Looks like Putrajaya's decision to block access to whistleblower website Sarawak Report have the opposite effect as its Facebook fan page has attracted close to 9,000 new 'likes'.  

The Facebook chart which records weekly fan movements has shown 8,636 new 'likes' by 4.25pm, an increase of 8.2 percent compared to last week.

A sharp increase was recorded yesterday, within three hours after the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) took to Twitter to announce its decision to temporarily block the website at 9.16pm.

The fan page has a total of 113,906 likes while 35,254 netizens were talking about the website.

Statistics showed either the netizens have shifted to the social media or that new readers came to know about the website following its 'closure'.

The commission said the website will be blocked temporarily, until the special task force completes its investigation.

"The contents could be fake. Such contents could affect the peace and cause national instability, disrupt public order and affect economic stability," said the MCMC last night.

Publishing 'tampered' documents

Malaysian authorities have accused Sarawak Report of publishing "tampered" documents obtained from former PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) director Xavier Andre Justo.

Justo was nabbed in Thailand on June 22 and is being investigated by the Thai police for attempting to blackmail PSI with threats to release confidential company documents.

Sarawak Report asked whether MCMC is afraid that it would come out with more revelations on the 1MDB controversy.

In a posting today, the London-based website educated netizens on how to circumvent the censorship and continue to access its official website.

"You can continue to access Sarawak Report by downloading TOR ( torproject.org ) or by changing your DNS," it said.

Over 1,300 netizens liked the post, with some even sharing the available tools through their comments.