Malaysia has set up a task force to check online for any posting which they deem harmful to national unity.
This trend in Muslim countries to seek to ban anything regarding freedom of speech is particularly worrying. I sense the real frustration is an inability to adjust to the reality of New Media and the freedom this avails ordinary citizens to express opinions supportive or critical of the state.
Ultimately the issue is about control and a unhealthy desire for Muslim countries to control everything from blackberries to blogs. How can banning the freedom of opinions do anything for national unity other than create additional interest in the views of someone who a state finds threatening.
LM likes Malaysia and am very fond of Malaysians who I find some of the most impressive and friendly Muslims in the world however, this task force is a retrograde step when an unknown and unaccountable bureaucrat decides on your behalf what you can and cannot read.
MONOTONE CRUSH
1 day ago
I should know since Im Malaysian too.Now I do support the Gov. in some aspects, but when the gov. has decided to enforce censorship which similarly what the CIA is doing then I might believe that there are some things that they hide under the rug , otherwise there is no reason for any intervention for bloggers to express what they think, whether they are in the Gov.'s favour or the opposition's. I do know that there are bloggers who misuse their current freedom to insult, provoke or even accuse any parties related to Malaysian politics, but those issues must be attached with solid evidence, rational thinking and expressed with good manners and integrity. I do agree that there must be punishment for those who misuse their blogging abilities,but there is no need to filter, block and censor them as opinions, whether good or bad, must be taken as another criticism and another reason to solve or improve any complaints/disputes/rumour. Overall, acting defensively will not solve the problem but to solve the problem itself they have been crying out in their blogs is the way to show who is trying to make things right and who is the one that seeks the problem but does nothing to solve it.
ReplyDeleteYes. This 'new media' thing is sweeping the immediate region, i.e. malaysia, singapore. Though i generally do like the Malays as they are quite the easy-going, friendly and hospitable people, the unity and harmony that both the governments of singapore and malaysia is seeking to maintain is the sort where people get along despite state-sponsored race-based inequality. We have the 'bumiputra'(sons of the earth) policy in Malaysia, and the 'chinese and chinese culture-preferred' bias in singapore. It is the 'unity' and 'harmony' that has been enforced over decades that both governments are seeking to maintain. 'Learnt helplessness' on the part of the disadvantaged would be a term that is more apt as opposed to 'harmony' and 'unity' of course. (i was born in Malaysia, Selangor, but a singaporean by nationality.
ReplyDeletep.s. I started a site to list the latest left-wing posts by UK bloggers. Thought you might be interested.
i also agree to Mahira's and support the gov that what they are doing every ruling party have rights to do what is best in the favor of the country
ReplyDelete