Singapore Moves To Block Malaysianow After Portal Refuses Order To Correct

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Singapore has moved to block access to MalaysiaNow after the news portal failed to comply with a Correction Direction (CD) issued under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 (Pofma).
In a joint statement today, the republic’s Digital Development and Information Ministry and Home Affairs Ministry said the CD – issued on Nov 15 – flagged alleged “falsehoods” in a Nov 9 article by MalaysiaNow concerning the treatment of the late Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, a Malaysian executed under Singapore’s death penalty.
With MalaysiaNow refusing to carry the correction, the minister in charge has directed the Infocomm Media Development Authority (Imda) to order internet service providers to block access to the portal for users in Singapore.
The ministries noted MalaysiaNow had publicly rejected the CD and criticised the Singapore government’s approach to addressing alleged online falsehoods.
Under Pofma, the CD required MalaysiaNow to publish the government’s correction alongside the disputed claims, allowing Singapore readers to “assess the matter for themselves”.
“Despite reminders sent to MalaysiaNow to comply with the CD, MalaysiaNow has not complied.
“These are not actions that would be taken by any responsible media outlet with journalistic integrity,” the ministries said.
Request rejected
MalaysiaNow editor Abdar Rahman Koya on Nov 15 confirmed receipt of the notice from Singaporean authorities, which cited an article written by Pannir’s sister, Sangkari Pranthaman.
The late Pannir Selvam PranthamanIn rejecting the request, Rahman described the notice as an “18-page rambling littered with jargon and threats” which also included “ready-made correction templates” for publication on its website.
“The document provides instructions on how and where to place these passages, as well as a directive to ‘pin’ them in our social media posts.
“Effectively, it is saying that the Singapore government will manage MalaysiaNow's content if it is not satisfied with what we publish,” he said.
“We do not take instructions from our own government; what makes them think we would take instructions from them?
“We reject this notice, and we will include this statement instead in all the links mentioned by the notice,” he stressed.
Pushing correction notices
The ministries today also said Singapore’s Law Minister and Second Home Affairs Minister Edwin Tong has instructed the Pofma Office to issue Targeted Correction Directions to Meta Platforms Inc, LinkedIn Corporation and X Corp.
These platforms will be required to push correction notices to Singapore-based users who accessed – or will access – MalaysiaNow’s posts linking to the same article.
The Singapore government said the actions were part of its responsibility to shield the public from “harmful misinformation”.
MalaysiaNow editor Abdar Rahman KoyaResponding to the block, Rahman today sarcastically “thanked” the Singaporean government, with a promise of “more coverage on issues that Singaporeans would never ever read…” from within the island.
He also said the move was unsurprising, claiming to enjoy “a huge readership from Singapore every time there is an issue of mutual concern to Malaysians.”
“If the action is to stop Singapore readers from accessing our content, it is amusing.
“In this age, there is nothing, not even government control of the internet, that can stop access to information,” he said. - Mkini

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