When THAT line is crossed too often,
there will come a time when it will cease to exist and it will become second
nature for ‘trampling’ to take place. This is in light of Minister of
Communications and Multimedia’s comments yesterday on the possibility of the
government mimicking Singapore to put a blanket on news portals.
Just
last week, opposition-based news-weekly’s were snapped up and later banned by
the Ministry of Home Affairs, headed by none other than the ever-brilliant and
gung-ho Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. The online media then, seems to have been the only
alternative for people to get news from what may seem unbiased, if anything.
The printed media is brilliant where you have newspapers getting away with
‘daylight lies’ and at times, it does feel as though they do not have
proof-readers, looking to jump the gun more often than not.
According
to the Printing Presses and Publications Act, “The Minister may in his absolute
discretion grant or refuse any application for such licence or may at any time revoke
or suspend such licence for any period he considers desirable.” What this
actually means is there is no consistency regarding decisions made by that
ministry as at any given time, the decision is up to his or her discretion.
On
September 18th 2011, PM Najib Razak stated that he intends to make
Malaysia the world’s best democracy. A year and a half later, people can judge
for themselves on whether his statement was all talk and no walk or otherwise.
‘Reporters
Without Borders’ stated this year that Malaysia is ranked 145th out
of 179 countries in terms of Press Freedom. http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1054. Being ranked behind countries like Bangladesh,
Ethiopia and Libya is not something to be extremely proud of, with all due
respect. This points to the influence of the powers that be on the now nearly
defunct mainstream media, with the online media taking its place. The
propaganda spewed by the likes of infamous dailies, ‘The Star’ and ‘Utusan’
have long been way out of line. Such a thing has forced the hands of citizens
to hunt for an alternative to get an aspect of what is actually happening.
Nonetheless,
social media has also played a great deal in delivering news and the virality
it possesses is definitely greater than that of the printed media. Having said
that, here we have a possibility that the government is looking to control the
news portals that many Malaysians have grown accustomed to when they start
their day. It is more likely that people turn on their nifty little gadgets in
the morning to get a grasp of the news rather than heading to a newsstand to
get a copy of the government-controlled newspaper.
But
hang on a minute. That might now be close to impossible if a plan is in the
pipeline to put a straight-jacket on people to get access to news which
concerns them. The thought of relying on the television, radio and newspapers
not only lend the idea of going back to the stone-age but being lied to again? In
contemporary period, not many people are going to be at all pleased with such a
move by a government who doesn’t have the majority support of its people.
Ahmad
Shabery Cheek should think very carefully as he’s walking a tight rope here. If
he leaves it how it is, UMNO/BN will still be lashed by the people if it does
not improve. Impose a draconian law and the people will definitely take them to
the cleaners. If the reformation Najib is spewing every week is anything, then
he should heed the advice of people, not around him, but those who did not vote
for him. It may sound ridiculous but Najib has work to do to win back the
support from the people because I’m not sure as to how much support he has
inside UMNO.
Martin
Luther King went around saying that an unjust law is no law at all, started by
St Augustine of course. Suffocating people by denying them access to online
news portals is akin to shooting themselves in the foot. If the government does
not want the Merdeka Square to turn into a Speaker’s Corner, listen to the
people. Malaysians are peace-loving people.
Jay
Jay Denis
The Rocket - http://www.therocket.com.my/en/suffocate-peoples-access-to-social-media-think-again-govt-jay-jay-denis/
Free Malaysia Today - https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/06/06/government-shooting-itself-in-the-foot/
Malaysiakini - http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/232102
Malaysia Today - http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/letterssurat/57221-the-government-will-shoot-themselves-in-the-foot-if-they-censor-the-online-media
