A police report against Malaysian webmaster Raja Petra Kamaruddin is causing many in cyberspace to believe a crackdown against Web sites and blogs critical of the government looms in the near future.

The United Malays National Organisation's chief information officer, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, filed the report Monday against postings on Kamaruddin's Malaysia Today Web site which he said insulted the king and incited racial hatred.

This move comes 11 days after Nathaniel Tan, a webmaster with an opposition party, was detained by police in connection with a probe under the Official Secrets Act.

“Is the axe finally coming down in Malaysian cyberspace?” opposition leader Lim Kit Siang is quoted as writing on his blog.

Many in the country view the two police acts as the beginning of a crackdown on people attacking the Abdullah administration, in order to muzzle dissent before Malaysia's next general election.

Many see the two events as the start of a crackdown on those who attack the Abdullah administration, with a view to muzzling dissent before the next general election.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was quoted as saying as much in Malaysiakini, the news portal yesterday.

“Yes there is an attempt. But you cannot stop people from using the Internet,” Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister is quoted as saying in Malaysiakini, a news Web site in Malaysia.