By Polly Raymond, 12 August 1998 16:09
NEWS A Malaysian Embassy official told Silicon News on Tuesday afternoon that two people have been detained for spreading rumours of rioting in Kuala Lumpur over the Internet. The cyber-rumours are reported to have caused a dip in the national currency when speculators became jumpy about the possibility of unrest in the capital. But the Embassy official denied that they had been responsible saying: "The currency dipped anyway and it was a coincidence that it happened at the same time. It's now stable." However, the culprits might face up to two years detention for their pranks, in line with Malaysia's Internal Security Act, according to Bernama, Malaysia's news agency. Police tracked down the individuals with the help of the Internet service provider they used, Mimos Berhad. The spokesman also denied reports that the rumours had been generated outside the country. "Without a doubt, the rumours were created internally," he said. He added that they spread quickly and attracted the attention of the Malaysian security authorities and president, Mahathir Mohamad, who reportedly described the rumourmongers as "worse than cowards".
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