What is happening to my country??

Danger M'sia, Danger!! Bad things are happening... Things that may have adverse affects on the lives of millions of rakyat...

The government has long been pushing for registration of prepaid users... This is to facilitate, the government, in bringing people who misuse their mobile phones to court... We have had people who spread "spam" via SMS to incite violence... So, the government comes up with a way to catch everyone if they misuse their prepaid phones... Okay, that's a good intention...

The fact that Article #10 of the constitution provides for freedom of speech doesn't really matter... Since, this freedom doesn't really include freedom to incite and all that... So, talk all you want on your mobile phone... Just don't incite violence, and everything will be alright... However, the catch is not with this article, but with Article #9 of the M'sian constitution, which provides for the freedom of movement throughout the federation...

Most people in M'sia have a mobile phone.. Some even have more than one... Now, it may come as a shock to a lot of people, but the mobile phone companies DO know where you are at any one time, as long as you keep your mobile turned on... That's how they sell location based services to you via SMS... This is due to the "cell switching architecture" that's used for ALL mobile phone networks... Now, the government has gained the ability to monitor and stalk the movement of every person who has a mobile phone...

Now, some people may claim that, if you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to hide... However, if I've done nothing wrong, the government has no right to monitor my movement... But article #9 guarantees my freedom of movement throughout the federation... Our country is becoming more and more Orwellian by the day... Maybe everyone should be made to watch 1984 as part of our education syllabus... Make it required reading for all pengajian am students...

If all the government wants to do is to make it easier to haul people to court for inciting violence, then it can always take other measures to do it. This doesn't help anything.. As with the idea of registering bloggers, all this exercise will do, is to tie a mobile phone number to an owner.. However, it still doesn't prove that the person sent the message... He might've lost it, or placed his mobile phone on a table (preferably in a mamak stall)... So, it doesn't prove that he sent the message...

This problem of inciteful SMS messages, should just be handled in the same way as say, poison letters... You can always trace the SMS to a phone number... That gives you evidence of the source... And then, you can get some sort of warrant to trace the owner of the number... This then, allows you to get the mobile phone operators to tell you where the user is located... And then, you bring in ground intelligence, and use the cops to surveil and bust the guy... There is no need to monitor the movement of every other innocent rakyat...

Just another example of a bad execution of a mediocre idea with a good intention...