Screenshots

The charts look interesting. I am no trading expert. May I know if those peaks were results of insiders' trading? Is insider's trading a crime in Msia?

08 October 2004
Blogs versus mainstream media, Malaysian style

Specifically, Jeff Ooi’s blog Screenshots versus the New Straits Times Press’ Berita Harian (BH) and the New Straits Times. The conflict raises important questions about several issues, including
(a) what a blog is and how it works,
(b) non-professional journalists vs professional journalists, and
(c) freedom of speech and the Internet.

It began with Ooi when he wrote about how Islam Hadhari (that PM Abdullah Badawi has been promoting) and money politics in UMNO did not mix. A visitor to the blog calling himself 'Anwar' then posted a comment describing the combination in more graphic and derogatory terms.

Berita Harian gets into the act

The issue became mainstream press fodder when BH filed a story on it, suggesting that Ooi was out of line and was disrespectful to Islam.

In his response, Ooi said the paper did a poor journalistic job because it
(a) did not seek to try to get his side of the story,
(b) ignored his rebuke of 'Anwar’s' remark,
(c) did not know that he (Ooi) had barred 'Anwar' from further postings on his blog, and
(d) did not really know how blogs work.

The facts appeared to be on Ooi’s side as he did rebuke 'Anwar' before BH’s story came out. Did BH want Ooi to do more, like taking out 'Anwar’s' posting right away? BH could have raised all that in an interview with Ooi. But it did not get in touch with him for its story.

Should the paper have contacted Ooi, to begin with? Well, why not? What transpired involved him, any way you slice it and after all, Screenshots is his blog.

Folks at the BH might not care for Ooi, but it is another thing to let that get the better of what they do as professional journalists.

The problem with BH here is, unfortunately, not uncommon among the mainstream media. For example, when they reported on the Barisan Nasional politicians’ accusations against the opposition parties, they would often not get the opposition's response to be included in the same report. As a result, what the public get is a one-sided view of things. This long-standing flagrant violation of a cardinal principle of journalism undermines the mainstream journalists' professionalism and suggests, rightly or wrongly, their bias.

BH thus came across as not interested in providing the facts of the story – a basic requirement of journalism. It appeared more interested in hitting out at Ooi; it even demanded an apology from him. By then, Ooi refused. He slammed the paper for its lack of professionalism and unfair accusations about him. Ooi, indeed, played up the irony of how, even though he is no professional journalist, he had to remind BH about the principles of a professional journalist.

Ooi’s point about how blogs work is not without merit. Blogs do allow the public to post their views unfiltered. Ooi’s Screenshots, like other blogs, count on public postings. Pre-screening such postings - especially if there are many postings like Screenshots has received – requires too much effort and resources from bloggers, who are often just individuals operating in their spare time. Even if it were possible, would that not take away from the very nature of blogs?

Did the BH not know that about blogs? Or did it choose to ignore it? Either way, it is appalling especially because it is a news organization.

Kalimullah has his say

On 3 October, NST editor-in-chief Kalimullah Hassan also weighed in with his “The Sunday Column”. He began his piece by expounding on the virtues of PM’s Islam Hadhari. Towards the end, he indicated that Islam Hadhari had been thrashed and disrespected by, among others, “a somewhat unknown blogger” - in an obvious reference to Ooi.

Kalimullah even suggested that the likes of Ooi were bigots, and racists should not be allowed to destroy Malaysia’s principles of peaceful co-existence.

But he sounded contradictory. He felt that the “likes of Ooi” were unknown small fries “who repeatedly post lies and untruths and expectantly wait for their minute of fame, hoping that they will be singled out and named in public and then, perversely, become the toast of their peers in the small world they live in and the limited followings they are.”

Well, if so, how could the small world and limited followings of the likes of Ooi’s be able to destroy Malaysia’s principles of peaceful co-existence?

Kalimullah also stated that this was not the first time that "this Jeff Ooi has allowed postings that hurt the feelings of others” as he has “maliciously slandered many people, hurt many innocents, all in the name of a free media.” Kalimullah included himself as one of the “many people”. But he did not give a single example of such “postings” or malicious slander to back his claim.

How is that going to help Malaysians who are not aware of the likes of Ooi (and apparently there are very many of them) see his point?

Malaysians who have followed Ooi’s Screenshots would agree that Ooi had mocked or slammed Kalimullah. Still, how was all that “malicious slander”?

In the final analysis, Kalimullah appeared personally upset with Ooi for some time now because of Ooi’s criticism of him, along with postings in Screenshots. Thus, when this 'Anwar' remark surfaced in Screenshots, it appeared to have given Kalimullah the opportunity to hit back at Ooi, finally.

To be sure, Kalimullah has every right to hit back at Ooi in his column. It is his freedom of speech. But did he need to make his case by resorting to the unsubstantiated claim about people using “free media” to make malicious slander? For someone who is editor-in-chief of a major mainstream paper – and someone, by his own implication, having a far larger following than Ooi– to be this quick with this line of argument does not augur well for the future of freedom of speech in Malaysia. It would only give additional ammunition to those ever ready to restrict that freedom.

Fed up with the corporate media

The rise of the Internet offering outlets for a freer flow of information is a global phenomenon. The mushrooming of so-called alternative or non-mainstream outlets of information like blogs has come about mainly because of the problems people have had with their mainstream media. This occurs even in places that bragged of having more freedom of speech than Malaysia.

In the US, for example, many are fed up with their mainstream media because they are often seen as tainted by the corporate view in the light of huge corporations owning major media that are ever more beholden to major political interests. Bloggers are increasingly keeping mainstream journalists on their toes one way or another.

A good example was how Dan Rather of CBS TV network got burned by the exclusive story about how George W. Bush was given favourable treatment while serving in the National Guard to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War. And it got started when US bloggers jumped at the story when they smelled something fishy. Still, throughout it all, did Rather or CBS respond by invoking legislation against the bloggers?

Rational thinking missing

Bloggers in Malaysia are still small fries, comparatively speaking. But that is not to say they do not have a reason to be around. Indeed, as long as the perception of the mainstream press as essentially Barisan Nasional mouthpieces persists, Malaysian bloggers will find ways to surface. Instead of seeing this as an encouraging sign for the flowering of diversity hence empowering Malaysians to think critically, we have the likes of Kalimullah and the BH. In trying to get rid of the likes of Ooi, one invoked a tightening of freedom of speech and the other ignored the facts and a basic principle of journalism.

It may be argued that all this might, in a perverse way, encourage more blogs with alternative views to surface. Perhaps. But one would have to be truly naive to think that this is what Kalimullah and the folks at BH had in mind when they took on Ooi. Rather, their line of action appears to be a tightening of the freedom of speech when they get the first chance to hit back at those whose speech they did not like. And thanks to such strong establishment reaction, many web-surfers are already wary now of expressing themselves freely on the Net.

Unlike newspapers, which are essentially a one-sender-many receivers mode of communication, blogs are more a many-senders-many-receivers mode of communication as they rely heavily on postings. But blogs are not without their drawbacks, and one of them is how unfiltered postings can get out of hand.

But because of the huffing and puffing from BH and Kalimullah, the honest concern about postings getting out of hand is lost. Along with that, careful considerations of a closer, more practical supervision of the postings, short of taking away the nature of blogs, are not getting a constructive airing.

And that is the most regrettable part of this episode of blogs versus mainstream media, Malaysian style.

Malaysia Media Monitors' Diary

A project initiated by Charter 2000-Aliran, in collaboration with independent volunteers, to promote press freedom and honest and ethical journalism in Malaysia

08 October 2004
Take it easy on blogger Jeff Ooi

Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar’s warning that blogger Jeff Ooi risks facing action under the ISA is most regrettable. With one stroke, Noh has shown that the guarantee of no Internet censorship is hollow.

Ooi was accused of allowing an Internet-user to post an abusive message that insulted Islam Hadhari (which the government is trying to promote as a progressive understanding of Islam) in the light of money politics within UMNO.

No one can condone disparaging and abusive remarks made against any religion including Islam. But Noh must understand that a blogger cannot be made responsible for messages that visitors to the blog may post.

One of the main features of most blogs and some websites is a facility to allow visitors to comment on what has been written. This encourages interactivity and promotes debate and discussion. In the case of a popular blog like Jeff Ooi’s, dozens of comments can be posted on any single day and it becomes very difficult for the blogger to keep tabs on all entries and sieve out the abusive, derogatory ones.

Give more credit to Malaysians and their ability to handle such abusive comments soberly. Most blog visitors realize that those who post crude, coarse, or abusive comments on a blog inadvertently reveal their own immaturity and character. And most Malaysians, who can see through such comments, will discount or ignore them. There is no need for Noh and the government to over-react to such crude, childish comments, which have been likened to rude graffiti in a public rest-room.

A few critics have suggested that the strong reaction against Jeff Ooi appears aimed at deflecting attention away from the uneasiness over money politics and vote-buying inside UMNO.

The sad thing about Noh’s outburst is that it creates a sense of fear among legitimate Internet users that Big Brother is watching them at all times. Already many Internet users are worried about expressing their views on the Net.

In these circumstances, the promise of no-censorship of the Internet is meaningless when the authorities use other draconian laws to frighten Malaysian web surfers. The government’s shrill reaction makes one wonder whether it is worried about the expanding use of the Internet for alternative news, which threatens to undermine the government’s monopoly over the major news media in the country.

One also wonders whether this episode has 'offered' an opportunity to the government to perform a ‘makeover’ of the draconian ISA – to make this anachronistic law more 'relevant' to our cyber age.

Very good move, now all the bloggers are forgetting about the toll. Everyone is now busy talking about the lawsuit against blogger.

Very soon the toll increase will be forgotten completely.

Jeff, best to let bloggers know what defamation laws are like and to seriously watch what they say. I've done a quick 101 so people know what you and Rocky are up against.

The safe haven of the blogging community has been exposed, best to watch our backs.

"Fear became the ultimate tool of this government."
-- movie "V for Vendetta"

Jeff,

(Sorry, off topic-More on your hushmail topic.)

Why after reciving the injunction you suspected your email was no longer secure?

If i were you, I would be offended by the 'unknown' tag.

Let me know if there's anything I can help.

Freakin' ridiculous.

Whatever this government did shall never be forgotten.

It's about time to kick them out.

Too much of stupidity is bad for the nation. Although watching them destroying their own kind is fun..

I have never imagined our people in power to have such shallow mentality.

Taking bloggers to court is one really stupid move. Badawi really shallow.

Noh Omar? OMG, zip your mouth please. It's VMY2007. You wanna ask foreigners to leave agaiN?

you have my support jeff. let us know how we can help.

good posts, ktak; sums up well.

It is rather odd that Kalimah (think Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) could on the one hand wax eloquent on how his ECM Libra would use some of the money for charity, and then on the other hand he would not deem it beneath his professional standing to use the national pro-government official medium to spin non-substantiated vitriol against a blogger. If the blogger is small-fry, why take a suit that is sure to attract international calumny, as it is doing now? Why not take the professional route - rebut the comments in the same blog? Why also think it entirely possible to make a counter-current policy of banning the blogsite from Jalan Riong, as if that's entirely possible?

It is also ironic that the [ DELETED ], as one would remember in the pre-[ DELETE ] days, was a better read than the others; it had polish and analytical acumen; maybe it was that it abhorred plagiarism.

Certainly these suits against two of the most eminent and seminal blogging minds of this nation is not just a blot but a dirty-tricks smudge on the reputation of professional journalism of Malaysia. They don't know what blogging is all about, they don't write well either, and most importantly, they completely miss the essence of why in the first place blogging has taken such fertile dimensions in this state.

It's all about transparency of governance writ right by having the right people doing the right things in the right way for the people.

One is stumped why some socalled media chiefs of mainstream media can choose to ignore something significant whose time has come. One is stumped how often these officious jokers can conveniently turn a blind eye to their prejudicial choice of what gets reported, and how the articles are written. It's gone beyond apple-polishing. Try durian-polishing instead. Hurts, doesn't it?

Come on, Jeff and Rocky put their names and contacts wide open and their social reputation on the line. At least try to equal their personal sacrifice of time and tribulations if at the least concerned as much about the state of this nation.

I am tired.