For a long time now, there has been a growing credibility gap
between the government and the governed in Malaysia, with the latter thinking
that they have not always been given the correct or complete information on
matters in the public domain that affect their daily lives.
It is because of this credibility gap that most bloggers have received such a
warm welcome from Malaysians, especially since the March 8 general election.
There are, of course, bloggers and bloggers. Not all are bad; some are pretty
good and well-intentioned, but time will certainly expose what the rest are up
to. These are what I term "fast and furious" bloggers. They seem to enjoy their
empowerment as cyber activists, but they insist on and enjoy this right without
bothering about the attendant responsibilities.
I think it is time the bloggers stopped hiding behind the cyber curtain. If any
blogger has something to say, he or she should say it in their name, not behind
a pen name or nom de plume, and do so fully aware of the liabilities and limits
that go with this right to publish and disseminate information.
Secondly, it is time for government leaders to work towards
closing the credibility gap that is widening between the government and the
governed. Perhaps a Freedom of Information Act is in order.
THAT ORIGINAL LETTER written by Stephen Tan Ban Cheng,
Friday, July 25 2008 02:52 pm
For the purpose of the record, I append below the letter which I sent to the Editor of the Letters Page of New Straits Times for readers to make their comparison bearing in mind that space constraints are real:
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Editor The New Sunday Times Jalan Riong Kuala Lumpur
Dear Sir
RIGHT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY
I refer to “Liars Hiding Behind The Cyber Curtain” of columnist Tunku Abdul Aziz in the New Sunday Times of July 13, 2008.
This is a fair comment. The onus on the widening credibility gap between the government and the governed lies clearly on the side of the government leaders.
For far too long now, our government leaders have cherished the thought that news can be managed and manipulated, without realising that it is only up to a fine point.
It is because of the existing credibility gap that most of the bloggers enjoyed such a warm welcome from Malaysians. Not all bloggers are bad; most of them are pretty good and well-intentioned, but time will certainly expose what some of them are up to.
For instance, in the Malaysia-Today website recently, some bloggers called my learned friend, senior Bar Councillor Roger Tan, names and even became very personal about the views he expressed on the scandal of the two Statutory Declarations made by a private investigator.
Roger was even wrongly identified as the lawyer-turned-corporate leader, Dato' Roger Tan Kim Hock, the youngest son of the late Senator Tan Sri Mohamed Tahir a.k.a. Tan Tong Hong or T.H. Tan.
The funny thing about the whole exercise is that these bloggers were having a field day while others just could not access the comment column at all. Another funny thing is that this is not the first time that Roger has been wrongly identified as the other Roger Tan.
So, as you can see for yourselves, there are bloggers and bloggers. These are what I term "fast and furious" bloggers. They seem to enjoy their empowerment as cyber activists; they enjoy this right without taking the attendant responsibility.
Mana boleh, macam ini? It is time for government leaders to wrest back the initiative. A step in the right direction is for the government leaders to take Malaysians into their confidence. And we can certainly begin by discussing the social contract that underpins our young nation.
For the bloggers, it is about time that they stop hiding behind the cyber curtain. If any blogger has something to say, say it and say it in your name, not behind a pen name or nom de plume.
In the salad days of my youth, I used to write letters to the Editor, always in my name. I wrote, among others, about the ugly tussle between the inshore and offshore fishermen, the long queues of patients at our General Hospital in Penang, the merchants of death that drug dealers represent, the coffin salesmen waiting for people to die at the hospitals – for which I was offered a free coffin! I even proposed that we have music on our Penang ferries and counter-proposed a water-rationing plan that the Penang Water Department head, Datuk Kam U Tee, later accepted.
The highlight that I would never forget was my one-man campaign against the five driving testers in Penang. It took more than 30 letters to the various newspapers, copied always to the Anti-Corruption Agency, before driving tests were suspended until further notice. These testers were arraigned before the Court the next day.
To round up, firstly, my activity as a letter writer actually preceded my entry into journalism – local, national and international. So, to all bloggers, if you have to voice your views, do it in your name. Don’t hide behind other names. What are you scared of if what you write is the truth?
Secondly, it is time for government leaders to work towards closing the credibility gap that is widening between the government and the governed. Perhaps, a Freedom of Information Act is in order.
Stephen Tan Ban Cheng
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For the purpose of the record, I append below the letter which I sent to the Editor of the Letters Page of New Straits Times for readers to make their comparison bearing in mind that space constraints are real:
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Editor
The New Sunday Times
Jalan Riong
Kuala Lumpur
Dear Sir
RIGHT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY
I refer to “Liars Hiding Behind The Cyber Curtain” of columnist Tunku Abdul Aziz in the New Sunday Times of July 13, 2008.
This is a fair comment. The onus on the widening credibility gap between the government and the governed lies clearly on the side of the government leaders.
For far too long now, our government leaders have cherished the thought that news can be managed and manipulated, without realising that it is only up to a fine point.
It is because of the existing credibility gap that most of the bloggers enjoyed such a warm welcome from Malaysians. Not all bloggers are bad; most of them are pretty good and well-intentioned, but time will certainly expose what some of them are up to.
For instance, in the Malaysia-Today website recently, some bloggers called my learned friend, senior Bar Councillor Roger Tan, names and even became very personal about the views he expressed on the scandal of the two Statutory Declarations made by a private investigator.
Roger was even wrongly identified as the lawyer-turned-corporate leader, Dato' Roger Tan Kim Hock, the youngest son of the late Senator Tan Sri Mohamed Tahir a.k.a. Tan Tong Hong or T.H. Tan.
The funny thing about the whole exercise is that these bloggers were having a field day while others just could not access the comment column at all. Another funny thing is that this is not the first time that Roger has been wrongly identified as the other Roger Tan.
So, as you can see for yourselves, there are bloggers and bloggers. These are what I term "fast and furious" bloggers. They seem to enjoy their empowerment as cyber activists; they enjoy this right without taking the attendant responsibility.
Mana boleh, macam ini? It is time for government leaders to wrest back the initiative. A step in the right direction is for the government leaders to take Malaysians into their confidence. And we can certainly begin by discussing the social contract that underpins our young nation.
For the bloggers, it is about time that they stop hiding behind the cyber curtain. If any blogger has something to say, say it and say it in your name, not behind a pen name or nom de plume.
In the salad days of my youth, I used to write letters to the Editor, always in my name. I wrote, among others, about the ugly tussle between the inshore and offshore fishermen, the long queues of patients at our General Hospital in Penang, the merchants of death that drug dealers represent, the coffin salesmen waiting for people to die at the hospitals – for which I was offered a free coffin! I even proposed that we have music on our Penang ferries and counter-proposed a water-rationing plan that the Penang Water Department head, Datuk Kam U Tee, later accepted.
The highlight that I would never forget was my one-man campaign against the five driving testers in Penang. It took more than 30 letters to the various newspapers, copied always to the Anti-Corruption Agency, before driving tests were suspended until further notice. These testers were arraigned before the Court the next day.
To round up, firstly, my activity as a letter writer actually preceded my entry into journalism – local, national and international. So, to all bloggers, if you have to voice your views, do it in your name. Don’t hide behind other names. What are you scared of if what you write is the truth?
Secondly, it is time for government leaders to work towards closing the credibility gap that is widening between the government and the governed. Perhaps, a Freedom of Information Act is in order.
Stephen Tan Ban Cheng