I say, BLOG you !
Thank God, I am given another privilege to wake up to smell the fresh morning air of Saturday and the cheerful greeting of my ever positive spouse. Life is indeed sweet ! What is life? So much more thing to do, but so little time left along this speedway to eternity. But Saturday has always been a day of rest, of doing thing, and of reading things at casual pace. Saturday has always been one of my favorite day of the week.
Reading the past week news materials, I can't help but felt sorry for the state of mentality and ignorances of some of our privileged few Malaysians. Increasingly, bloggers and Internet intellectuals has been ridiculed and subjected to indirect threats in the name of protecting the sensitivity of "religion, race, and cultures". And recently, even the honourable good name of our beloved King are being used as excuse to raise awareness for the need to enforce governance on contents of Internet in general, and blogs in particular. Are Malaysians that thin-skinned to be incapable of taking the slightest humours or unintended insensitivities ? Are Malaysians that brain-dead to be incapable of differentiating and managing truths and lies ?
Does having different perspectives on issues, differing in opinions, expressing differing opinions, voicing criticisms, and raising awareness on subjects of public interests by bloggers justify for the grounds to implement and enforce policing and governance on bloggers ? If we persecute bloggers at the slightest excuse, we are in fact directly impeding freedom of expressions. And we also subject ourselves into greater risk of allowing the control and distribution of information into the hands of selected biased fews. We will eventually transforming ourselves into an ignorance society incapable of articulating and charting our own destiny as a nation.
After 50 years of long and winding road of nationhood, Malaysia is supposed to be a nation blooming out from its growing pains. With ease and accessibility of broadband Internet technology, Malaysians are beginning to enjoy unprecedented freedom of expression. Traditionally, our access to information are governed by traditional delivery system such as newspapers, radio, and television. These traditional mediums are easily regulated through annual licensing, so the contents, whether we like it or not, followed strict guidelines and conformance, otherwise the license to operate will be revoked. So Freedom of Expression tends to be managed. In the past, directly or indirectly, Malaysians are being presented with information based on the premise of "what the Dear Leaders think are right for the masses". But Malaysians are no longer the Malaysians of 50 years ago, they are better educated now and want to be better informed, they want unbiased news and different perspectives of the news, as well as to contribute their varied perceptions and opinions. Malaysians no longer wanted to be only the recipients of managed information.
The Internet delivery system has changed the information landscape of control and distribution. Malaysians can now freely access any on line news. Within minutes, any computer literate person can also set up his "electronic newspaper" or blog to publish his opinions, observations, commentaries, etc. in and from anywhere of the world. The fact of the matter is, bloggers are increasingly enjoying unprecedented followings and indirectly asserted significant influences on all Malaysians. Take the case of "Malaysia Today", a blog which was set-up less than 3 years ago, enjoy approximately 250,000 visits a days, much higher than the readerships of all the major local newspaper combined. The authority feared if bloggers and blogs are not regulated, they may impart "negative influences" on all Malaysians. Increasingly, the authority is seeking to reassert control to reestablished its traditional power of regulating or controlling the free flows of information and to managed freedom of expressions.
Bloggers, both hobbyist and serious bloggers, have recently came under a lot of unnecessary pressures to "toe the line" from the authority. In recent past, four prominent social political bloggers had been summoned to the Police department to be interviewed and their statements recorded. Bloggers had also been told "not to go overboard", "using Internet to only do the proper things", "to be responsible", "observed the sensitivity of religion and culture", "not to conduct insult, slander, and break the law", "not to insult religion and the Rulers", "Not to touch on Constitution", etc. In short, bloggers had been warned that they will have to "pay the price" if the authority decided to interpret the laws on bloggers.
My frank opinion is, the unnecessary imposition of threats, restrictions, and governance are not healthy and impede positive derivatives from freedom of expressions. Any attempt to conduct on line policing will only strike chilling reminders and negative impressions that the authority is afraid of truth being presented. And it may also create fears among Malaysians that the authority may use the policing muscle to suppress expressions or truths that may result in abuse of power, unwarranted persecution, breaches of human rights, and illegitimate limitations on the rights of all Malaysians. When free flow of information is impeded, there will never be any diversities of media and progressive opinions, ultimately the mission of an information society driven by culture of excellence and innovation will be retarded causing irreversible damages to the nation's mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. A country that is incapable to criticize and accept criticisms will be forever under the regressive mentality and unable to be open minded to embrace progress and adaptive lifestyle.
When a nation is progressively regressive, the natural tendency is, its citizen will forever resorting to using the issues of "religion, culture, race, and Rulers" to justify their illegitimate grievances and immoral demand against each other.
Truth hurts. But truth brings accountability. Accountability brings responsibility. Responsibility brings progress. Progress brings innovation. Innovation bring competitiveness. Competitiveness brings excellence and meritocracy. Excellence and meritocracy ensure all Malaysians can continue to enjoy sustainable comfortable lifestyle. Do we want to risk this collective goal simply because there are some morons want to protect their own selfish and obsolete agenda ?
Truth, like a coin, always has two sides, both are always the right side depending on which side you predetermined. Which side are you in ? Freedom of expression is a basic human rights not privilege. I say, let's not be a righteously regressive moron, leave the bloggers alone.
May all sentient being be freed from the attachments of desires to control the freedom of others. Om Namo Amithaba Buddha
Reading the past week news materials, I can't help but felt sorry for the state of mentality and ignorances of some of our privileged few Malaysians. Increasingly, bloggers and Internet intellectuals has been ridiculed and subjected to indirect threats in the name of protecting the sensitivity of "religion, race, and cultures". And recently, even the honourable good name of our beloved King are being used as excuse to raise awareness for the need to enforce governance on contents of Internet in general, and blogs in particular. Are Malaysians that thin-skinned to be incapable of taking the slightest humours or unintended insensitivities ? Are Malaysians that brain-dead to be incapable of differentiating and managing truths and lies ?
Does having different perspectives on issues, differing in opinions, expressing differing opinions, voicing criticisms, and raising awareness on subjects of public interests by bloggers justify for the grounds to implement and enforce policing and governance on bloggers ? If we persecute bloggers at the slightest excuse, we are in fact directly impeding freedom of expressions. And we also subject ourselves into greater risk of allowing the control and distribution of information into the hands of selected biased fews. We will eventually transforming ourselves into an ignorance society incapable of articulating and charting our own destiny as a nation.
After 50 years of long and winding road of nationhood, Malaysia is supposed to be a nation blooming out from its growing pains. With ease and accessibility of broadband Internet technology, Malaysians are beginning to enjoy unprecedented freedom of expression. Traditionally, our access to information are governed by traditional delivery system such as newspapers, radio, and television. These traditional mediums are easily regulated through annual licensing, so the contents, whether we like it or not, followed strict guidelines and conformance, otherwise the license to operate will be revoked. So Freedom of Expression tends to be managed. In the past, directly or indirectly, Malaysians are being presented with information based on the premise of "what the Dear Leaders think are right for the masses". But Malaysians are no longer the Malaysians of 50 years ago, they are better educated now and want to be better informed, they want unbiased news and different perspectives of the news, as well as to contribute their varied perceptions and opinions. Malaysians no longer wanted to be only the recipients of managed information.
The Internet delivery system has changed the information landscape of control and distribution. Malaysians can now freely access any on line news. Within minutes, any computer literate person can also set up his "electronic newspaper" or blog to publish his opinions, observations, commentaries, etc. in and from anywhere of the world. The fact of the matter is, bloggers are increasingly enjoying unprecedented followings and indirectly asserted significant influences on all Malaysians. Take the case of "Malaysia Today", a blog which was set-up less than 3 years ago, enjoy approximately 250,000 visits a days, much higher than the readerships of all the major local newspaper combined. The authority feared if bloggers and blogs are not regulated, they may impart "negative influences" on all Malaysians. Increasingly, the authority is seeking to reassert control to reestablished its traditional power of regulating or controlling the free flows of information and to managed freedom of expressions.
Bloggers, both hobbyist and serious bloggers, have recently came under a lot of unnecessary pressures to "toe the line" from the authority. In recent past, four prominent social political bloggers had been summoned to the Police department to be interviewed and their statements recorded. Bloggers had also been told "not to go overboard", "using Internet to only do the proper things", "to be responsible", "observed the sensitivity of religion and culture", "not to conduct insult, slander, and break the law", "not to insult religion and the Rulers", "Not to touch on Constitution", etc. In short, bloggers had been warned that they will have to "pay the price" if the authority decided to interpret the laws on bloggers.
My frank opinion is, the unnecessary imposition of threats, restrictions, and governance are not healthy and impede positive derivatives from freedom of expressions. Any attempt to conduct on line policing will only strike chilling reminders and negative impressions that the authority is afraid of truth being presented. And it may also create fears among Malaysians that the authority may use the policing muscle to suppress expressions or truths that may result in abuse of power, unwarranted persecution, breaches of human rights, and illegitimate limitations on the rights of all Malaysians. When free flow of information is impeded, there will never be any diversities of media and progressive opinions, ultimately the mission of an information society driven by culture of excellence and innovation will be retarded causing irreversible damages to the nation's mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. A country that is incapable to criticize and accept criticisms will be forever under the regressive mentality and unable to be open minded to embrace progress and adaptive lifestyle.
When a nation is progressively regressive, the natural tendency is, its citizen will forever resorting to using the issues of "religion, culture, race, and Rulers" to justify their illegitimate grievances and immoral demand against each other.
Truth hurts. But truth brings accountability. Accountability brings responsibility. Responsibility brings progress. Progress brings innovation. Innovation bring competitiveness. Competitiveness brings excellence and meritocracy. Excellence and meritocracy ensure all Malaysians can continue to enjoy sustainable comfortable lifestyle. Do we want to risk this collective goal simply because there are some morons want to protect their own selfish and obsolete agenda ?
Truth, like a coin, always has two sides, both are always the right side depending on which side you predetermined. Which side are you in ? Freedom of expression is a basic human rights not privilege. I say, let's not be a righteously regressive moron, leave the bloggers alone.
May all sentient being be freed from the attachments of desires to control the freedom of others. Om Namo Amithaba Buddha
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