KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The alternative media is the new mainstream media and Internet news sites are far more popular with readers than the print media, which is suffering a decline in readership.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said: "Cyberspace is so free, and by the looks of how it's going, we won't need newspapers. Internet news sites are fast with the latest updates, and the chat or discussion sections allow readers to interact with each other.

"Young people like my children have stopped reading newspapers. They look for news on the Internet, including websites set up by the print media," he told a news conference after launching a colloquium on "Media Policy in Malaysia" yesterday.

"Right now, the newspaper readership is on the decline compared with people reading online. I think we have to call the alternative media the mainstream.

"In fact, the mainstream papers are trying to emulate them and be as critical as they can to sell their papers," he said.

But the government is wary of the contents of the alternative media, especially the news reports they carry.

"When they circulate lies and we don't respond, if repeated often enough the lies become the truth. In politics, perception is reality.

"Malaysia has become a political society since the election.

"The rise of news sites and online discussions are a positive development."

On the new media policy that the government is trying to implement, Syed Hamid said that it would not be an alternative to the present Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

"Don't ask me when the policy will be up. I don't want to jump the gun and I don't know whether we will repeal the Printing Presses Act. I will not go that far."

In his speech at the colloquium, he advised media practitioners to exercise self-censorship when reporting on issues regarding race, religion and culture, or risk having the government breathing down their necks.

He said the Printing and Presses Act had contributed greatly to Malaysia's nation building.

"I know many people who may not agree with this. Although we already have this Act in place for more than 50 years, our record in utilising it has been good. It is seldom that we have to take action unless there was a serious breach of media guidelines."