On August 7, visitors to the online news portal UtusanTV were met with a notification message informing viewers the website was not accessible for domestic audiences due to a violation of ‘national law’. Data sourced from Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) found UtusanTV.com was blocked from August 7, with users able to access the site for several days.
It is not the first time news portals have been made inaccessible under the new government of Anwar Ibrahim, with MalaysiaNow also blocked by four ISPs over three days from June 28 to 30. In both instances, management was not informed of the blockage ahead of the order.
Malaysian state elections are due to commence on August 12, with 245 state assembly seats in seven states at stake. The election will see allies Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) contest against the opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN).
The website blockages have been criticised by press freedom advocates and election watchdogs. Media advocacy collective Gerekan Media Merdeka (Geramm) called on the MCMC to give a clear justification for the blockage, while the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) compared the blockage of MalaysiaNow and UtusanTV to censorship seen under previous governments.
UtusanTV.com was founded by former employees of Utusan Malaysia following the closure of parent company Utusan Melayu Berhad in 2019. Utusan Malaysia, which relaunched as a separate but revived entity in 2020, issued a public statement on August 7 distancing itself from UtusanTV.
Website blockages in Malaysia are ordered by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to Internet Service Providers (ISP).
The NUJM said unnecessary interventions and blocking of news sites highlighted the critical need for a transparent process for complaints or alleged violations and underlined the critical need for the establishment of an independent media council in the country.
The NUJM said: “The NUJM is concerned at the government's decision to block access. Such actions are reminiscent of censorship undertaken by the previous government and now are being carried out again. UtusanTV.com site must be unblocked immediately.”
The IFJ said: “The right to access information is critical in the lead-up to elections. The decision by Malaysia’s communication authorities to block news websites is in complete opposition to the Ibrahim government’s clear commitments to press freedom. This practice must stop and news outlets should be free to broadcast news at this critical time.”