KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — The Malay government has backed away from a controversial plan to censor the internet. The prime minister even went so far as to say no such plan existed, although only hours earlier the information minister had confirmed filtering of pornographic content was in the works.
“Up till now, there is no change in the government’s internet policy,” Prime Minister Najib Razak told a gathering of reporters on Monday. “This matter will be decided by the Cabinet, but all this while we have never intended to filter the internet — firstly because it is not effective; secondly, it may cause dissatisfaction among the people because in this…borderless age, information moves around freely.”

Netizens and members of the political opposition have been vocal in their criticism of plans to control internet content since hints about a filtering scheme emerged last week. Critics fear any content censorship would widen from merely corralling pornography into tampering with legitimate political dissent.

“Everybody objects to pornography,” Tony Pua, a Democratic Action Party lawmaker and blogger, told The Straits Times. “But there are millions of sites and there are mechanisms to get around the filtering. We wonder whether pornography is just an excuse for them to start creeping on ‘unsavory’ political sites. There’s always a sinister agenda that we’re worried about.”

On Monday, Information Minister Rais Yatim said the unnamed National Security Council officials who were quoted last week in news reports that appeared to confirm the existence of a Web filtering plan said such a program is necessary.

“The safety of our children is not an internet game,” he told reporters. “We will find any way to ensure we are free from the culture of pornography among children. Those who call themselves liberals should look at what has happened to other countries who have become victims, where child sex occurs and pornography is widespread.”