BorneoPost Internet gagged

by MD

For the past few days, the online version of Sarawak BorneoPost (www.theborneopost.com) has been inaccessible. Browsing into their site and you will stumbled across a message or notice "Our website is currently being upgraded. We apologise for the inconvenience." Technically, website upgrading should not take more that 48 hours. So I smell something fishy.

I suspected that the state government has gagged (read: censored) BorneoPost from publishing their articles on the Internet as it has been used by bloggers for reference. Seem that the state government does not want bloggers to bad-mouth their leaders and their policy.

In addition, BorneoPost journalists also have published some sensitive articles and the state government probably did not want outsiders from outside Sarawak or outside Malaysia to read it.

If so, it will one of those Internet press freedom that is silently being removed.

If BorneoPost is back online in a couple of days from today, then I am wrong. For the time being, let's wait and see.