Clare Rewcastle launches Radio Free Malaysia to help overthrow UMNO regime

Radio Free Malaysia website under attack

Radio Free Malaysia launched was tonight on MW1359 kHz. However its online site, which was already under enormous pressure owing to widespread interest, came under immediate cyber-attack.

The Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks began around the time the programme went on air and were presumably aiming at preventing people from downloading the online podcasts of the show, the radio station said in a statement tonight.

The DDOS attacks slow down the operation of a site for users.

Radio Free Malaysia said its investigations show that the attacks originated from Kuala Lumpur and "bore a striking resemblance to similar attacks on the website Sarawak Report last week".

The Sarawak Report website then suffered attempts to bring it down in the wake of the Global Witness film expose on Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, titled "Inside Malaysia's Shadow State".

Clare Rewcastle

It said the attacks on Sarawak Report originated in Kuching and KL.

Radio Free Malaysia founder Clare Rewcastle-Brown (right) said, "BN politicians spend a lot of time talking about cyber-warfare and cyber-warriors as if they are a positive thing to be proud of.

"In fact cyber-warfare is all about cheating, deception and illegal activities, such as hacking and DDOS attacks.

"I struggle to understand why BN politicians think it is positive to associate themselves with such behaviour, but note that they seem to regard such cheating and misbehaviour as necessary."

Radio Free Malaysia, Rewcastle-Brown added, has nevertheless maintained its website and was able to report a reasonable broadcast quality of its new programme.