PUTRAJAYA, Sept 11 — Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil said today the government does not plan to continue requiring all internet service providers (ISPs) in Malaysia to implement the Domain Name System (DNS) redirection, suggesting the move is off the table.
“We don’t intend to proceed with the DNS rerouting but I have directed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to carry out more public dialogues and engage more people to get feedback,” the minister said at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting press conference here.
DNS is a system designed to turn website addresses into numeric IP addresses to locate websites on the internet.
Internet service providers typically operate their own DNS servers, which can be configured to block access to certain websites or domains based on their content, a common method used to protect users from harmful content.
The redirecting would have meant all searches would be redirected to ISP servers before they get routed to the searched website, which means regulators could decide to allow or prohibit the searcher from accessing it.
At the moment any searches are directly processed by the search platforms, without having to go through local ISPs.
Free internet advocates said the move infringes on privacy rights and would give the government the power to block access to websites that it deemed as anti-establishment, an allegation the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission denied.
Fahmi earlier this week called off the DNS rerouting plan amid strong public pressure. The minister was heavily criticised but maintained that the purpose of the move was to protect users from harmful websites, especially for children.
Today, he said he had directed the MCMC to widen its engagement to include programmers and cybersecurity experts to get more input on how best to curb these websites.
“I’ve stressed that right now the priority is to make the internet safer, especially for children and families, considering crime has shifted to the cyberworld and not just on social media,” he said.
“So I have asked MCMC to study and come back with something holistic and find a more effective solution.”
