Censorship in Malaysia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Censorship
Part of the series on
Image:Censorship.png
By Country
Algeria Australia Belarus Bhutan Burma Canada PR China Cuba East Germany France Germany India Iran Ireland Israel Japan	Malaysia Pakistan Portugal Samoa Saudi Arabia Singapore South Asia North Korea Soviet Union Sweden Taiwan (R.O.C.) Thailand Tunisia Turkey United Kingdom United States
By media
Advertisements Anime Books Banned films	Re-edited films Internet Music Video games
By channel
BBC	MTV
By method
Book burning Bleep censor Content-control software Pixelization Postal censorship Prior restraint Self-censorship Tape delay Whitewashing
By method
Corporate censorship Under fascist regimes Political censorship In religion This box: view • talk • edit

Censorship in Malaysia is a growing concern for this south-east Asian Country as it attempts to adapt to a modern knowledge-based economy[1]. The press is tightly restricted and the level of public debate is considered low. Many media works have been banned including Daredevil[2], an episode of the American television show Friends[3]and the series Family Guy.

Unlicensed use or possession of a printing press is illegal under the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984. Journalists are frequently given guidelines by the Prime Minister's Office when reporting 'sensitive' issues, and media self-censorship is encouraged. [4]

Film Censorship Board of Malaysia is the Government agency responsible for granting licenses to the films for viewing.

In print in 2006 alone 56 publications were banned by the Internal Security Ministry, including the Indonesian translation of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. The full list is here [5]

Deputy Science and Technology Minister Kong Cho Ha has announced that all Malaysian news blogs may have to be registered with the Ministry of Information saying the laws were necessary to dissuade bloggers from promoting disorder in Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society.

Malaysia has a history of banning musicians. In 2003 US rock band Linkin Park were banned from wearing shorts while performing and in 2004 singer Mariah Carey was asked to cover up. Madonna has been banned from Malaysian television and a scheduled concert by Norwegian metal band, Mayhem, was banned earlier in 2006. Malaysian organizers of a Pussycat Dolls concert have been fined for flouting decency laws.

Malaysia has banned the Bible in an Iban language translation.[6]