Throw away the newspapers!

Some people particularly the old timers including those in power are suffering from some kind of Internet phobia since they mistakenly perceive that the Internet is responsible for what they wrongly assume to be lies, slander and the like. Thus, they offer advices like don't believe the Internet as it a tool by unscrupulous Opposition. What a joke and clearly shows that they are naive and belong to the old timer generation.

They see the Internet especially blogs as slander or lie mongers manipulating the public to distrust the government, which for them is above the rest free from errors. Well, I beg to differ since the inception of the Internet and the flourishing of blogging, Malaysians including me are being presented with the views of the other side and not only a bias stand of the ruling coalition. In the 80's and 90's when Internet is still alien to many of us the so-called major or prime medias like the newspapers remain the only source of reporting and information to the mass. Those newspapers are in turn controlled by the government through various unfair and bias reporting. They pictured the Opposition or their sympathisers as villains to the core. Figures like LKS, the late Haji Yusof Rawa, the late Hj. Fadzil Noor are the enemies of the people since according to the only available medias they were always against the government (read ruling coalition). Thus, the public including myself as naive as we were and compounded by the lack of secondary views were unduly influenced by those kind of reporting.

I am not saying that whatever the Opposition leaders are saying as the absolute truth since there are some of their views which I feel otherwise. Nonetheless, the Internet provides the only channel and venue for the mass to know the views of the Opposition since it is the only venue for them to defend themselves from the onslaught by the ruling coalition. Besides, the coalition-controlled medias themselves have acted beyond their duties by being the prosecutors and judges of the Opposition. They incite and cultivate hatred against those whose views are different from their by labelling them as enemies of the people or worst spies of foreign government.

While the prime medias advise the mass not to deal in lies and the like, they too are actually dealing freely in degrading others which later on backfired just like the private jet issue by the Kedah MB, the pig farms in Selangor and many others which are savagely distorted and twisted. While they seem to allow some breathing spaces to the Opposition they practise selective reporting; publishing and airing only those sentences which sound in the coalition's favour and for sure reported out of context and therefore resulted in confusion among the public.

Giving them benefit of the doubts, they are committing all those lies and distortion for their survival as well as their master's but for several years now they are no longer enjoying the status as the preferred choice of information as a more non partisan and neutral or at least spaces for the other side to share their views and defend themselves. Looking at what happened after the debate between ASC and AI, even Ku Li too seemed to agree with AI's idea of reducing the oil prices - it is indeed a practical idea after all!

"I love blogging"