Another one from Do-Asia (apologies for cross posting)
----- Original Message -----
From: Steven Clift <clift@publicus.net>
To: Bala Pillai <bala@apic.net>
Cc: <do-asia@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 10:45 AM
Subject: Re: [do-asia] The Malaysiakini Affair: Winning enemies and
angeringfriends
>
> Here are a collection of links on the story:
> http://geocities.com/issuesfrancis/malaysiapageone.html
>
> I am surprised that this has not made Wired or the net-oriented media
> (or perhaps I just missed it).
>
> And two clips I found earlier today:
>
> Malaysiakini: Not the Messiah - just a very naughty boy
> http://www.apmforum.com/hariini/archives/000281.php
>
> ....
>
> Malaysiakini, as all Malaysian press right now, is operating in a
> political environment which is already in pre-election mode - with the
> first election without Mahathir as leader of the dominant UMNO party
> and Barisan Nasional government for 20 years approaching fast.
>
> Malaysiakini however, in just a few areas, refuses to play "The
> Malaysian Way". It promotes open discussion on issues that the
> government would prefer to be discussed only among the elite. It
> promotes a political consciousness which is foreign to many Malaysians
> who have been happy to leave decisions to the government while their
> standard of living spiraled up-wards.
>
> While Malaysiakini says they are fighting for the "free press" in
> Malaysia, to the Malaysian elite the press is not for the open
> discussion of issues, but for relaying and publicizing policies
> already agreed fait accomplies. There is a genuine divide on the role
> of the press. Some issues - such as the affirmative action policies
> for Bumiputeras - are deemed by the government as too sensitive for
> discussion. The questioning of the policies of this
> matriarchal/Confucian administration is often characterised as
> "sedition" as the old Sedition law passed primarily to counter the
> communist threat is necessarilly vague and flexible. - Questioning
> authority is not the "Malaysian Way", the same way as questioning your
> own mother's views, or those of the Confucian "intellectual elite", is
> seen as "rude" or "ungrateful".
>
> ...
>
>
> Hands Off Malaysiakini!
> Abolish Sedition Act
> http://www.malaysia.net/aliran/ms/2003/0120.html
>
> ...
>
> 4. Or is the real issue a politically motivated attempt to cripple
> malaysiakini?
>
> For the record, malaysiakini is universally considered to be the
> nation's only non-partisan, honest, critical, free and open forum.
> Since this online newspaper was started in November 1999, its
> popularity, at home and abroad, has vastly grown.
>
> The popularity of malaysiakini testifies to the desperate need that
> Malaysians feel for reliable news, investigative reports, critical
> commentaries, thoughtful columns, free exchanges of opinions, and
> frankly written letters. These make up the regular contents of
> malaysiakini. In contrast, the mainstream media is only too well known
> for carrying half-truths, distorted views, outright lies and thinly
> disguised propaganda.
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> The Internet and Democracy Across Asia: MAY 2001
> Online Trends in Governance, Civil Society and Media
> More information at: http://www.e-democracy.org/do
> Rule: No more than two posts a day per participant.
>
> To SUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to: do-asia-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, e-mail: do-asia-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>