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Jeff, by this posting and by all the postings made by all the bloggers dedicated to Shaziman Abu Mansor (Umno), surely must be celebrating for the windfall in the publicity he is getting. What an impression he can now make on his wife(s) and girlfriends, parents, grandparents and his kampong folks! He is famous!!..Come off it..to be in the upper rungs of UMNO, and to be a Deputy Minister, at that in a very technical kind of a Ministry, not one of those other no brainer social or women's affairs ministries, surely he is smart and clever. I got to assume that. So why does he make this suggestion knowing its a non-starter?

Fact is before this I never heard of this Shaziman Abu Mansor (Umno). Now everyone has heard of him and he is famous. And he can add to his resume all this publicity he has got and Pak Lah got no choice but to make sure he remains a candidate in the next elections. Now, finally, he can shut his wife(s), girlfriends, parents, grandparents and kampong folks up over thier never ceasing questioning of how come he never come out in newspaper and not famous like Nazri or for that matter Khairy who is not even an MP or let alone a government employee.

thirdly he knows, however stupid the suggestion might be...he just has to put it to the parliament and because it is coming from an UMNO guy, all the other UMNO and BN guys will have no choice but to support the motion. So, to get it to law is not a problem and he will forever be remembered for it.

Now in all of this the fact that you and I think that it is stupid, you think matters to him? You think the fact that he has finally shown to all his loved ones how foolish he can be, matters to him? No. The only thing that matters to him is that he has made it in the press! He has got his media quota for his 5 year term in office!. He has filled up his resume!...Now tell me that I am wrong? Because, if I acceeded to the fact and notion that this guy is actually a brilliant guy, and he must be. After all he is a Deputy minister. Then, surely there must be value in the suggestion he has made. For all that that suggestion has done for him so far, and that being his objective, then surely you must appreciate that he has succeeded beyond measure and you and I are helping him along in gaining even more publicity. So, that basically sums up whether or not his suggestion for registration of bloggers is brilliant or not!

I wish National Alliance of Bloggers could be called National Union of Bloggers instead. Then together with Bloggers United Malaysia, we could call ourselves BUMs and NUBs. After all, that is what the govt thinks we are.

News clip of Channel News Asia report on the case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf_YBEMKABs

Geez, Malaysia is surely running out of competent leaders. I'm just wondering on what basis were these people appointed to their post? Through sheer stupidity of the Malaysian voters? If such a mentality is acceptable for Malaysians, surely this will be a grave concern for all of us. I think Malaysians deserve better leaders.

Hi Jeff

I used to wonder what could bring the races together as ONE people. Was it ONE language, ONE culture or ONE school system?

Never did I imagine it is the one and only one internet, and it is ... the blogging community.

Whenever I become despondent and negative, I am reminded that we must live with hope because we must bring hope to those who will live in the future. I am reminded again and again of these sayings:
• A blessing in disguise
• Every cloud has a silver lining

For all bloggers with conscience I wish to say
• May the force be with you
• May you resist the temptation of the One Ring

Our conscience is in a constant struggle between good and evil, but if we live because we love others, we care for others – our families, posterity and humanity, I believe the good in us will give us the force to resist the evil ring of greed and selfishness.

I’m not feeling well. At first I felt unwilling to go, and felt it was unfair for me to go so soon, but I have changed my stance. If you don’t see me writing here anymore, it does not mean I’m not here. My spirit will be right here reading, sharing your burden and celebrating your success because I know that you will not stop fighting for the people I love.

Good luck in the formation of NAB, we can nab ppl with it..hahahah
am surely looking forward for anything that protects and promotes blogging as a way of expression .

well done! (how to enter?)

dignity2u, stay on if you can; you lend some dignity to the discussion on issues where the dignity of malaysians has long been denuded.

Jeff, I hope you have a secondary server somewhere 'outside' hosting your blog; just in case the one here were to shut down before the news break, as things like this do occur. This is quite separate from your standpoint that it will not happen.

JEFF OOI says: For good or for bad, I believe in my country and I intend to have my server in this country and no where else.

Communication minister for Southeast Asia 2nd most developed country has such mentality towards phenomenal technology. Must as well ban computer and return to typewriter days.

How does a Big Government get bigger? By saying that activities need to be licensed.

I foresee the following (its a no-brainer, Pak Lah):

1. Form another unit in some ministry responsible for the enforcement.

2. Get some more budget to fund its operations.

3. Perhaps, charge the bloggers some "fee" for administration.

4. And ah, perhaps it becomes an opportunity for some garmen officials to extract some sort of back-handers to look the other way if the regulations are flouted.

Hey man, our big goverment is too big already. Let's not add to it. If you want bloggers to have less credible, then may I humbly suggest that Pak Lah and gang be more credible. Simple solution, no need to increase the operating budget.

Good luck NAB.

Please show Malaysians the power of united people, as Malaysians usually stay outta trouble.

Please show the cronies the meaning of democracy -- the PEOPLE run the country, and they're just merely serving the country.

The "registration" thingy is an absolute joke. Everyone knows that - even my preteen nephews.

But how do you "resist" it? Well, I think, in order to show how stupid the Dep Min is (and a refection of the Govt), we should encourage him to implement it!!

You see, it will take them ages to implement it. They will probably have to hire "expensive consultants related to some ppl" in order to decide just how to register, what, when, who and all that detail.

And all this while, bloggers can get the pleasure of documenting the inevitable bunggles! It will be so funny I assure you. You guys will have tonnes of material to write so the whole world can be amussed by this "no-clue Govt".

Ultimately, when they finally get it sorted out, their biggest prize is to find out the suggestion actually wouldn't work!! hahah Why? Because most serious blogger will probably just move to overseas webhosting (maybe not Jeff). In fact, we should set up a web-hosing company in S'pore - run by Malaysians - just to spite the Ministry! I will chip in the capital. hahahh.

So, what will this suggestion ultimately achieve? A prime examply of no-brainers in Govt. and a few bankrupt Malaysian webhosting companies. Well done lah BN. HAHA

It really should be clear to any thinking person that the resonating dissatisfaction seen and read in Malaysia-related blogs are not sentiments of being anti-Government.

It's a symptom reflective of an urgent wish for a BETTER Government.

Alas, the "prepaid" mentality you speak of prevents those in power to see this. Either that, or they do see, but refuse to believe. And failing either reason, it's simply put, denial.

Or all of the above.

Regardless, the sentiments expressed through blogging perhaps reflect closer the true feelings of the rakyat than any referendum could reveal. And in this, the powers-that-be should take heed, and engage us positively.

They have everything to gain. And everything to lose.

Unless I'm mistaken, if you host a blog or website in Malaysia, the service provider will want your real name, address, telephone/ fax contact etc. They do have billings and communications through the snail-mail.
You may choose not to publish your real name on the blog, but who you are is on the record.
As for Blogger and Wordpress, which are hosted in the US, there is absolutely nothing they can do about registration.
If somebody seriously published something illegal or seditious , there are ways to trace the person, with a bit of effort.

Of course, this isn't really about prosecuting someone for breaking the law, this is about chilling down the whole blogging community, to clamp down on further embarassing details on Dollah & gang surfacing..

Hey people, check this out before this is gone end of today ....

http://www.thestar.com.my/news

Checkout the most read article. The headline grabbing "Please Lah Get It Right Lah"

Does it tells something that it being most read article?

The article by Niki is really about something else. Not bout our Pak Blah.

Hahaha ....

Observer,

you got a point there about the man...stir up something and people will get to know you.

Only thing is, would it backfire? Something about spitting into sky thing.

It does make me be more suspicious of the intent of the people in the current government, politician or not.

Some people say Malaysian bloggers should unite and stay in Malaysia still, in order to contribute in a tangible and effective manner.

Some people say if you cannot do it there in Malaysia, then get out, make your contribution from ex-Malaysia, voice it out from elsewhere in the world.

I say both are good ways. For you Jeff, fight it on and make your significant contributions louder!

The world is seeing how pathetic Malaysia government is.