Co-option on both sides. It’s something that I’ve noticed for the past few months, and only lately has it become all too clear. Yes, the incumbent have been slow in pushing into cyberspace, it has reacted to bloggers and the internet in general with suspicion and hostility.
But not the Opposition. I met up with a fellow blogger recently, and I remember remarking how there were quite a number of partisan bloggers on the internet. And I do support them in one way or another, but I realize the line between objectivity and partisanship is very, very thin.
Take the recent posts by freelunch2020, and how she might be closing down her blog because her views conflict with the official party line. There is, suddenly, the question of being able to voice one’s own thoughts contrasted with one’s so-called duties and loyalties.
It’s like group-think but on the other side, isn’t it? I, for one, would really, really hate it if freelunch2020 closed her blog because members of DAP can’t refute her own views with any objectivity. It makes me downright suspicious, and a little resentful.
Apart from that, I’m just wondering how far complaints and ‘movements’, legitimate or otherwise, have been co-opted into vehicles for something else: specifically, vehicles for the opposition. Like Susan Loone’s call for All-Blogs to “turun padangâ€.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second! Let’s just hold up for a moment here.
From what I understand, All-Blog’s purported objectives are to protect bloggers and promote blogging. Where the hell is the suggestion that All-Blogs is a partisan alliance? And just who does All-Blogs represent? ALL bloggers? Shurely not. From what I see, it’s a collection of glitzy bloggers who represent a minority of bloggers who have heard about the Jeff Ooi-Rocky lawsuit debacle, and of this minority, only the ones who actively support such an alliance.
Are Rocky and Jeff Ooi and the constellation of blogger celebrities going to allow All-Blogs to be used as a base of “popular†support? Was that a rhetorical question?
Do you even think for one moment that gliding into a heated contest in Ijok and pushing forward an essentially anti-establishment agenda isn’t going to make All-Blogs look partisan?
What’s the agenda, here?
Now, I hope this is super clear: speaking out against government policies does not automatically make one partisan. I resent the labeling, and I resent the generalization, and now I’m wondering if you do too. It creates an unnecessary, and false, dichotomy and it automatically assumes anti-establishment bloggers are in agreement with the Opposition.
It’s just completely shitty how activism online has been construed as partisan activism. Nevermind that the government sees bloggers that way; just let’s not we confuse ourselves.
Comments (7)
Touché.
hi there;
have you read my posting properly? how does campaign for free speech become an opposition thing? do u mean to say, that free speech is an issue only for the opposition? you are mistakenly wrong. i have never advocated for all-blogs to become partisan. in all my postings, from the moment bloggers united started till now is to ask people to go ABOVE and BEYOND politics and see the issue for what is is - freedom of speech. i ask people do not be afraid to challenge political masters, whoever they may be, in order to promote free speech. read my post again and again and again if you meed to.
and all-blogs does not represent anyone I am sure. not even me, coz they merely represent their members, for which i am not. at the rate things ae going, i am never going to be their member. i am merely suggesting this to them. but i see it has already been co-opted, along with everyone who is afraid of being even a little pro-active to safeguard one’s own right, to be weak and soft so that it does not displease the BN and UMNO government.
how to promote and protect bloggers’ right? start by making a stand, and fighting for that stand. no government is going to respect you, unless you just toe the line. if all blogs want that, good luck to them and to you.
That makes both of us: I’m not part of All-Blogs either, and I do not think I’ll ever be part of that group, voluntarily or otherwise. My post isn’t accusatory, and yeah, I did read your post in its entirety and I’ve also read Jun-E’s response to your post. My point is precisely as I have stated: how will All-Blog’s taking a stand in Ijok possibly not look partisan?
Shouldn’t we be more careful about what we ask presumably non-partisan alliances - temporary or otherwise - to get involve in? More and more it seems like Opposition parties are taking up causes brought forward by people not in any way involved in partisan politics and suddenly, these same people find themselves suddenly seen as lending support to other causes and interests that have nothing to do with them, merely by association.
Is that what we really want?
I like that you have expressed something that has been bothering me too. I agree that criticizing the govt gives some people the mistaken impression that we are pro-opposition. What has one got to do with the other? Similarly, even if I were to cast my vote to the opposition in the next GE, it cannot be construed as evidence that I support the opposition party’s agenda.
there are many points in Jun E’s post which I dont agree with and will reply to later.
Just because we may look partisan doesnt mean we should stop campaigning for the truth. that is what the government wants of us, to make us afraid so that we stay away from fighting for our rights. That is how BN/UMNO has been able to rule this country for 50 years. Sometimes they dont even have to say anything, we censor ourselves, just like most of the journalists in the mainstream press. look at malaysiakini, it continues to be accused of being an Opposition agent, but it continues to reveal the truth. it supports no party politics, but it is NOT a-political.
Will we ever change, no, because sad to say even the young has been co-opted to think that any hard line approach (which actually means fighting for your rights in perhaps a more pro-active way) is akin to Opposition agenda. It is sad that human rights, even free speech, is seen as an Opposition agenda, because that means how inhuman this government is, and yet it is allowed to rule for half a century.
shame on us that we have put our kids in such a sad state of affairs.
thanks for your comments anyway :-)
I hear your frustration, and I’m sure many including myself share the same frustration. But let’s look at this with some perspective.
Barisan Nasional keeps on winning year after year for many reasons besides a generally apathetic youth. You definitely know this. What do folks in rural areas care about our ‘petty’ demands for freedom of speech and a genuine space for discussion on the internet? Wasn’t it clear in Machap what voters there found important? Even Anwar Ibrahim is going around telling people that he’ll ensure economic success for all races - so vote for the Opposition. That’s the reality of the situation, and idealism, while good, matters less if we choose to put on blinders.
This isn’t about bloggers going down in their own capacity to campaign for whatever party they wish; heck, they’ll do that anyway for whatever inclinations they have. But when you have an association or “alliance” purporting to stand for something go down in the midst of a political battle, again how would this be seen, and most importantly: how does this affect said group’s ability to fight for blogger’s rights when this alliance is viewed less as a pressure group and more as a partisan wing?
Why advocate walking right into that trap?
Already you have the government claiming that AI perpetrates “ugly” Western values, or worse, that human rights activism is supported by a worldwide Western agenda. That’s how easily the government paints benign groups with labels that the government will keep drumming into people via the mainstream media, seeding distrust. And what has the government been doing the past few months? Creating in the minds of impressionable Malaysians that bloggers are the new bugbear. Every other week, some government minister says something negative about bloggers.
Imagine if All-Blogs - in its capacity as a movement or association - goes down to Ijok. I can just see the headlines: bloggers interfering with elections, or bloggers go down to Ijok in a show of support, etc.
This isn’t a question of courage. This is a question of perceptions and efficacy.
Hey Xpyred;
If people don’t care for our “petty” demands, then why is it such a threat to the government? They do such a good job keeping away such “petty demands” from the people, with the help of people like us, that it seems only bread and butter issues matter. Truth is, society is becoming increasingly aware, and our “petty” demands are not really that petty after all, seeing the way G reacts and responds to it.
2. What is the alliance for then? Remember why it was set up in the first place? As a response to Jeff and Rocky’s dilemma. We took a political stand. We said that we no longer want to be bullied by the big-wigs and by super powers. And that was why hundreds of bloggers rallied behind us, them. Why should all-blogs now shy away from this responsibility? Why should it retreat, play safe and be perceived now as being co-opted by the powers that be? Isn’t that a more damaging perception? Respect can only be gain by being firm and principled, not by being cowed.
3. G will continue to paint bloggers in a bad light as long as they see a potential in us to rock the boat. Why are we afraid of the mainstream media now? We have our blogs, we can reach out. This is better than being subservient to G. Going by your logic, then all Opposition or NGOs should close shop and retire, sit at home, or better, become softer in their approach so that they can “calm” G down.
This is not falling into a trap but someone got to do what is right. It a long and ardous journey, I know, but it has to start somewhere. But I am afraid, it wont start with all-blogs. If one cant be courageous, then dont talk about freedom of speech. Coz you can’t have it by being afraid of the consequences.
Hey, but its nice chatting with you!
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