overseas, there is nothing much the authority can do, short of depriving everyone of Internet access (like in North Korea).

Here is a link explaining how to bypass Internet censorship and filtering.

It seems to me Sarawak Report is blocked because the authority has no answer to its editor's challenge, ‘I showed tampered mails, now show me yours’.

Odin Tajué: If you ask me, I think it's like locking the barn door after all the horses have bolted. Or the cat is already out of the bag. The only thing that remains inside the bag is the cat's smell - and maybe a strand or two of its hair.

Apa Ini?: What's to ban if you are on the right side of truth? Transparency is necessary for trust and that is what the government is sadly lacking - and desperately needs.

Lynn: I don't know what the PM's advisers are telling him but this has got to be the stupidest thing to do. It's practically an admission of guilt.

First, you try to say they have tampered the evidence (weak, but they are still trying to beat that to death), then they created some connection to former PetroSaudi director Xavier Andre Justo (not sure what good that will do), then threatened to sue but got scared because everything may come out in court.

So, finally, like a spoilt petulant child who can't play fair, they shut down access altogether?

Firestone: When you are 55 years in power and used to having things your way, usually using the sledgehammer to kill a housefly is the preferred method deployed. Wham!

The only problem is, this is not 1960s or 70s... this is 2015. -Mkini