Sunday April 15, 2007

Much ado over blogging

Insight
By JOCELINE TAN

The firestorm between government figures and bloggers has been likened to a clash between tradition and modernity, establishment versus anti-establishment. But the new media, whether the authorities like it or not, is here to stay.

INFORMATION Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin used to envy his predecessor for his office-with-a-view at Angkasapuri.

Zainuddin: Is riled by political blogs, accusing them of spreading rumours

“Now I don't even have time to look out the window,” he said.

His office occupies the top floor of the building with the unique architectural facade of overlapping concrete slabs that a top PAS leader in the 1970s had described as “bangunan banyak lidah” (building with many tongues).

Those were the days when oratory ruled the day in politics and the pen was mightier than the sword.

Today the new media is on the ascent, a phenomenon that politicians of Zainuddin's generation are still grappling with.

The Minister has been on the warpath with proponents of the new media, namely the bloggers. He is especially riled by the political blogs, accusing them of spreading rumours and wild language.

All this even though the Internet is technically not under his portfolio but that of the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry.

But Zainuddin is fiercely protective of the ruling party's agenda and he could not be pacified with the argument that most blogs are basically the individual's online reflections and opinions.

“They simply say what they like. Are we creating a new culture that ignores the right of the individual?” he argued.

The firestorm over weblogs and bloggers was sparked off by corruption allegations about Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Johari Baharom that the newspapers and TV had picked up from a web posting last month. Then the Tourism Minister exacerbated the situation with his out-of-line remark about women bloggers.

And suddenly there was this eruption of commentary and name-calling between the government side and the bloggers.

There is no doubt about it – the authorities feel rather uncomfortable with the power of the blogs.

Raja Petra: About 30 people are on his ban list

It is a medium which they are still not too familiar with, going by the way Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor, the Deputy Energy, Water and Communications Minister, tried to talk his way through the firestorm.

Shaziman, an engineer by training, looks contemporary enough to understand the new media but his response to the issue was baffling, to say the least.

He reportedly told Parliament that Singapore had started registering bloggers and the government here may do the same. A few days later, he said the government merely wanted “to assess the situation and keep track of the number of bloggers in the country and on the information provided by them”.

He was totally unconvincing and, besides, there is no such registration of bloggers in Singapore.

Shaziman was one of the new faces brought into the government to reach out to young voters but he really has to try harder.

“The elite perception that the authorities can still control the media and news has to change. They have to think in terms of managing news and information because the demarcation between the conventional and new media is breaking down,” said a well-connected media advisor.

In Europe and the United States, the new media has become an integral part of the communications process, and is wooed the same way as the traditional media.

“You have to win over people by argument and the product of your service. Muscle works but it creates resentment and I believe the mainstream media is still full of professional journalists who hate to receive telephone calls and be told what to do,” said the media advisor.

Local bloggers, he said, have a following because of the perceived shortcomings of the mainstream media. They may not be a major source of news as yet in these parts but they are alternative channels of news.

“If you guys (mainstream media) could publish just 50% rather than the 10% of what you actually know, imagine the difference. On the other hand, blogs have interesting stuff but there is such poor editing and fact checking. There are some very good analyses but also lots of rubbish,” said the media advisor.

But even Zainuddin admitted that the authorities cannot control the blogs.

He did some fact-finding when he was in Singapore recently and has reached the conclusion that there is no way one can register bloggers.

Singapore does not have laws regulating the Internet or bloggers although it does have an Internet Code of Ethics and violators can be fined. The new media in the Republic is also subjected to the same laws as the man in the street, such as libel or sedition.

Zainuddin feels the anonymity in the Internet makes people go beyond the limit.

It is unlikely that bloggers would want to forfeit the power of anonymity and besides, as some of them say, why should they submit to the old rules.

Raja Petra Kamarudin's popular portal, malaysia-today, for instance, only entertains registered members when it comes to postings.

Most of them opt for a pseudonym and their postings range from the rational and interesting to the petty, personal and outlandish. There are, of course, the periodic F-words and racial and religious slants although Raja Petra insists he edits such postings and has some 30 people on his ban-list.

Said Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin: “I don't think we should over-react or generalise because there are many types of bloggers and the majority are just blogging their personal experiences.”

But, he said, the unsubstantiated and anonymous nature of discussion, particularly in media blogs, is of concern.

“Take the more popular media blogs: there are all kinds of crazy allegations out there. If there is to be credibility in blogs, then you have to address these issues,” he said.

For much of 2006, Khairy was the subject of some the more bizarre and outrageous stories on the Internet. He has not bothered to sue, preferring to “live and let live.”

But that does not mean he does not believe in legal recourse when it comes to defamation.

“Some politicians react with clampdown calls but blogs are here to stay and they (bloggers) have to be responsible. They shouldn't complain if they're taken to court because, like everyone else, they're subject to the same rules of libel. People at the receiving end must have legal recourse and it's ridiculous to say that the state is coming down on you,” he said.

How come an up-to-date guy like him does not blog?

He said he did not want to start a blog that he could not maintain and he does not believe in outsourcing. But he intends to start a video blog, which is already a trend with politicians in the West, by year's end.

Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Samad, one of the first Umno politicians to have a website, also has a blog now but does not entertain anonymous postings.

“Bloggers should have their own ethical code. They take the moral high ground on issues, on government servants and politicians. They should also apply it to themselves,” said Shahrir.

The current situation between the government and bloggers is akin to the old establishment versus anti-establishment clash with no easing-off in sight as yet.

But it is not a big deal to the average Malay politician who is pretty blasé about blogs because he thinks their grassroots are still inclined towards traditional sources of news and information.

“The personal touch is still important,” said Shahrir.

Newspapers and free-to-air TV still rule in rural Malaysia and warung chitchat is still more powerful than blogosphere in Malay politics.

But surely not for very much longer?