If you somehow missed it, kangkung or water spinach became a huge hit in the social media earlier this week. This is due to a remark by our Prime Minister, Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak which has generated plenty of satire and criticism from many netizens throughout the country. From YouTube remix to Facebook page, there are plenty of kangkung-focused materials for everyone to see online.
Not for this particular article by BBC Trending though as many users out there have reported that they are not able to access it. Sure enough, I’m not able to access the article myself at the time this post is published even after changing the DNS setup from TM’s to Google DNS. Additionally, no such restriction was imposed on other BBC Trending’s articles which made the situation even more suspicious. Hmm.
Well, let’s see if things will change later today. If you are curious, you are able to read the article directly on BBC Trending main page itself or the mobile version of the article which somehow were spared from the banhammer. For now.
UPDATE (16 Jan – 1112AM): Digital News Asia has shed more light on the situation, complete with a censorship test by an NGO called Sinar Project.
UPDATE (16 Jan – 1220PM): It seems like the block has been lifted. From my test, the article can now be accessed through TM’s DNS and Google DNS. (Thanks Marauderz for the heads-up!)
[Thanks to everyone that sent in the tip!]
