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Haha ... TDM is getting a taste of his own medicine which he so often dispensed before.

I think he should just resign from UMNO and fade away.

JEFF OOI says: I reckon there are far larger issues than the superfluous raised in this blog entry. We are not interested in the Mahathir-Abdullah conflict. We are more interested in the present and the future of this country. But I doubt you are capable of handling any of them related to this context. However, you can always prove me wrong with some critical thinking.

"With the turn of events, international media freedom watchgroups have placed Malaysia under close monitoring"

Hi Jeff, can you clarify which watchgroup placed Malaysia under close monitoring?

JEFF OOI says: I know of only three by now. The results will come out in their respective annual reports ending December 2006. How many media watchgroups looking into Malaysia, anyway?

You missed the important point.

What is this blog about if not the AAB_TDM conflict and what an irony for you to say that you are not interested in the AAB-TDM conflict.

JEFF OOI says: This just about confirms my earlier doubts on you. Thanks.

If you want to talk about the future of this country, start a new thread and concentrate on the 9MP which is the most far reaching event in recent months for the country.

JEFF OOI says: I won't stray from my focus in blogging, that's professedly, governance in this country with particular attention on ( 1 ) Technology-innovation beyond MSC; ( 2 ) Public and Corporate governance; ( 3 ) Governance at Media organisations. The three focuses involve issues related to the two of the three estates in the Westminster model of democracy, that's the Legislature and Executive. In place of the 3rd (the Judiciary), I take a close look of the "4th Estate" -- the Mass media. Related to this, I would consider the Mahathir-Abdullah conflict as merely a reflection of systemic dysfunction, and other forms of polemics will arise from time-to-time, as Malaysia's political history has shown inthe past 48 years. Some are stubborn recurrence, some are new phenomena as a result of paradigm shifts and lapse of time. I will keep to this focus and I am single-minded in my blogging conviction in the past three years and a half, putting in an average of three blog entries per day. YOU, however, may stray into own abyss if your so wish. But I have my consistent record to show you. And I always say, for people like you, talk is ALWAYS cheap. I am not running you down. I am just provoking you to think critically. For your own good, since you have come to write in my blog as readers' commentaries.

what tranparency AAB talking about?. All talk and no action..Same with his anti corruption...all talk and nothing has happened yet.

So far AAB has been able to mouth nice feel good rhetorics..

AAB is lost..and that is worrisome..maybe he is too old..Time to hand over to someone younger perhaps?

At least he can comfort himself that he was once PM of Malaysia.

And to borrow Nazri's words..Mr PM be a "jantan", do something before the rakyat who voted you think otherwise of you.

Folks

Interesting... Govt asking the media to gag the views of a former PM of 22 years!!!!!

The last time I heard something close to this effect was in Communist China, when the Gang of Four in the Communist Govt asked the Chinese mainstream shut down all news of Deng Hsiao Peng and also when the Chinese media was asked by the Chinese Communist Govt to black out all news about former Communist Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang after Tiananmen June 4.

Is Malaysia taking the same road as the communist countries. Are we taking the essence of western democracy, with the freedom of the press included, as a farce.

UMNO is locked into the corner by the former PM and it is using the instruments of power of Govt to hide behind its lack of transparency and accountability to the general population of the country. Disgraceful.

To use Mahathir's words during his tenure as Prime Minister;

"Malaysia is a Vetted Democracy. There cannot be total Press Freedom"

I totally agree with Tun Mahathir !

Nazri, nazri, nazri .... another kiss a.. act or is this really how you feel? Think before you answer this question as I believe you have more brains than what people give you credit for. Especially after this last outburst. I can tolarate a little ignorance within the Malaysian cabinate but as of late.. my tolarance level has not been at its highest. Leaders of the people! You are elected to represent us.. have you forgetten this? Issues brought up by TDM has an impact on our beloved country - current and future! I can't accept that we give this oxford grad a blank cheque on governmental issues .. needless to mention the money he makes out of this. Nazri and the rest of you who are elected, come back and represent the people .. don't defend the wrong.

Jeff,

Unlike you, I am not paid to write.

JEFF OOI says: You are no different. When short on rationale, you start insinuating with your make-belief. You are hinting that I get paid to write. OK, let me be damned but I'll let your venom speak for your low esteem as an educated Malaysian.

I don't need an agenda or a special focus, real or imaginary.

JEFF OOI says: Like I said, I don't give a damn to your chosen abyss, so long as you DON'T into my turf. To fair-minded people unlike you, I will politely say "Let's agree to disagree".

Anyway, you have your focus which you so clearly put forward.

However, keeping a bot message to beep at entries you think is inconsistent with your focus is hardly expensive talk.

No, it's dirt cheap.

JEFF OOI says: Like I said again, when short on rationale to engage in a good conversations, like many here do, you just disgrace yourself with your tirades that's some common with behaviours in the Internet Chatroom of the early 90s. Do we care? You bet. We have better use for bandwidth you wasted on us. You just failed to respond intellectually when I provoked you to think critically on this particular issue: WHAT'S THE IMPLICATIONS WHEN CHIEF EDITORS ARE SUMMONED, AND MEDIA GAG ORDER RULES THE DAY, during this or previous administration. No, I don't think this talk is cheap or else you would have OFFENDED other readers who have given their commentaries in this blog topic.

mikewang

You should stick to the topic of the thread. You are distracting others on the discussion at hand and diluting the whole focus what we are trying to get a handle on.

Live with it.

Hmmm....

Kinda outdate on alot of issues, so got alot of catching up to do...

talking bout gag order, did any Msian newspaper publish the 2 incidents of MAS aircraft in GuangZhou, China?

It's kinda sad to read news like this in your home country... makes me sick.

Malaysia is already losing it's competitiveness in the international arena, and apparently most people couldn't be bothered or just simply can't see it through... sigh..

For a short springtime, many Malaysians thought the 2-1/2-year-old Admin under Pak Lah has heralded in greater freedom of sppech and a freer environ for the media. When the kitchen gets hot, that's when the cooks (editors and pseudo journalists!) can't take the heat, and soon the summer heat exposed the same newshounds dressed for a short season returning to their sheep's clothing.

I've averred that the Fourth Estate is not going to be any better thatn Dr Mahathir's iron-gripped regime, as can easily be prodicted when oldtimer like ZAM is appointed Minister of Information -- I had several times renamed it Ministry of Propaganda-ganda Wang Anda...

The "disappearing act" of The Star online report on Saturday's outing at the Kelab is like a magician's act ala "Then you saw it, now you don't" that howsy.blogspot.com screen-captured. Transient enjoyment of a shortlived springtime of media freedom -- the Chief Editors will now be united in chorus, again.
Let's Enjoy our blogosphere freedom while we can.

I wonder if the gag order came from Pak Lah? Was he aware of the order?

Or was the order from someone like Khairy?

The gag order and summoning of chief editors are serious steps downhill.

The 4th Estate has an important role to play, and the airing of what Dr M said during the dialogue session is not wrong.

Though I personally thought what Dr M said included a lot of wild accusations and rubbish (mixed in with some bits which made sense), it was still something which the people should have a chance to read and evaluate for themselves.

Is it not better to have a balanced report of the dialogue session, complete with views and opinions from the various people mentioned - like Rafidah and the "Oxford graduate" - if they agree to give their views?

Or is it better to rely on the Internet-era grapevine, which may or may not report whatever transpired accurately and fairly?

It looks like someone in Putrajaya may have made a terribly wrong decision to go down the strong-arm, gag the Press road, dragging Malaysia back to the dark days of Dr M.

Look at what good it did Dr M.

Leithaisor

What fourth estate in Malaysia? There is NONE. The mainstream media in Malaysia cannot be given the honor and privilege to be called the fourth estate by their dismal performance and below-standard reporting of local politics.

To honor papers like NST and Star, which are propaganda mouthpiece, not of Govt, but of political parties running the country (sounds communist to me), as Fourth Estate, is an insult to the definition of democracy.

I have never considered them as the Fourth Estate, it can't be. They are best called Spokesmen of the First Estate ( the Executive).

I hope we stopped calling Malaysian media as Fourth Estate. Journalists the world over will feel insulted, as I do.

Mahathir to be gagged? That is a good news - he think he is correcting things whilst it is him that need to be fixed! Not that AAB is angel, but I think he is better than Mahathir in term of fighting corruption, blah blah *too lazy to type*

NO 4th Estate in M'sia, F&H?

Now that comment set me thinking, and with my brain half-working only due to lack of sleep (no, not becasue of FIFA 2006!), that was no easy task. Further compounded by the increasing greying of the issues surrounding Dr M's war.

But I digressed - in the main, I would have to agree with you that serious journalists, both within and outside M'sia, have due cause to feel insulted if we claimed that M'sia has a viable 4th Estate.

We used to have something which could qualify. The Star (up till Ops Lallang) and some of the Chinese papers (like Sinchew before it was gobbled up) come to mind. (And we all know who should bear the brunt of the blame for that sad trend.)

But even now, we still have a smattering of mainstream journalists who can stand on their own feet and speak (write) their own minds. And are worth listening to, even if you do not necessarily agree with their veiwpoints.

Even the editorial line of emasculated Sinchew remains credible, in my humble opinion. The Sun still commands a measure of repect in my eyes.

Even within the NST, there are a couple of journalists whom I hold in high esteem.
The pieces they would like to be allowed to see the light of day, or may have been spiked, but even so, what does get published are still credible.

Then there is the e-media, with Malaysiakini shining like a beacon. But offset by a host of wannabes whose credibility is as "high" as that of the patently bottom-rung personalities behind them - like one who is not averse to painting two entirely different pictures of how he was treated by the authorities, or what his personal stance is regarding major unity issues. And though not entirely accepted as so, there are certain blogs which are credible, and influential, enough to weigh in as well.

And perhaps many serious journalists, both within and outside M'sia, may, in my opinion, agree with much (if not all) of the above?

So no 4th Estate in M'sia? Sadly, in terms of the print media, essentially more true than not.

But, especially if we include the e-media, I would not say that the 4th Estate does not exist at all in M'sia. There is still a spark, a little light. There is still hope.

Oops... line in 7th para should have read:

The pieces they would like TO WRITE MAY NOT to be allowed to see the light of day, but even so, what does get published are still credible.