Late last month, we reported about how the Malaysian government unsuccessfully blocked Kamarudin’s website. This time, however, the government opted to silence him by bringing him in and locking him up for inciting hate on Islam.

The British-born Kamarudin could be detained indefinitely without trial under the Internal Security Act. You know, oppressive regimes always have their way to keep you inside your jail cell.

We’ll see how bloggers all over the world will react and if they can pressure the Malaysian govenment to release Kamarudin.

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I am saying this because Malaysia is in the news blocking access to Malaysia Today, a website that often carries anti-government articles and run by Raja Petra Kamarudin.

The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission has ordered all local Internet service providers to block Kamarudin’s website, who early this year was charged with sedition for allegedly implying that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was involved in the gruesome murder of a Mongolian woman.

The governing agency contends that published contents in Malaysia Today were defamatory and slanderous to other people.

Malaysia should understand that blocking is not the solution. Blocking will only heat up the voice not only of Kamarudin but also of others.

Besides, the site will remain accessible, like in http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008/.

Related posts:

1. Malaysian Blogger Arrested for Anti-Government Comments Online
2. Focus On Asia: Malaysia 2.0
3. Stop Blocking, FCC Tells Comcast

Evan is a guest writer for The Inquisitr and is currently preparing to launch www.fuhso.net.

In case you weren’t aware, take note: Avril Lavigne is too sexy. Well, according to  Malaysia at least. This comes about as the “Sk8er Boi” singer is set to perform there on August 29th, 2 days before the country’s independence day.

One official from the country’s culture Ministry even stated that the concert has yet to be approved. Performers in Malaysia are required to be covered from knees to chest and cannot jump, shout, hug or kiss on the stage. Sounds like fun! Conservative much, Malaysia? Do you accept that some countries are so stringent in these kinds of stipulations or should Malaysia loosen up? I just want to know why promoters would advertise a concert in such a conservative country before even getting the approval.

Image via Wikipedia

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While much of the emphasis in Malaysia has been on tech as opposed to the web, initiatives such as a MSC Malaysia Cybercenter offer web development companies first class infrastructure and support without the restricts often faced in other parts of Asia.

In developing its own distinct 2.0 culture though, Malaysia faces challenges created in part by its own prosperity; most educated Malaysians in the middle and upper classes speak English (with some Manglish thrown in for good measure), means that Western 2.0 services have a strong local presence, where as countries such as Indonesia (our Focus post here) local firms often have an advantage due to lower rates of English literacy.

There’s a lot of interesting things going on in Malaysia, and we’ll miss some decent services in this list. If you can suggest any more feel free to leave a comment with short description and a link.

Tumpang

What they say:

Tumpang is a Malay word for pooling – like car-pooling, or pooling of resources. At Tumpang, you will in fact be pooling your resources with other users to get the best deals. It’s really about getting a bulk discount. Tumpang helps you save by letting you buy in bulk. If a mobile phone costs USD 300, 10 units of the same may cost only USD 250. Tumpang facilitates this bulk buy letting you ‘tumpang’ an item with other Tumpang users. In short, you Gather, Buy and Save!

In use:
a group buying/ discount service with a wide range of goods. Smart, modern ecommerce tapping the crowd for a greater deal

Nuffnang

What they say:
Nuffnang.com is Asia’s first and leading blog advertising community. Our online platform allows advertisers to serve graphic or video based advertisements onto the thousands of local blogs that are signed up with us.

In use:
Advertising network that is regularly appearing in the blogopshere. Also has a presence in Singapore

Pacmee

What they say:
Pacmee is a social networking website. It offers useful, easy-to-use and affordable Personalisation, Advertisement and Communication (PAC) tools. MyShoutOut is the first in a series of these tools. It is currently available for Maxis postpaid and Hotlink prepaid users in Malaysia only.

In use:
every country should have its own Twitter style site, although this one seems to be limited to certain ISPs.

Adverlets

They say:
Advertlets.com is an Asian blog/weblog advertising network that offers the remarkably sensible proposition of targeted, unintrusive advertising that benefits the online advertising and blogger community, as well as their readers. Bloggers get better advertising that is relevant to their readers, and advertisers make their advertising dollars and their message count.

In use:
Another advertising network that is popping up around the blogosphere.

The Digg Clones
I wont write these all up individually, but not only does Malaysia have a number of Digg clones, one of them resides on Digg.com.my:

Layann (Digg.com.my)
Rock Your Vote
Innit

Web 2.0 Entrepreneur has a great guide to getting startup funding in Malaysia here, and I couldn’t write a post about Malaysia without linking to perhaps the countries most famous blogger internationally LiewCF.

I found the spreadsheet below on a sharing site so I’m not sure where it originated, but it gives a good run down on the challenges facing Malaysia startups and the different services that are popular locally.

| View | Upload your own

Related posts:

1. Focus On Asia: Indonesian Startups
2. Focus On Asia: Call For Startup Submissions
3. So Malaysia Thinks Blocking a Website Can Silence an Opposition