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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!
Malaysia Boleh! 
I’m sorry if this comment is totally out of the entry’s topic..but it’s related to your previous post..about Muslims not allowed to marry non-Muslims. I’d just like to point out, that Muslims CAN marry non-Muslims..it’s just that they need to convert to Islam. It isn’t about force..and it’s not about marrying your Muslim lover and converting just because you can (eg: don’t care about religion..or in short just don’t care). Islam is more flexibility and has more depth than I think you understand or have ever known. It isn’t shallow..and it does not discriminate. Sometimes what you read in the media, or other people who does not see through the “rules” made up in Islam..can actually miss the true beauty of the religion.
I just wanted to clear that out. Islam and Muslims are not saddistic…they’re misunderstood and have been misrepresented.
I hate it when they do that, especially the TV nowadays. 20 mins of BN ‘track records’ and another 10 mins to insult opposition. This is just terrible. The media isn’t being fair at all.
But you read harakah, they’re not being fair as well.
So what now? I guess I’ll skip the headlines, just read the sports, technology and automotive section.