CERITALAH
In more mature markets, the newspapers are the forum for debate and analysis, while the Internet is the news hub, churning out updates.
However, as a citizen and a reader, I expect the news media to give choices (the pros and cons) so that I can make up my own mind.
The Internet is democracy gone wild. It is unregulated and can, in certain instances, verge on the wholly insane.
However, the “Wild Wild West” of news and views where fiction becomes fact and mere speculation the touchstone for the truth is strengthened by the continued government influence on the mainstream media.
Now, with technology’s extraordinary advances, we can immediately counter-check what we read in the newspapers through our own WAP-enabled and/or Internet-ready hand-held devices.
It is estimated that the Internet penetration of Malaysian 18-21-year-olds is in the region of 70%-80%. This means that the vast majority of new and soon-to-be voters are highly familiar with alternatives to newspapers and TV.
Indeed, it’s arguable that for this sought-after section of the voting public, the alternative media may well have become the “mainstream”.
Indeed the growing fluency of Malaysians in various languages – most of us are bilingual if not tri- or quadri-lingual – means that what someone says in one language will be read across the nation within nanoseconds.
In short, there are no “racial and linguistic silos” left and Malaysian leaders have to come to terms with the increasing openness of the media landscape, especially if they wish to win middle-of-the-road, middle-class Malaysians or all races, most of whom feel uncomfortable with language that is disrespectful to one community or another.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, you may sit in your palaces and official residences but rest assured we’re watching and judging your every moves on our computer screens, our iPhones, our Nokias and Blackberries.
Nothing escapes us – the people of Malaysia – and nothing is sacred.
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