Malaysian court orders newspaper to reveal online commenters

A court in Kuala Lumpur has ordered the editor of Malaysian online newspaper Malaysia Today to reveal the identity of commenters, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has reported.

Editor Raja Petra Kamarudin has also been told to remove three articles after libel proceedings were brought against him by lawyer Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Abdullah is suing the editor over the articles and comments, which claimed he was responsible for ‘trumped up charges’ in a recent lawsuit against a politician in the country.

RSF has condemned the court order and has called for its withdrawal.

“The court order is invalid as it is only effective in Malaysia and Malaysia Today is hosted on a server in the United States. This should be taken up with a US court,” the organisation said.

Bloggers to stand in Malaysian election

Three bloggers are hoping to convert their online popularity into political votes by standing in Malaysia’s national elections next month, Reuters reports.

Jeff Ooi, a 52-year-old advertising copywriter and political blogger, Tony Pua, a technology firm worker, and Badrul Hisham Shaharin have found success with their blogs, which are widely read as an antedote to the country’s pro-government mainstream media, according to the report.

Each will run as a candidate for opposition parties in the elections on March 8.