Thursday, April 3, 2008 ARE BLOGS DENGEROUS?
Menteri Pengajian Tinggi yang baru Datuk MOHAMED KHALED BIN NORDIN telah
menyalahkan BLOGGERS sebagai 'pembawa dan pebutar belit' fakta-fakta yang
disampaikan oleh kerajaan menerusi media tradisional.
Apabila kerajaan menyatakan sesuatu, mereka para BLOGGERS akan menyampaikan
maklumat yang salah.
Kemudian selepas kerajaan kembali menjawab mereka (BLOGGERS), sekali lagi
mereka akan menjawab dengan tidak betul, tambahnya lagi.
Pada pengamatan saya, BLOGGERS tidak memutar-belit fakta sebaliknya kerajaan
dengan penuh keceluparan dan ke'egoan yang memutarbelitkan fakta.
Bekas menteri penerangan Zainudin Maidin (ZAM) pernah melebelkan BLOGGERS
sebagai 'GOBLOG'.
BLOGGERS tidak pernah menyimpang dari etika penulisan walaupun ada diantara
kami yang tidak profesional dalam bidang penulisan.Kami menulis dengan serius
dan ikhlas.Tetapi menteri menjawab dengan 'HATI PANAS'.
Mereka jadi marah sebab kami menyampaikan kebenaran sedang mereka cuba
menutupnya.
Berpandukan dengan fakta-fakta berasas yang dikemukakan pemimpin pembangkang,
para BLOGGERS akan menulis demi kepentingan NEGARA.
Kerana sayangkan AGAMA dan NEGARA, maka saya menulis.
Bukan ada apa-apa habuan pun.
Datuk Khalid Nordin perlu sedar tentang kesilapan-kesilapan UMNO/BN sendiri
sebelum terus melebel BLOGGERS.Dah kena TSUNAMI pun tak serik-serik lagi!
Kaji la masalah dalam UMNO/BN tu sendiri.Jangan hendak salahkan orang lain
selama-lamanya.Duduk di KEMENTERIAN PENGAJIAN TINGGI, tapi bercakap seperti di
'Kementerian Pengajian PRA-SEKOLAH'.
Perlu ingat, bahawa para peminat BLOGGERS bukan dari golongan 'YES BOSS',
tetapi dikalangan cerdik-pandai yang mampu berfikir dengan matang tanpa
sebarang sentimen.
Jika BLOGGERS salah dan menipu, saya tidak fikir BLOGGERS akan popular dan
berjaya membawa fakta kebenaran dengan idea tersendiri sehingga terasa ada
sumbangan dalam kejayaan pada PRU-12 yang lalu.Kejayaan yang turut menerim
'kredit' dari DATO SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM.
Sekiranya jalan 'KERAS' diambil terhadap BLOGGERS, maka kerajaan hanya akan
melihat kelahiran lebih ramai BLOGGERS.
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MEDIA-MALAYSIA: BLOGGERS ON OPPOSITION BENCHES
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne
SINGAPORE, Mar 13 (IPS) - The presence of five bloggers on opposition benches
in Malaysias newly elected parliament must be galling for the ruling National
Front (NF) coalition, which was returned to power in Saturdays general
elections minus its long-held two-thirds majority.
Internationally renowned blogger Jeff Ooi, a 52-year-old former advertising
copywriter, won a seat in the western island state of Penang, while Oxford
University economics graduate Tony Pua, 34, claimed a seat in the bustling
Kuala Lumpur suburb of Petaling Jaya with over a majority of over 19,000 votes.
Both were candidates of the left-leaning Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP).
Wining seats in state parliaments for the multi-racial Parti Kadilan Rakyat
(PKR) were prominent bloggers Nik Azmi Nik Ahmed and Elizabeth Wong, a noted
human rights activist and media reforms advocate. Tian Chua, a former political
prisoner under the notorious Internal Security Act, was another claimant to a
seat in the national parliament.
The only prominent blogger who lost a fight was Badrul Hisham Shaharin, who
contested a semi-rural constituency south of Kuala Lumpur and lost to Khairy
Jamaluddin, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawis controversial son-in-law.
Prem Chandran, chief of the Internet news portal Malaysiakini, argues that the
Internet had a major influence on the election outcome because the issues which
make a difference, such as corruption and interference in the judiciary, were
only carried on news sites like theirs.
There were large swings in urban and semi-urban areas, especially (to
opposition) among first-time young voters, Chandran told IPS. Internet, he
said, allowed political parties to reach out to a very important constituency
which was non-existent in previous elections.
Raja Petra Kamaruddin, owner of malaysia-today.net, argues that the Internets
biggest contribution was to get the middle-class to the ballot box. The
opposition is infested with bloggers noted Raja Petra in an interview with
Singapores Strait Times.
Alternative media cured the apathy the middle-class has. They were no longer
saying: Lets not bother. Suddenly, it was lets go and give the opposition a
chance.
Denying the NF (or Barisan Socialis) coalition two-thirds majority in the
national parliament, which the party enjoyed for the past 40 years, is seen as
a major victory for the opposition. The opposition also won majorities in five
state parliaments, an act never before accomplished in Malaysia. Nationally,
the government won only 51 percent of the vote and in fact would have lost the
elections if not for the slew of seats they retained in the eastern Malaysian
states of Sarawak and Sabah.
It was direct access to the Internet in urban areas -- ironically, because of
the governments policy of developing a Multimedia Super Corridor -- that
allowed urban voters to access information not available in the
government-controlled mainstream media.
Chandran pointed out that apart from the Internet, the use of SMS (telephone
text messages) and photocopiers took information rural electorates, bridging
the digital divide. He also said that Malaysiakinis Internet-streamed
television programmes were copied on to VCDs and circulated for viewing in
rural homes (where VCD machines are popular).
More than the Internet, SMSs played a critical role in spreading the opposition
message, says Sankaran Ramanathan, managing partner of Media Plus Research
Consultants. Because rural people now have mobile phones, it was easy to break
the urban-rural barrier.
"There were Internet groups which exchanged messages via e-mail, especially
among the Hindu (Indian minority) community
I know at least half a dozen
users," Ramanathan told IPS. "They were not registered organisations and were
urban based. There were similar groups among the (minority) Chinese community,"
he added.
Ramanathan pointed out that both the information minister and his deputy were
beaten by opposition candidates promoted by the Internet media.
Though Malaysias mainstream newspapers, radio and television, are mainly
private-owned, their licenses are held by business people closely connected
with the constituent parties of the NF.
But analysts argue that the poor reputation that Malaysias newspapers have, as
mouthpieces of coalition parties, worked against them, and in favour of
alternative media.
Malaysian mainstream media are directed and constrained by two interrelated
entities; the state and the market, argues Zaharom Nain, associated professor
of communication studies at the Science University of Malaysia. Through direct
and indirect ownership there tends to be collusion between the state and the
market.
What the alternative media has done, according to Nain, is improvise
communication systems using a combination of the Internet, mobile phones,
blogs, e-mails, SMS and the YouTube. They were not only used effectively by
opposition parties but also by civil society to raise consciousness and create
awareness, he noted.
Chandran feels the government may now be tempted to impose sanctions on the
Internet media to protect them from further damage as Singapore has done. They
have a tough decisions ahead of them, Chandran said, adding that it was best if
they adopted path of reform by opening up the media and cracking down on
corruption -- changes that people obviously want.
Ramanathan believes that the government will not take to the repressive path
simply because they have already tried to take bloggers to courts, without much
success, and failed in its attempts to police the Internet.
Gayathri Venkiteswaran, executive director of the Centre for Independent
Journalism, believes that with five opposition-led state governments taking
office in Malaysia it was now possible to completely reform the media scene.
State governments can allocate grants and other financial support for
communities to have their own newspapers and media, paving the way for more
diverse and dynamic expression of views and exchange of information, she said.
--IPS NEWS--
SPECIAL SEGMENT ON TV FOR BLOGGERS EVERY SUNDAY
April 03, 2008 22:18 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- The Information Ministry will create a
special segment on RTM's news bulletin every Sunday for bloggers to directly
comment on issues.
Its minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the 20-minute programme, starting
on April 20, would be broadcast on RTM1 as one of the segments of Warta
Perdana, the prime news bulletin.
He said the special segment was created not just to provide an avenue for
bloggers to voice their opinions on various issues, but also to prove the
government's openness in dealing with the alternative media.
"As stated before, the ministry would be more open with the alternative media,
so we decided to have this special slot for bloggers, to discuss current issues
or issues they wish to raise.
"I believe this is a step forward which the people have been waiting for and
welcome," he told a press conference at his office in Angkasapuri here Thursday.
Ahmad Shabery said the decision also showed that the government had always been
confident of the people's mandate all this while, hence showing the strength of
the government which needed not worry and hide its motives in whatever
situation.
On the selection of bloggers to be interviewed, he said this would be
determined by the RTM selection panel from time to time, depending on the issue
to be discussed.
"We look at the issue, not the personality. Besides the well-known bloggers, we
will also feature new ones. We leave it to RTM, this is not for the ministry to
decide."
On the possibility of the guest commentators (bloggers) getting out of control
or speaking with no restraint, he believed they would follow the rules of
conduct set.
But the ministry's openness would indirectly encourage the bloggers interviewed
to be more responsible with what they posted on the Internet, he said.
"This is a process of educating the public, that the governments openness
should be viewed positively. This is an avenue for them to convey their
feelings and opinions in a courteous way. I am confident the bloggers will
respect this openness."
Ahmad Shabery also announced the cabinet's decision to broadcast live the
question-and-answer session in Parliament every day of the parliamentary
sitting from April 30.
He said the matter was agreed upon by Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz and the other cabinet ministers at
their meeting on Wednesday.
"The 30-minute programme featuring the question-and-answer session will begin
at 10am on each day of parliamentary sitting.
"We view the cabinet's willingness to allow the live broadcast as indicative of
the government's increasing confidence, openness and transparency as promised
to the people."
He said the programme would be aired by RTM1, while the Klasik Nasional radio
channel would include interviews with parliamentarians, including from the
opposition.
--BERNAMA--
http://global2day.blogspot.com/search/label/BLOGGERS%3A%20MENTERI%20PRA-SEKOLAH
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