The protestors, mostly Malays, gathered outside Komtar Tower in Penang. A large group of people started marching towards the tower. More than 100 protestors carried banners in the heat of the afternoon.
The situation was tense and you could tell they were very upset about has been on the boil ever since the newly-appointed Penang chief Minister, Mr Lim Guan Eng of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), announced that he would do away with the New Economic Policy (NEP).
The policy was introduced in the 1970s by the Malay-dominated Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling coalition to provide economic protection for the poorer Malays or bumiputeras.
But Mr Lim charged that the NEP breeds cronyism, corruption and systemic inefficiency.
Under the NEP, Malays have preference in jobs, education and business. But even some Malays critic saw it has been misused to benefit a well-connected Malay elite.
Still, the reaction to Mr Lim’s comments was swift and hard. He was publicly warned by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi that such a drastic move would incite racial tensions at a time when the state of affairs in Malaysia is fragile.
This time, for this year’s election, the elections’ result was announced. This year was the most shocking result. Finally, the Barisan Nasional was dealt its worst ever electoral result, losing its crucial two-thirds majority and 5 states had fallen into the opposition hands. The 5 states are Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan.I am sure the media press and bloggers have been played their part to persuade the voters to choose “deny BN2/3”.
In addition, the MIC chief S Samy Vellu had been defeated. The opposition has denied the government its much-cherished two thirds majority by winning 82 seats against BN’s 131.At 4.12 am with the BN chief, Abdullah Badawi, saying: we’ve lost, we’ve lost.
After 2 weeks of incessant mud slinging, accusations, counter accusations and countless police reports, the day of reckoning has finally arrived! It has been 13 days of constant talk and few productive actions as the country comes to a standstill for its politicians to state their case for a 4 year term of self-enrichment (and voters hope some public enhancements too!). Honestly, I do not think I will be the only person who is relieved that Election day is here and after this, life will be back to normal again.
I mean, I have always had little time for politicians; as a breed, they all claim to be doing it to serve the common people, to further the interest of their constituency etc. However, when you think about it, don’t you realise that you often see your assemblyman/senator/governor/representative/MP ONLY during election campaigning periods? Look at it this way, they go down to the local squares and markets to shake hands with their constituents every single day during the campaigning period, do you suppose these same constituents actually see their politicians again the week after election? Chances are, they will have to wait another 4 years before he comes along to disturb their peace! (Not that bad when you think about it. He brings loads of people who will not be buying anything anyway so its actually nothing but trouble!) This is not something peculiar to Malaysia but I guess the media spotlight these past weeks have brought the issue to the fore again.
I believe its fair to say that Malaysian politics is not clean (as with politics anywhere else! The very dynamics of the job makes it almost impossible to be clean – almost because it would be unfair to the minority who manage to keep their noses clean). I am probably not the only one to hear about beautiful street lamps in Johor which cost MYR100K per lamp to install and the fact that a lot of construction projects across Malaysia are contracted to Indians. Who can forget Putrajaya as well? When Myanmar moved its capital to Naypyitaw (200 miles inside the jungles!), I immediately thought of Putrajaya. I’m not saying the reasons for the building of these 2 cities are similar but I am drawing attention to the costs involved. Although Malaysians are not exactly starving, but you have got to ask yourself, why on earth build Putrajaya when KL is perfectly fine? If the government had conducted feasibility studies (spending lots in the process) then I assume it must have gauged public and private sector opinions on such a plan. If so, why till today, when people talk about Malaysia, KL jumps to mind and not Putrajaya? Of course, you can say that was under the previous administration (hints of awarding contracts perhaps? pump priming the economy after the Asian financial crisis maybe?) but when you consider that the present administration happens to be the one that spent US$25M to send some model cum engineer (they actually exist?!?) on a all expenses paid holiday up to space! (alright, maybe the deal was negotiated at the end of Dr M’s administration but from 2003 to 2007 is 4 long years! The present administration had plenty of time to change plans considering that they had time to decide who should be the next High Court Judge before informing the selection committee of the ideal candidate)
Of course, maybe I am too critical of the present administration, Mr A has been busy building corridors across Malaysia, massive infrastructure investments which are supposed to boost the economy. That is a noble intention so perhaps I was wrong, they really had no time to think about the astronaut issue, whether US$25 million could be better spent in alleviating poverty and building basic infrastructure in rural Malaysia or East Malaysia. The more i think about it, the more I am starting to believe, the government has been too busy. You need more proof? Why, crime rate in Malaysia has gone up since Mr A took over! They have been so busy chasing white collar crime, patrolling high class estates and new developments that they have no manpower to police the streets.
Sigh, I digress. Back to the issue, Election Day! I may be critical of politics but I am also an advocate of choosing the lesser evil. Running a country is no joke, you are not a good administrator just because you speak well. You need a large bureaucracy, the means to attract sufficient candidates and the ability to push through measures. In this case, Malaysians and Singaporeans have similar fates, they can only choose the one party to govern their countries. However, voters can still make a point! If you feel that you are not being heard, you can always voice it out with your vote. Deny the government an overwhelming majority and it would be signal that people are unhappy. Unfortunately, this does not necessarily lead to change for the better of course. So to all undecided Malaysian voters out there, please vote wisely! You can visit www.kennysia.com and use his kennysia.com Who-To-Vote-This-Election Decision Generator. Its pretty interesting! I tried and the generator told me I should vote opposition (if I were to vote, that is). Haha not much of a surprise considering what I have written right?
I just want to end by saying, the choice is yours, the selection of alternatives may not be perfect but nothing in this world ever is. Vote with your head, not your heart. Go for the person whom you feel can do the most for you, not talk the most or the best.
There has been much talk about the prominent blogger, Jeff Ooi, contesting in his first general election. It makes us wonder how much power the Malaysian government has left over the way Malaysians communicate in the country.
20 years back, the governments (especially in this part of the world) held absolute power in the way messages were sent out. It was a piece of cake – distribute censored news to the public, crack down on individuals who had something else to say about these censored news.
But it is 2008 now. The emergence of new media like blogs, podcasts and forums give everyone a voice. We no longer have to go to Speaker’s Corner (which I thought was a really lame idea) to be heard.
This is bad news for the Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In response, he made many comments to affirm himself of the role of mainstream media:
“Mainstream media in the country need not compete with websites and bloggers on the internet to publish speculative and sensational materials and news. Instead, they should bear the heavy responsibility of conveying information to the people with the realization not to report on anything that could invite adverse reactions or create unhealthy situations”, the prime minister said.
Stressing that the mainstream media wielded influence and the people’s attention, he said: “No need to compete (with websites). Want to compete for what… don’t write untrue news, speculative reports based on false information.”
To take things a step further, there has been attempts to register bloggers not for censorship, but to ‘know the number of bloggers, how many are active and how often their websites are updated’. –> If not for censorship, for? Perhaps I am not catching something and need some enlightenment here.
It appears to me that the public and the Malaysian government are playing a game of tug of war. One side wants to pull the other over back to Traditional Media, while the other side attempts to pull towards New Media and uncensored voices. How long will this war continue and who will win in the end?
We would love to hear any opinions on this issue. Leave us a comment!
I was blogsurfing during class utilizing the links we set up at rotijalah to view Kenny Sia’s blog.. and i saw… THIS-
(do read his blog entry it is very interesting!)
I wanna add on to his point about how citizens are generally indecisive about who to vote for when it comes to elections.
According to Kenny, a lot of people don’t seem to be very interested in politics because
(a) They don’t care who’s in power
(b) They don’t think it’s important because BN is gonna win anyway
(c) They don’t know who to vote
He’s reasons are so apt and they apply not just in Malaysia, but in Singapore as well even if both countries have a different political scene in place.
Of course, point (b) applies more in Singapore since PAP wins majority of every elections..no matter how much people complain about MM Lee or the PAP, ultimately life is peaceful under the PAP’s governing so track record is important I guess.. ^-^
From personal experience, the PAP always conducts upgrading works and so on in order to ‘win the hearts of Singaporeans”..most Singaporeans I spoke to feel that it is a government ploy to garner votes during the critical period but they choose not to acknowledge it. I am not sure what is Malaysia doing so I shall not venture there…
Personally I think for the elections in Malaysia to go horribly wrong, points (a), (b) and (c) would have to work in tandem. It could be that people feel the BN is going to win no matter what hence they are not concerned to find about the elections hence they don’t know who to vote… eventually they will become indifferent to subsequent elections cos they don’t feel part of the nation anymore..
This is the one most undesirable consequence.. it is worst than electing a lousy government… so Malaysians out there reading this blog… please do take the time to read up and find out more about the different political parties! Read blogs, newspaper, forums, participate in online discussions.. HEAR different voices not just the campaign ones…
Learn to discern between the publicity stunts of the parties and the real information.. Please vote wisely Malaysians! Your future is at stake so choose a worthy political party to lead the country to greater heights!
disclaimer: this is not a political pitch for any party in particular. It is a general plea from concerned bloggers about the political situation in Malaysia.
At a Bukit Bendera ceramah, Jeff Ooi did something he never could have done online. He slapped himself on the cheek. Twice. Stumping for a spirited crowd, the DAP candidate for the Jelutong parliamentary seat confessed his political transgressions and paid his penance gamely.
“Ten years ago, I was so stupid! I voted Barisan Nasional – so stupid!” the blogger-cum-politician exclaimed, smacking himself on the cheek. “Cukup-lah!” “2004, We got tired of (ex-premier Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) and we have new Mr Nice Guy, Mr Clean (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi).
I voted for him as well. And what have I got, I got V K Lingam … Another hit on my face!”
The Malaysiakini website receives about 100,000 daily hits and has struggled to cope with the volume since an unprecedented series of public protests against the government broke out in recent months. You could view all the series of actions at www.malaysiakini.tv.
According to the co-founder of Malaysiakini, during the election period, there will be increasing by tenfold and they have prepared for that kind of explosion in bandwidth.
Malaysia’s Islamic opposition party PAS runs its own online journal HarakahDaily.net which features six different online television channels and original reporting on the election.
One of the alternative pioneers is Malaysiakini.com, an online news journal which since it began operating in 1999 has been raided by police and denied media passes for its reporters to cover government events. Co-founder Steven Gan said the use of the Internet as a campaign tool was hampered by penetration rates which remain low in rural areas where the government enjoys strong support. “But in urban areas, it is significant. They now have this alternative access to news and other views,” he said.
Anwar last year used the site to release a video clip which allegedly showed a high-profile lawyer brokering top judicial appointments — a scandal which triggered a full royal commission of inquiry. Well-known blogger Jeff Ooi, who is standing as a DAP candidate in the elections, said news and views on blogs appealed to a cross-section of people and was not limited to urban youth alone.
More and more campaign videos will be transmitted through YouTube and MalaysiaKini because it is unlikely for television stations to broadcast them, of course,” said Ooi, who is facing a defamation suit by the government-linked New Straits Times Press.
The monopoly on truth has been cracked by bloggers and others. A lot more people have become more discerning especially after recent demonstrations revealed the stark contrast between the mainstream media’s coverage and the bloggers.
Malaysian bloggers have been heavily criticised by the government which accuses them of spreading lies, and threatened severe punishment and tighter controls on Internet use
In the recent Malaysia election campaigns, Malaysia opposition mounts campaign in cyberspace. Opposition parties turn to cyberspace, mainly are using blogs and youtube to express their anger towards government. The opposition parties are rarely mentioned, but thanks to the internet they have begun campaigning feverishly in cyberspace with the aim of reaching young, urban, educated voter. Major mainstream media are filled with flattering stories on the government and its achievements ahead of March 8 general elections.
“They control the television but we’ve got YouTube now,” said 31-years-old Lee Sean Li, an account who avidly surfs the internet for alternative news and complains there are only negative glimpses of the opposition in the main media.
Blogs in Malaysia are becoming the last bastion of freedom of speech. In this age of convergence (which I would like to define as the death of traditional media as we know it), blogs have provided an environment for people like Jeff Oii.
In fact, more netizens were posting more controversial issues in the blogs. Opposition bloggers in particular are getting influential, their news being noticed and listened to by government, mainstream media and the public. Thus, increase public awareness and expose a lot of wrongdoings in the government.
The opposition leader Lim Kit Siang posted a speech on the upcoming elections, just minutes after Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi dissolved parliament earlier this month. The opposition leader is very professional and clever in using of technology. “Blogging is one way to get word out and an opportunity to circumvent media control,” said Lim from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which is aiming to dent the government’s thumping majority in the upcoming vote. “We cannot neutralize the state-controlled media,” he told AFP. “But Internet pick-up rates will keep getting higher. We will not be blacked out forever.”
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks Malaysia 124 out of 169 on its worldwide press freedom index, and says the main media are “often compelled to ignore or to play down the many events organised by the opposition”.
Political dissident and ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim also writes his own blog which has news links and videos of his Keadilan party’s campaign activities. Anwar last year used the site to release a video clip which allegedly showed a high-profile lawyer brokering top judicial appointments — a scandal which triggered a full royal commission of inquiry.
Thus, it is no doubt that Malaysian minister has warned bloggers that they are being monitored. Malaysian government has also tried to introduce internet laws to control bloggers and prevent the, from spreading “disharmony, controversial materials on their blogs.
what is the one thing i find amazing about googling malaysia?
the amount of information the search returns me. I can sit at my computer for a whole month and still not finish perusing the websites!
today, i decided to narrow down my search and just googled ‘malaysia food’… i got some really cool stuff about malaysia!
u know how people always think Singapore is the gastronomic capital of Asia…? Well interestingly, Malaysia also offers a delectable array of choices to whet the appetite of the fussiest of consumers.
These are just 2 of the thousands of search results of got… the websites not only introduce food in Malaysia, they also extend to introduce the country itself, the sights to see, the places to shop, the places to stay, and the transportation you can take! there’s even a travel tool that offers currency converter, time zone converter and weather check! absolute coolness! it’s an all-in-one website with sufficient information for the internet savvy traveller to form a relatively decent vacation!
of course, any clever traveller would not just rely on 1 website to formulate a trip.. so google on you social media fanatics out there! Search engines are absolutely god-send! there’s plenty of websites to offer you the information you seek. For all you know, you might just stumble upon something interesting like I did when I googled “malaysia food”. =)
In this week’s social media, Netzley mentioned the difficulty in finding the content you want online without P2P networks. I think the same applies across the board for everything.
When I was searching for Malaysian blogs to read, I faced the same difficulty of not knowing where to start. So I googled “Malaysia Blog” and voila! Out popped some really useful blog directories. These things are like the central server of the P2P networks that collate all the information place.
Here’s the link for the 2 coolest blog directories:
Malaysian Central – http://www.mycen.com.my/malaysia/blog.html
Planet Malaysia – http://www.planetmy.com/
There was another blog directory called “Malaysia Blog” which unfortunately had their databases cleared due to a virus. HA HA… with that I kicked them out of my “Coolest Blog Directory list”
Then out of curiosity to know how Singapore measured up (yes the 2 neighbours are always comparing tsk tsk)…
Singapore… as usual.. outperforms Malaysia with 3 blog directories… heh heh heh…
And to be honest, Singapore blog directories look way more modern and advanced than the Malaysia ones. But hey, so long as it serves its purpose of finding me good blogs to read.. I don’t really care how colourful or fanciful the central site is. =) I’m a no frills consumer…
Yes I think i should stop here and click on those tempting blog links to bring me to another world! Happy reading! Till then, I’ll bring you more on the content and draw you to the interesting bloggers in the Malaysian blogosphere!
Meanwhile, do visit our page on Facebook! remember.. its… roti jalah! tata~
VS 
