Malaysiakini - 20 March 2001

More than 11 reformasi, opposition websites ‘missing’

More than 11 pro-reformasi and opposition party websites have been inaccessible to Internet users since Saturday afternoon. All the sites are hosted by Tripod.com servers.

According to the webmaster of one of the sites, the free hosting service may have removed several other sites which have been accused of "breaking regulations" of the company. In its message to the webmasters of the sites, Tripod.com said they have abused the facilities on its servers. This is the first time the webhosting company has issued such a notice, another source said.

Tripod.com had experienced a similar predicament before, but it only lasted two days, after which the technical problems were successfully overcome.

The reformasi websites involved include Mahafiraun, Komentar, Pemantau, Minda Rakyat, Debat 2020, NT (anti) Zalim, while the organisation websites include those of Harakah Daily (mirror site), Detik Daily (owned by Penerbitan Pemuda company), Pemuda Keadilan, PAS Parit Buntar, Perak and three Tranung Kite sites (PAS Dungun, Terengganu).

However, Laman Reformasi, better known as 'mahazalim' , is still active. Mahazalim has posted a notice which read: "This (situation) could be due to a technical problem with the Tripod.com server, though I am not discounting the possibility of a sabotage against the pro-reformasi sites."

Mahazalim, considered the most popular reformasi website, is also hosted by Tripod.

According to another source, the ‘attacks’ began early Saturday morning when three active reformasi websites - Minda Rakyat, Komentar and Tranung Kite - could not be accessed. Internet users who tried to gain access to the websites could only get a message saying that the sites were no longer on Tripod.com servers.

Elements of sabotage

A source from Penerbitan Pemuda at midnight said that the mirror site of that company also experienced similar problems recently. However, the Tranung Kite mirror site at tranungdaily.tripod.com is still in operation.

An Internet expert told malaysiakini that the actions, done in stages over a period of more than 24 hours against Malaysian websites which leased Tripod.com space, "give rise to concerns that there may be elements of sabotage."

Should Tripod.com fail to revive the websites, malaysiakini understands that all the data which were stored in the pro-reformasi and opposition websites would be lost unless the webmasters concerned have made backup copies on their hard disks or at mirror sites.

Several pro-reformasi websites had started operations since September 1998 and have archives containing tens of thousands of writings, photos, extracts of important documents and current news.

The webmasters fear that this latest development is linked to the latest government effort to intensify pressure on media that are critical of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s policies.