A Malaysian blog has caught the eye of of Malaysian Deputy Minister for Interior Security Datuk Noh Omar.

A comment on the unnamed blog was reportedly derogatory in relation to Islam.

And the Star reports that the ruling parties’ Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin says the blog owner should take responsibility for the comment, even though he/she didn’t make it. The Umno deputy wants the blog owner to apologise.

Malaysia is a Muslim governed country. I doubt political leaders have much of a concept about blogging. No one is online 24/7, and short of holding comments until the blogger can preview them, this is going to be an on-going issue.

It is interesting that the ‘concerns’ are veiled, that the blog isn’t mentioned.
I don’t think westerners can always understand the carefulness of speech required in many countries.

I’ve seen a couple of American commenters go on a Philippine blog and behave badly because they didn’t take stock of cultural context.
Iranian bloggers have been arrested, fled the country and have had family members arrested.
I had a reader threatened by a US server owner, “under the statutes of the state of Maryland to cease and desist, etc. etc. I was unaware the email skirmish was occuring until it was too late. I doubt there was anything I could have done, tempers were out of control. No lawyer was involved and the server owner took my blog just because he could.
People have lost their jobs and have faced legal action.

During the Canadian election I know my blog was being checked by different parties, but I had no fear of that.
I don’t know that the question of free speech is as much of an issue as is prudence in many countries. Blogging is global, but it doesn’t feel that way in front of the computer. Rights and responsibility are tricky.
On some level I am responsible for the behaviour of commenters on my blog. I ask that people show respect to each other and do what I can to set an example. Threats are immoral. They tend to show up in my inbox. I think that may be because whoever makes one knows they would have readers all over them.
Opinions get weighed on presentation as much as content because readers from about 70 countries pop over. I won’t censor my readers. I have yet to block anyone for imprudent behaviour in commenting, but I wonder if I’m in the minority. I have had to deal firmly with purile behaviour. Inappropriate commenters deal with me first. If an apology was demanded from a system, I’d encourage the commenter to deal with who ever laid the complaint.
Depending on the topic and the passions, apologies aren’t always accepted or offered. It can be a tough call, and a far tougher one than I often comphrend for many bloggers around the world.