KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no censorship, monitoring or tracking of any activity on the Internet. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad issued this order in response to moves by local authorities to impose curbs on cybercafes including registration of users.

Multimedia Development Corp (MDC) executive chairman Tan Sri Dr Othman Yeop Abdullah said Dr Mahathir gave Cabinet members specific instructions that the Government would not censor the Internet.

"That's the position of the Government," Dr Othman told a press conference yesterday. Based on feedback from the IT industry, the proposal by local governments requiring users to be registered at cybercafes is perceived as a form of censorship.

"I informed the Prime Minister about this last Friday and he said it is something we should not accept. He immediately gave instructions for the practice to be stopped." He said Dr Mahathir was reaffirming a pledge in the MSC Bill of Guarantees that there would be no censorship on the Internet.

Malaysian Internet users had expressed fears that the Government intended to monitor their activities after a municipal council proposed that all cybercafe operators install software and equipment to track websites visited by their patrons.

Earlier this month, the Subang Jaya Municipal Council said that by doing this, the authorities would be able to identify those visiting pornographic sites or engaging in "undesirable" activities. The council proposed that cybercafe patrons use a smart card to surf the Internet, an act which would allow their identities to be easily traced.

Another act seen as Internet censorship is a City Hall requirement that all cybercafe customers give their names, identification card numbers and addresses before surfing. "None of that," said Dr Othman, adding that all these regulations would be stopped immediately as the Government was firm on its work.

"When we say that there is no censorship of the Internet, it means that if you access or transmit anything, the Government will not intervene and detect. "But the moment you download and disseminate any information deemed as seditious or pornographic, then your actions come under existing laws."

Last October, the then Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali said the police would "check every bit of information and leaflet" posted on the Internet after the arrest of four alleged "cyber rumour-mongers." The four are on trial for spreading rumours via the Internet.