Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed called for dissolving Parliament Tuesday - and at least one magazine is speculating the Internet had a big hand in the decision, especially since he's had a play or three involving Internet censorship in a country said to be among the most computer-friendly in the Asian world.
Time Asia writer Eric Ellis says Mahathir's dissolving Parliament set off a buzz around cyberspace, territory Mahathir is both friendly and edgy about. On the one hand, he brags about being the first Asian leader to put up his own home page; on the other hand, Ellis writes, the Net's reach into Malaysian homes - and thus, the reach of political opposition Malaysian's can't find in the government-friendly press - sometimes drives Mahathir slightly crazy.
"Once an unequivocal advocate of the Net-and the openness and free expression that goes with it-the politically beleaguered Mahathir now sees it as a tool for plotters against him," Ellis writes. "He reversed an earlier pledge not to censor the Web, reportedly requiring cybercafes to register users and provide logs to authorities. Netizens hate that."
Ellis even suggests the rise of Malaysia online might have triggered the Prime Minister's snap decision to dissolve Parliament - which usually means elections around the corner. "The Malaysian parliament's five-year term does not expire until next year, but an expected economic recovery has countered the outrage which rose from the jailing of Mahathir's former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, who was extremely popular with younger Malaysians," he writes. "Malaysia has about one million Internet users, and many of them are new voters who are expected to join the voter rolls early next year."
