Essay on Censorship And Freedom Of Speech

In the western world one tends to take the view that more freedom of speech, and more freedom of press is always better. This view is not shared everywhere in the world, most countries restrict freedom of speech in some way; and in no place is this trend more studied that in east asian countries. From the extreme control North Korea to the more western based ideas of Japan, all shades of censorship can be observed in east asia. The internet has changed the face of information sharing forever, and thus changed how to censor information. In countries like malaysia the transition has been difficult and well documented; showing how the malaysian government 's strict censorship policies will not be upheld on the internet due to the inability to control who sees and creates content.

Malaysia gained independence in 1957, but media censorship had been in place for almost 5 years. Originally formed as a film censorship board by the british to maintain the position of power they had over the malaysian people , the policies were adopted by the independent malaysian government when it was formed. The malaysian government believes, based on credible research, that what malaysia 's see influences what citizens do, and how they act. The Government says that media is “ regarded as a government arm and therefore… must function if line with the government 's needs” so thus, they have the right to control all media forms that malaysians have access to; Radio, television, print, and as of…