Malaysiakini on the upcoming amendments to the PPPA (Printing Presses and Publications Act):

The online media, unlike its print and broadcast cousins, does not need government approval to put out the news or to go back to the Home Ministry each year to renew the publishing and printing permits. It is this which keeps editors and journalists in the traditional media on a short leash.

It is likely that, should the proposed amendments become law, the online media too will be required to apply for a licence.

This will be the final nail in the coffin for press freedom. The little freedom of expression that Malaysians have enjoyed online over the past 16 years will end.

This is bad news for online publishers in Malaysia. Hopefully Najib and gang won’t go nuts and try to impose these sorts of licenses on social media too.


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