If you’ve been in the developer space for a while, you might recall a controversial move by Malaysia’s MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) some time ago — when they blocked access to the Bootstrap CDN just because a gambling site was using it. That decision caused widespread frustration among developers and regular users alike.
Unfortunately, history may be repeating itself.
Discovery: Community Alert
This issue was first spotted by Ahmad Saiful Bahri, who shared his findings on Facebook. He noticed that websites hosted under the .vercel.app domain were no longer accessible via the Maxis network.
His post raised concerns within the developer community, prompting others to verify the issue.
Confirmed: It’s Not Just Him
After reading Ahmad's post, I ran my own tests — and I encountered the same problem. Websites using .vercel.app subdomains failed to load, and pinging them returned this redirection:
| MCMC-redirect.maxis.com |
|---|
What’s Actually Affected?
| Domain Type | Status |
|---|---|
| vercel.com | Accessible |
| *.vercel.app | Blocked on Maxis |
| Vercel custom domains | Still accessible |
| Access via Celcom/Yes5G/Umobile/Time Fiber/Unifi (tested) | No block detected |
So far, only Maxis appears to enforce the block. Other ISPs, like Celcom, still allow .vercel.app domains.
Temporary Workarounds
If your app or a site you’re trying to access is blocked, here are your options:
1. Change your DNS to Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8).
2. Use a VPN to route your traffic through an unaffected network.
These methods should restore access, for now.
Why This Block Is a Problem
Blocking an entire platform domain like .vercel.app is an overkill response. Here’s why:
- It disrupts innocent developers and businesses using Vercel’s default domain
- It affects educational tools, portfolios, and community projects
- It breaks trust in Malaysia’s tech ecosystem and digital governance
Just like with the Bootstrap CDN block, punishing an entire ecosystem due to a few bad actors is a clear case of poor enforcement strategy.
Final Thoughts
This incident highlights the urgent need for more granular and intelligent enforcement mechanisms. The current approach by MCMC (and enforced by Maxis) reflects a lack of understanding of how modern web infrastructure works.
