Information, Ideas and Blogging
A couple of days ago, I attended the Bloggers United Malaysia (BUM) dinner at the Lake View Club in Subang Jaya. It was interesting, meeting in person so many notable personages in the Malaysian blogosphere — and I must admit it was a bit of a shock to keep running into people who knew who I was and/or about this site.
I regret to say that not many of the speeches given there stood out, although they were clearly well above par for a Malaysian speech. (I still remember the painful farce I was witness to at the HELP University College dinner last month.)
I do recall Sonia Randhawa's speech, however, which emphasised that journalists do, by and large, support greater freedom of expression — it is publishers which have been more frightened of embracing blogging.
What stood out, though, was the statement by R. Nadeswaran, a columnist for The Sun, where he writes as Citizen Nades. He emphasised the need for bloggers to be respectful of individuals — criticise the politician if you must, but don't make it personal and libel him. He also recounted how he lost two classmates to the racial riots of 13 May 1969, and how as a result he has always been careful to avoid writing anything liable to cause another racial incident.
(Ironically, both Randhawa and Nadeswaran are not bloggers but journalists. I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence, or if there is a correlation between the memorability of a speech and whether the person speaking is a blogger or journalist.)
When the panel of speakers began accepting questions from the floor, I was one of those who got the chance to add my five cents. Basically, I asked why the blogosphere has failed to fully accept its role as the fifth estate.
The fourth estate of journalists reports both information, and provides ideas, in the form of opinion columns and editorials. As I have explained before, without ideas, all the ranting and rioting in the world will not get us anywhere.
Why, I asked, is the supply of ideas so limited in the blogosphere? I can hardly name any bloggers with original ideas — Bakri Musa is one of the few. As I said, when I want ideas or opinions, I still end up turning to newspapers like The Sun, rather than to blogs.
Jeff Ooi was one of the panelists who elected to respond to my question. Basically, he explained, the mainstream media has stopped reporting on anything worthwhile, and now only feeds us opinionated propaganda.
As a result, the blogosphere consists largely of informative news, rather than views as well. However, Jeff reassured me that he thought the blogosphere would start churning out constructive opinions and ideas in a few years.
I think Jeff has a point, but it still grates me that finding thought-out ideas and opinions about our country amongst blogs is far from easy. Since the newspapers (The Sun excepted) don't produce any opinions worth reading, it seems logical to me that the fifth estate should fill this niche as well.
In any event, it was a very interesting evening, and I'm glad to have met so many people I never thought I would see in person. I only hope that Malaysian bloggers can keep on moving forward, and start developing constructive opinions. The fifth estate should not be an echo chamber for one set opposition viewpoint, just as the fourth estate should not be an echo chamber for a set establishment viewpoint.
(Infernal Ramblings is a Malaysian website focusing on current events and sociopolitical issues. Its articles run the gamut from economics to society to education.
Infernal Ramblings is run by John Lee. For more, see the About section. If you have any questions or comments, do drop him a line.
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kittykat46
Member Posts: 2 IP Logged | Posted at 2:59:28 am Jan 25, 2007
John, I found your site through another excellent blog – Freelunch2020 – and I must say I’m impressed with your forum, definitely one of the best thinking sites on Malaysian affairs. Freedom of speech in Malaysia has to be taken in a broader context than blogosphere, because you need to reach a wider audience to get make a difference. The number of people who access the Internet is still a minority, and an even smaller proportion of people read blogs (e.g. I’m quite Tech-savvy, but I didn’t have a blogger ID until 3 months ago). Your average Ali or Ah Beng doesn't read blogs, and you have to reach to them to make a difference in the next elections. In such broader terms, freedom of speech is still very limited. I’m not so concerned about the Sedition Act, even though it imposes heavy penalties. It’s a “normal” piece of criminal legislation, which is defendable in court, and it can be argued that those who have been charged under the Act have usually said something out of line or nearly so. ISA is a lot scarier, because it is off limits to judicial review, but they don’t usually go after little tikus. What’s a lot more restrictive are non-criminal threats to anyone or any organization that speaks up. Newspapers may have their licenses not renewed or suspended. The livelihood of a lot of innocent employees could be jeopardized. So newspapers stay clear of any open criticism of government policy. In any case, virtually all the national papers are closely connected to the ruling party or individuals close to the government. Rocky and Screenshots have been openly sued in court, which in a way is actually refreshing. Most of the actions carried out against people who speak up are more underhand. People have been fired from their jobs, customers pressured to go elsewhere. If you are a person of independent means, like Raja Petra, you probably don’t care, but most folks have to hold a job or run a business to make a living. This is a real threat, which will silence ordinary people who have a family and kids to bring up. There is no real freedom of speech unless there is freedom from fear to speak up. Take my case – I don’t think my posting contains anything illegal, but no mainstream newspaper will dare publish such a letter, and so few people will get to read it. I don’t use my real name on the Internet and the reason is simple. I work at a senior level in the private sector, my name’s appeared in the business pages before. It would not be fair for the organization I work with to be exposed to any pressure from the government, which is one of their customers. |
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johnleemk
Infernally Rambling Thoughtless Mind Head Administrator Posts: 953 IP Logged | Posted at 11:32:55 am Jan 25, 2007
I agree with everything you have said. The point I was trying to make was that those who can and want to blog about Malaysian affairs, but don't because they fear legal retaliation, are overreacting. There is at least freedom of speech in the blogosphere. The commentary I read in the case I referred to was quite tepid compared to the typical discussion in most Malaysian political blogs, but the commentors seemed quite afraid of saying what they said. I was arguing that this is a bit of an irrational response, since in reality they almost certainly won't get picked on by the government - even the most racist commentors on Malaysia Today don't get called in for police questioning. Your point about the necessity of anonymity is well-taken, but that further bolsters my argument that there is greater freedom of speech on the internet - because, as that famous joke went, on the internet, nobody knows you're a dog. Incidentally, you've just made me recall that thanks to the existence of this site, I've probably made myself significantly more unattractive in the Malaysian employment market once I graduate. Oh, well. It's not going to be my loss if I don't return, although I will miss the place. |
