What happened to the Internet we used to know?

Things have a way of creeping up on you unawares in this here our good old Malaysia. Like how the internet has changed since its introduction to Malaysia in the early 90s to what it is today. www.yahoo.com has become m.www.yahoo.com while www.google.com has become www.google.com.my in the last couple of years (or less if memory does not serve me incorrectly). So while we haven't had full-scale censorship YET, the fact is that with these changes the government can very easily impose censorship a la China. Maybe at first they will cite pornography as an excuse to crack down on the internet. Then after that, "National Security" or whatever excuse they can think of to get their hands on the only channel of freedom we have left in Malaysia. You see, they can censor local newspapers and magazines by threatening not to renew publishing licenses. Even the Catholic Herald was threatened of all publications. But they cannot censor the internet as easily. Well, until now. They can now. I'm betting it is only a matter of time before they pull the plug on the internet. And by golly, do they ever have a thousand reasons not to allow free and unfettered discussion of their policies and actions! Imagine Malaysia being subject to censorship over the internet as China now does. Your search engines will be blocked from accessing "sensitive" sites or whatever is deemed by the authorities to be unpalatable to them and theirs. I remember the internet when it was first introduced, what a beautiful place it was what pleasure to surf, i could browse on any subject, look up on any information, get views and opinions on any subject under heaven. Old Mahathir guaranteed that our internet would be free of censorship. Fast forward 15 years later and the multi media super corridor is almost non-existent, nobody is pouring in money into developing Malaysia's IT industry and so the reason for keeping the internet free, ie. to attract foreign FDIs into Malaysia have all but disappeared. Now slowly i am seeing the internet getting monetised in all its facets and coming in the government's cross hairs for censorship. They may deny it, but don't be surprised if what you search for doesn't come up on screen cos some bureaucratic pen pusher decided it was for your own good. We are already seeing this happening now. Censorship kills independent thought. It is the tool a regime resorts to to stifle dissent and perpetuate its lies. Without questions being asked, without probing, without checks and balances, they can get away with anything. And they have gotten away with quite a lot already, haven't they?