According to Salleh, the decision was made wholly by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

“MCMC works independently. It has its own investigation panel that works closely with the police.

“They only inform me of the decision they choose to take but the minister is not the one who made the call,” he told reporters when met at the Karangkraf Complex here today.

He reiterated that MCMC’s move came following complaints by members of the public themselves.

The news article which landed TMI in hot water, he said, had purportedly violated Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

“MCMC received complaints from the public regarding TMI’s article and after a preliminary investigation, found that it violated Section 233.”

The Umno minister added that part of the reason MCMC decided to block TMI was because the portal based its report on an “inside source”.

“Yes, one of the portal’s articles cited a source from the panel (MACC Operations Review Panel). We found some of the statements to be confusing and in contrast to MACC’s official statements.

“We don’t even know where the source came from. It will only confuse the public.”

Salleh said the government has nothing against those who disagree with its decisions and, in fact, Putrajaya does not restrict freedom of speech.

“There are plenty of websites criticising the government. That is not a problem. Even Sinar Harian has different views (from the government). We don’t try to control your views, but you have to be careful.”