“As a security measure, I undertook to remove all editors from official TTF Facebook pages, namely, Raggie Jessy Rithaudeen and Towards GE15, to prevent the posting of any material other than that approved by me and (or) team The Third Force. Readers are advised to ‘like’ the said pages and click the notification buttons to receive updates”
Raggie Jessy Rithaudeen
The DAP led Government of Malaysia (GoM) undertook to block thethirdforce.net today in the wee hours of the morning but lifted the block some three hours later.
At 4.57 am Malaysian time, The Third Force was rendered inaccessible to members of public while traffic to the blog came to a momentary halt between 5 am to 5.30 am before flowing again, much to my surprise.
It appears that a Facebook alert regarding the block posted in two of thethirdforce.net’s official Facebook pages, namely, Raggie Jessy Rithaudeen and Towards GE15, along with messages viraled via WhatsApp and We Chat caught the attention of some Pakatan Harapan supporters who already were accustomed to censorship and knew how to access thethirdforce.net.
As a security measure, I undertook to remove all editors from the aforementioned Facebook pages until the matter is resolved so as to prevent the posting of any material other than that approved by me and (or) team The Third Force.
The Third Force was rendered accessible again at 7.57 am.
An intern from a local telco firm with knowledge of the matter confirmed that the blog was blocked pursuant to instructions by persons “high up,” presumably to allow them to carry out data analysis and (or) collection.
Notwithstanding, The Third Force advises members of public to download an internet browser known as the “tor browser” from the following website:
https://www.torproject.org/download/
Upon clicking the link, you will be greeted with the following display:
The icons shown allow users to download the appropriate version of the app by clicking either on the windows icon (if you’re using windows) or the apple icon (if your’s is a Mac).
The site also has mobile apps for android and apple phone users.
Once downloaded, the browser will allow you to access any website that may have been or might be blocked by the GoM in the future.
As a parting note, I wish to stress, that it came as no surprise to me that my website was blocked given the decades Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad spent stymying dissent by stifling freedom of press and speech.
One of Mahathir’s loudest critics back in the mid-eighties was John Berthelsen, a onetime correspondent with the Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ).
In 1986, Mahathir censured AWSJ for posting a series of articles authored by Berthelsen and a man named Raphael Pura, both of whom accused his administration of fraud.
The publications cost Berthelsen and Raphael their work permits and prompted the New York Times (NYT) to censure Mahathir for attempting to conceal his crimes.
In a 30th of September 1986 release, NYT quoted a Leonard R. Sussman as saying that the climate for press freedom in the South East Asian region had deteriorated because of Mahathir’s dictatorial and oppressive ways.
Even after leaving office, Mahathir deliberately held up copies of an authoritative biography that was critical of his leadership throughout his 22 years as Prime Minister.
The biography, the Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times, was conceived through a book written by the late Barry Wain, a former correspondent with the AWSJ who was himself based in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.
The US, as did Lim Kit Siang, considered the Mahathir administration to be fundamentalist and accused him of fanning anti-Sematic fears.
Today, the same Mahathir is granting the DAP leeway to fan Islamophobic fears and has taken a backseat while leaders of the party work towards robbing the Malay Muslims of their assets and rights.
