Getting the message through

By Bob Yong
24th March 2008

Look as if the mainstream media is out and blogging, an alternative media is in. It is generally felt that mainstream media is somehow or other under the control of the ruling parties which form the government. Take the March 8 Election as a guide; one can hear little or no news from the opposition parties in the mainstream media. The outcome of the general election among many things changes the lives of the people who can now look ahead for better distribution of the country’s wealth and equal opportunities to Malaysians. All of a sudden, the elite in the ruling parties, who often tell others to listen to them, are now willing to listen from others.
Before the election, the government threatened to close down the blogs or arrest the bloggers and put them in jail under ISA. Now they agreed that bloggers play an important part in nation building. Bloggers have their rights in our society because they contribute informative and valuable insight of the relevant authorities where corruptions and nepotism are being practiced openly. Bloggers put in place a check and balance system for the grass roots level, without them the citizens are in the dark, and short-changed by the administration.
A true blogger is also willing to expose the wrong doings of the opposition parties who act against the wishes of the people. Bloggers are unpaid watch dogs. We shall therefore appreciate the unpleasant job they do and hope they can continue to do so without the interference from the authorities.
To talk sensibly is an art and to listen attentively is a virtue that many politicians, sad to say, have not acquired them.
We are a in a multiracial society country. We are intelligently matured enough and wish to read more views from the blogging community. We will not stop reading the blogs. We shall listen to them and then exercise our wisdom to believe in them or not.
Statistics showed that about 50% of the Malaysian population used the internet last year.