No action against bloggers unless they break the law

The authorities cannot take any action against bloggers unless they break the law, said Energy, Communications and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik.

“There is nothing we can do. What you want me to do? Block the whole thing? If they break the law and we know who they are, we will go after them.

“You want to listen to all these fellows, the lies and misinformation? You get confused and you do not know what is the truth, half-truth or lies. But as you become more knowledgeable, you can differentiate (them),” he said.

Dr Lim was asked about bloggers who posted wrong information about Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was overcome by heat exhaustion on Sunday.

He urged the public to be selective on the information on the Internet as “good knowledge come together with bad knowledge.”

“I get a lot of questions like minister you have to stop this and stop that. I can’t stop because knowledge, good or bad, come together,” he said.

He said parents should discipline their children while adults must discipline themselves.

“Through the Internet, you select the knowledge and not the minister who pushes the knowledge to you,” he told reporters after opening the APT Policy & Regulatory Forum 2007 and World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.