KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants the authorities to impose some form of control to shield youths from online pornography.

An advocate of non-censorship of the internet, Dr Mahathir lamented that the easy access to sexually graphic sex sites are "negatively stimulating the minds" of the young.

This, the former prime minister noted, has led to the rise in violent sexual crimes.

"There must be some form of code of ethics to prevent such sites from being accessed.

"The governments of the respective countries should take action against those responsible for polluting the minds of young children with pornography," he said in his keynote address at the National ICT Association (PIKOM) Leadership Summit.

He admitted that there was opposition towards censoring the internet when he launched the Multimedia Super Corridor over a decade ago.

"There was an international panel of advisors (when setting up the MSC) and one of them advised me that the internet must never be censored.

"At the time, I agreed as I did not fully comprehend how much information could pass through the internet," he added.

However, he said the recent rise in violent sexual crimes and declining morals due to exposure to online pornography was alarming.

Dr Mahathir stressed that control of the internet should be limited to pornography and not towards curbing freedom of expression.

"I don't mind some people writing nasty things about politicians of which I sometimes agree," he quipped, drawing laughter from participants.

On July 20, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) corporate communications head Sheikh Abdul Rafie Sheikh Abd Rahman was reported to have said that "indecent and obscene" content were prohibited under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

He added that while pornography sites were usually blocked, it did not amounts to censorship.

He said that the "notice" that appears when users attempt to access pornography sites merely serves as a warning to internet users of possible violations.

At present, barriers against access to online pornographic sites are done by the internet service providers licensed by MCMC.

Since 2008, MCMC has blocked 6,640 websites covering pornography, copyright infringement and malicious content.

On a related issue, Dr Mahathir said that the government should do more to support the development of the MSC which has become a model for other nations seeking to develop their ICT capabilities.